The majority of the men folk left this morning for the Reality
Check Conference in Chattanooga, TN. Some friends went with
them and they all met here at 6:00 am for a breakfast send off.

I made them bacon, sausage, biscuits, scrambled eggs, and
gravy.

But while they're gone I get to take over the outside chores.
That is always fun, or funny, depending on your point of view.
First, I get to load the wood box. That's not so bad. In fact,
I often do it just for the exercise, but over the last few weeks
the boys have been doing it for me.

More fun by far is feeding and watering the cows. The mamas and
the goats are not too hard. I just have to open the gate to give
them access to the hay, and then after about 40 minutes I have
to shove them back through the gate and into their own section of
the field. A can of feed will help me to shove them through.
Kent reminded me that our hay has to last a long time and if I
leave the cows, by accident, with hay access all day IT WILL NOT
BE A GOOD THING.

But, the most fun of all is taking care of the bull. He is not
really mean, but he is big and he wants to get right up in one's
face. So his hay I just drop over the fence, and then at some
point when he is way off and his attention is elsewhere, I am
to climb the fence, pour out a can of feed, bang the post so he
knows it's there and then slosh through the mud as fast as
possible and get over the fence before he arrives.

I'd show pictures, but the guys took the camera with them to
the conference. However I do have a picture that will work,
now that I think about it. You can find it here.