I am going away for a couple of days, at last making some time for myself. The house sitter is lined up, so that is a big load off, but I'm a bit stressed. I realized this morning that I am out of cat food. The big light bulb is out in the milking parlor and there are no spares on the shelf. Found a note from the milker saying we are about out of filters. One of the deer hunters is coming out to mow pastures tomorrow and I just remembered I have to get gas for the big Farmall tractor. No compromising on any of this stuff - it HAS to get done before I leave.
Then there is the worry of emergencies while I am away. I will be where my cell cannot get reception. When I went to my class reunion, I was a few miles from the hall where we were meeting when I got a call from the milker. She asked, "Are you about home?"
"Yes," I said, smiling with anticipation at seeing my old classmates.
"Good. One of the cows bolted into the equipment area and broke a couple of pipes. The vacuum pump is down!" Then I realized she didn't mean "back home," but home to the farm. Oh, dear! She had called a couple of repairmen, but no one was available. I told her to get out the Duck Tape. Works every time! But this is just the sort of thing I worry about when I am not there. I can only hope that last weekend was not a warm up for what will go wrong this weekend.
We will be staying in a very rustic cabin buried in the woods in Michigan. We don't spend much time indoors during daylight hours. At night it is eat, play cards, do tai chi, and talk-talk-talk. It is definitely a decompression weekend, and that means no schedule. Also, no hot water! But there is a stove and a nice big stock pot to heat water in, and we get by.
Well, I must get on with tonight's tasks. Probably should start to lay out what I am going to take along. I'm leaving from market tomorrow, gone for two nights, so I will not be here for the nightly count. But tonight, there are 15 chickens and 3 calves. So all is well on the farm, at least for now.
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