Doing The Happy, Happy Border Collie Dance

Busy weekend.

Had seven dozen eggs for Gordon's market on Friday. One of his cashiers told me that the green eggs are lasting a little longer -- they don't sell out now until the middle of Friday, rather than by lunch Friday. One nut job keeps coming in and asking people when I'm going to get the chickens to lay more so she can buy six dozen at a time.

Worked, worked, worked on the day job. Took a break at lunch to run to the post office, where my Lehman's cheese press had arrived. Reminded me to sign up for Ricki Carroll's intro to cheesemaking class in late April. Here's the cool thing: The class is in Ashfield. There's a whole milk diary exactly halfway between Dover and Ashfield. So I think there's some sort of cosmic sign that I need to take this one.

Grabbed John late in the day and ran to the school to pick up Will from his play rehearsals. We went by the Agway in Brattleboro to get chicken feed, corn and hay, then motored into Keene so they could spend Christmas money from Grandpa.

While the boys made jihad upon the Gamestop, I went to a shoe store and got a new pair of shoes for Will. I'll have to take pictures of his old ones; to say they were battered is a bit of an understatement. Full of holes and embarassing is, I think, a far better description. He was mightily annoyed, but I told him when he was old enough to be as poor as his dad, he could wear duct-taped shoes all he wants. I also grabbed some reading material for the early rehab days from the discount shelf:

The United States of Arugula
Five Acres and Independence
The Good Good Pig
Deep Survival

That'll go with my other books on order:

Pastured Poultry Profits
You Can Farm
Gardening When It Counts
Barnyard in Your Backyard
Seed to Seed
In Defense of Food

Should be enough to keep me busy for a week, anyway. I saw a magnetic bike trainer that I just lust after at the sporting goods store, but it was $200, and I'm thinking I've spent just about enough on books. Besides, I'm going to need another brooder if I'm ordering 75 chickens (25 more Aruacanas, and 50 broilers). Believe I'm just going to have to suck it up and spend time on the stationary at the gym.

Woke up at a reasonable hour this morning and sighed. I haven't been able to catch up with my plow guy this week, and I really need the driveway cleared -- big -- before I can get a propane refill. We're using damn little, since we're heating (and drying, and doing a bit of cooking) with the woodstove. Alas, the woodstove ain't that great for hot showers.

I just knew I wouldn't be able to track him down. I called, got his wife. Sigh. Looked like I was going to have to get outside with two boys and shovel another 650 feet, except much wider, for the truck. My left elbow is killing me. Tendonitis is really settling in, since I'm having to become left-handed for the next six months or so. His wife gave me his cell phone. I called, got his voice mail. Damn. I was heading out the door when he called and swore he'd be here on Monday, which resulted in ... the Happy, Happy Border Collie Dance.

The dogs weren't too sure what the hell it was about, but they seemed to enjoy it, anyway.

The lucky break gave me enough courage to do several jobs that I've been putting off for, oh, a few months now. Cleaned out the woodstove really, really good. Vacuumed dog hair off the stairs. Moving up in difficulty, I cleaned three bathrooms and finally shoveled out the chicken coop, which was an extremely vile task. I've just been piling hay layers up in the coop, one on top of the next. I believe I peeled off about five layers this afternoon. Even the fact that it's going to be superb compost (if somewhat nasty to make) didn't take away from the foulness of the job. Had to take a second shower after I was through.

We're in the midst of a thaw. Listened to a VPR podcast while mucking out the coop and got some startling news. Thought about it, and it's not unusual -- just never expected. Every January in Vermont, we thaw for a couple of weeks, according to the good people at the Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium in St. Johnsbury. Anyway, it's supposed to get up to 50 later this week.

Should probably get to sleep. It's late, and I'm going to be up all hours tomorrow night since Lisa's flight gets in late.