Uniform Struggles

Colonel's Blog, Earthdate 3 April 2023...

Hey Y'all!

Good morning and happy Monday!! I hope your weekend was restful and enjoyable. The temps were in the 50s this morning and forecast to be near 80 degrees today! It looks like storms will pass through tomorrow and then cool off for a couple of nights, then stay warm. Our biggest excitement with the warmer weather is the grass starting to grow. We love watching the animals get fresh grass every day and can't wait until we begin moving them. The majority of the animals are doing very well today. We have 3 beef chicks in a hospital brooder, but for a different reason this time. There are 3 with prolapsed vents. Not sure why but think it is related to the vitamin deficiency issues. Chickens do all of their business through a single hole referred to as a vent. To excrete waste, the liquid and solid comes out the vent. To lay an egg, a different tube delivers the egg to and through the same vent. To reproduce, the rooster hops on top and aligns his vent with the hen's vent and he deposits semen--same vent. When the muscles that control the opening and closing of the vent become weak or stretched out, they lose control and the inside portion pokes outside. It doesn't look comfortable but the biggest issue is that the other birds notice something different and begin pecking at it. That can cause it to bleed, which encourages more pecking. If this continues, the healthy birds can become trained that pecking the vent area leads to a tasty treat and over a few days can become cannibalistic and devastate the entire flock. All that to say, we moved them out of the main brooder. A bit of constant pressure with a damp cloth pushes the insides back where they belong but we are going to give them a bit of time away to make sure they stay where they belong. The other animals are doing really well. The little bull calf that we were so concerned with is still doing great and is growing like crazy. We wired and installed barn lights yesterday without incident. The most exciting part was me standing in the bucket of the tractor, lifted to its vertical max, reaching overhead to run the wire and install the sockets in the 16' section. As darkness set in last night, I was excited to see the barn illuminated by 6 sets of quad LED lights--33,000 lumens turning darkness into daylight! Today we are going to put up a net around the back porch for the inside dogs to have an area to enjoy this awesome weather. We're also going to seed and spread straw over the bank and swale behind the house.

The pics today are of me and Shelley using my flight suits as coveralls. I'm sure this may sound ridiculous to most, but I have a mental struggle putting it on as coveralls to keep my clothes clean. It works perfectly--light, comfortable, lots of pockets, zippers to allow boots, etc. It's not the function that causes my struggle. My great friend (Brig Gen Richard Dickens) and I started flight training together and we both remember well the day we were first issued our flight suits. We spent the first six weeks of flight training in our ‘Blues,’ and were so excited to get our flying uniform. After the obligatory pictures in front of the mirror, we meticulously removed any unsightly strings left over from the lowest bidder that sewed the uniform. We washed them, careful not to use fabric softener so as to not reduce its flame retardant properties and air dried them, quick to remove and hang them so as to not wrinkle the fabric. That level of meticulous care for my flight suits never changed. It was a uniform, yes, but also a symbol of what I did and an important member of my personal team. It kept me safe from flames. It held my wallet, hat, and pens. The patches on the chest and shoulders identified me by name/callsign, Major Command, Wing, and Squadron. The rank on the top of my shoulders were an immediate indicator of seniority, or lack thereof. For almost 25 years, that flight suit was my daily uniform. I have no fantasies of being recalled to ‘fight the big one’ so I better keep them in serviceable condition. It just feels weird to don the flight suit to keep the cow poop off of my pants and shirt. Shelley says I must tell you that I kept every flight suit I was ever issued so I could mow the yard and sail in them--but now that the time is here, it just isn't as easy as that. I’m sure I’ll quickly get over it and any hesitations will be lost in the past, but for now the Uniform Struggles are real.

Local Farm Report for 2 April 2023:

Harvest:

26 Chicken eggs

17 Duck eggs

2 Goose eggs

5 1/2 Gallons of milk

Sales:

22 Pounds of on-sale pork

10 Packs of pork chops

4 Pounds of bacon

3 Pounds medium sausage

2 Packs of smoked hocks

1 Pack of bacon ends and pieces

3 Gallons of milk

Cheers!

Psycho & Shelley