Saturday, October 22, 2011

Still Amongst The Living

 Yes, I am still here.  I haven't been mashed or givin' up and run off to the circus.  Not yet anyway.  I have really wanted to post several things lately, visit your blogs and leave comments but for some reason my crummy Internet out of town has deteriorated even further these past couple of weeks.  Most evenings I can only get on for a few minutes before it throws me off and then it's just sort of hit and miss getting back on.  I did go down to a local Books a Million one night, where I got an excellent and fast connection but, to be honest, I usually just don't have the energy to do that.  I have even given up dinner on a few nights, preferring to just shower and go to bed after a quick snack.
There is enough steel work on this job to keep 2 or 3 welders busy but so far they seem to think I can do it all, so they have been throwing it on me pretty heavy and with no help to boot.  It takes a little ingenuity to hang some steel by yourself but I have managed it with the help of some equipment.  I finally got a small crew to help this past Friday though and we made good progress.  So, I've been a little discouraged and disgruntled also.  Many on the job feel the same way as I do and are reconsidering their choices of employment.  It has just become a lot of bullshit to put it simply.  They want everything fast, cheap and right.  Well, like the old saying goes, you get to pick two of those items, not all three.  Those of us who've been with the company for years want to turn out a good quality product but they make it darn near impossible nowadays.  I do not want to participate in this lifestyle anymore.  I want to get out before my body is completely worn out and I am discarded by the company as I have seen them do so many before me.
 But, I did not mean for his to be a rant, believe it or not.  I have just been so tired lately and down and when I get down I don't know what to post.  This lifestyle is SO not like what I was doing at home and SO not what I want that it has been a bit of a shock to my system basically.  I am managing to still eat good although not my own food for the most part.  There is a wonderful organic grocery store in the town that I go to for many things so that helps some but it's not like being at home.


 So, just a little update on what is going on here.  The chickens are all doing well.  These Barred Rocks and the one little blond one on the far right are the four that we hatched in the incubator back in the early summer.  They are doing great.  The roosters are very handsome.  The one hen (Scooter) is doing well but looks a little funny.  See, way back when they were bitties, one of the older hens got a hold of Scooter's head and just tore that little chick up.  they are mean that way sometimes.  We had them in a separate pen but Scooter must have managed to get her head through the wire right when the big hen walked by.  It was bad but we nursed her back and she is fine now.  Well, for the most part.  She doesn't have feathers on part of her head and sometimes seems a little slower, mentally, than the others but they look out for her.  At least she doesn't run backwards anymore though.  That's why I started calling her Scooter.  It must have messed up something in her wiring because she would just be going along and all of a sudden throw it into reverse and take off!  She doesn't do that anymore though.


 I have managed to get something of a fall garden planted.  I planted a few things on the deck in pots as an experiment.  This is a lettuce mix.  So far so good.


 Fall is definitely here now.  Our normal first frost is around October 26 but it came about a week or so early this year.  We have been keeping a fire going on some nights when it dips into the 30's.  The mums are all blooming so pretty.  These are all plants that I picked up last year or so when Lowe's puts them on clearance towards the end of the season.  I got most of them for a quarter or fifty cents.  Yeah, they look like hell then but the next year they always come out real pretty.

 I have got broccoli, lettuce and cabbage planted in the garden.  That is one last bell pepper plant still hanging on there.  My leeks and Egyptian onions are doing really well and I have been harvesting a few here and there when I'm home.


The broiler chicks are doing well and growing fast but these are no 6-8 week birds.  I guess they'll be ready at about 10-12 weeks.  These are very active and have completely decimated the grass we had planted in their run so we have been letting groups of them out in the chicken tractor to get fresh grass.  We still have a couple with leg problems though.  Although the majority of these are just fine (it seems) I don't think we'll get these again.  And on a very sad note, my little Katsu died.  Katsu was the little exotic chick that came with these in the order.  They just send you one for free.  Katsu was a sweet little chick and would have probably been very pretty.  I nursed her back to health after these hybrids just about stomped her flat once and she rebounded well.  She was fearless and would jump feet first right in the middle of a pack of these even though they outweighed her by a substantial amount.  She got sick with something though, it may have been thrush and couldn't get over it.  I tried to nurse her when I came home but she was too weak and didn't make it and then I had to leave Jack to deal with it and a messy house because I had to go back to work.  I was upset to say the least.  I have already expressed my intention at work to retire after this one.  I will not live this kind of life anymore, finished house or not.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice to read an update, thank you. Man, won't it be nice to just be back home again?! I forget how long you said this job was for, but I hope you can at least see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Anon-R.

Rita said...

Annie, I'd like your opinion. What do you think about this country and the work people have to do. It has not always been this way. People use to respect each other at least to some extent. People seem to have lost their internal compass or something. Fragmented, jobs that ask way more than can be done. The administrators hand out more and more to be done and stand back with folded arms and say you will or your out! I left teaching (love children) because of this. My daughter has struggled with her work for the last 5 years and is ready to leave it. Her job is supposedly easy library bookkeeper. We love people and help when we can but attitudes are awful out there. People are getting poorer and exhausted. On the brighter side I also see some making new choices, to pay off debt, live on much less, try to find church homes and enjoying carry in dinners like they use to do more. I still see people being jealous and cynical of each other often. I am doing without right now because a Dr. diagnosed me incorrectly - won't write letter to insurance company saying that I do not have this illness so my insurance is getting impossible to pay for. Sorry for the length of this. I'd just like you to share your thoughts on things right now. Praying for you. Many are in your place right now and it is so unhealthy. I'll be glad when you are safe at home with those beautiful chickens.

R.Powers said...

Good to hear you are still around, even if it's not where you want to be right now.

I hope you get home soon for good. Looking at your pics, its no mystery why you miss that place.

Be careful and safe.

HermitJim said...

My friend, all I can say is that I don't blame you at all for feeling the way you do!

It's a shame that you have to put up with the B.S., when you have such a beautiful place ...but we all have to do what we all have to do!

Love the pictures of the chicks! Nice looking bunch of critters there!

Tossing Pebbles in the Stream said...

I am glad to find a recent post by you. I was worried you might have had an industrial accident, or been scooped up as an illegal alien :).

Life seems a little stessful for you these days. I hope it smooths out for the better soon.

Caddie said...

How relieved I am to see your newest post.
Sure sounds like a big turnabout on the new job and what you're coping with. Hate to hear that and hope you can manage to hang on for awhile for the money.

"Dem feathery gels are so purdy!"

And those reddish orangey blooms are gorgeous. That pot of lettuce would sure hit the spot for me. I wonder if it is too late for me to plant something? A freeze the last couple of nights...I'm not ready for this! My pot of stevia ruined.

Sure glad to know you are still among us, Rest well as often as you can.

Read about the farming in Alabama: how the American workers hired to replace all the illegals aren't worth a sh-p for that HARD labor and quitting real quick. Made me compare them to you and your get-up-and-go. Spoiled Americans they are. The article spoke of how hard working the Mexicans are versus the locals. Same situation here, I'm sure. I believe there is too much laid-back dependence on the government these days with this type.

Jenn said...

Your mums are beautiful.

Sorry to hear of your chick loss. Hard to lose the little ones - we must have special emotional wiring for them, I think.

Caroline said...

Don't you just love the "bargain bin" plants! They really pay back the kindness of rescue, don't they?
Love the header photo.

You rant away all you want, ranting helps keep us all sane some days, and makes you realize that you are not alone in the world.

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Hey Annie, it was good to see a current post, rant and all. There's a lot of truth in your post, especially about the fast and cheap methods which is very sad because it takes away the pride in doing a good job by folks like yourself. Hope you can hang in there long enough to get the job done without any injury cause you have much to come bck for - house, garden, chicks, and Jack. Sorry to read about Katsu not making it this time.

MamaHen said...

Hey R! It will be VERY nice to be back home again for good! But that is a ways off. I expect my part of this job to last until spring.

Hey Reet! First off, thanks for the prayers. Yeah, I know what you're talking about; I see lots of this in lots of places. Really, this subject is a whole 'nother post! I think a lot of it is basically greed on the part of the owners, CEO's or what have you. We are very familiar with this in the big corporations but it goes on down to the little businesses too. The more work you can get out of fewer employees means more profit for them and they are taking it just as far as they can. The guys I work with are great; so sweet and willing to help each other but our bosses just push and push and push until we are all about ready to blow. When you wear people down physically it starts getting to you mentally too. I'll try to write a post on this because you make a good point and lots of it is stuff I've been thinking a lot about lately.

Hey FC! thanks Bud! I'm holding on okay!

Hey Jim! thanks! well, I'm willing to put up with it for a while now but not for much longer.

Hey Philip! No, no accident thank goodness! It is stressful right now but it has eased a little.

Hey Sissy! yeah, I hear our farmers are having a time finding workers now. It doesn't surprise me any. People are flat lazy these days and think they're too good for such. Pfft!

Hey Jenn! thanks! yeah, even Jack got attached to little Katsu. I hate stuff like that; it still makes me sad.

Hey Caroline! yeah, I hit those plant clearance sales anytime I can! I appreciate ya'lls willingness to listen to my rants!

Hey Bea! thanks! yeah, it's a crappy situation but at least I will be able to do some more projects at the house.