great ribs

What a week this past week has been. Lots of driving, lots of sitting, lots of talking to many people, lots of spending. I had only one day entirely at home - last Thursday - and like today, that was outdoor work from morning til evening, non-stop. Was that the night I fell asleep at 6:15? Not sure...it really could have been any night this week.

One thing I've been working on: the barn reorganization that will take us through the Winter and well into Spring. It requires emptying the barn completely, which means I can only work on it when the goats can be locked out of the upper paddock. It is more than a one-day project. (I admit I originally thought I could do it in a day, but I was totally, laughably wrong.) So I must make the barn goat-functional at the end of each day, only to dismantle it again at the start of the next work session. It's not a very satisfying way to approach a project: doing and undoing, redoing and undoing.

I have to remind myself - over and over and over - to stay focused on what needs to be done right now, instead of fretting about non-linear progress. It's a sort of meditative practice. With tools.

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Some things I bought this week: 300 pounds of grain. 8 bags of dried apricots, 8 bags of roasted almonds. 50 pounds of nails. A haircut. Flooring designed for use in a garage, to cover the wooden floor in the goatbarn.

It's an expensive experiment, and now that the flooring is finally in place, I'm worried that it may be too slippery to be safe. I am watching carefully, and hoping we all get used to it before anyone sprains an ankle, either through Big Goat fisticuffs, or Little Goat playing around, or Humans being clumsy.

Hey! You kids quit running in the house!

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There's also a brand new little construction project I've been planning for quite a while. Today, I hired someone else - someone with power tools - to do the actual building, while I fetched and carried and did other outdoor tasks within shouting distance.

As a result of this brilliant strategy, that little construction project is nearly finished! Pictures coming soon; I was a bit too tired tonight. In fact, I've already crept into bed, accompanied by two heating pads. But when I heard my whiny brain beginning a list of things that ache ("oh, my back...ow, my knees...oooh, my shoulder...") I decided to focus instead on what doesn't hurt. After a brief inventory, I settled on my ribs. My ribs feel great!

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If it's a nice day tomorrow, I'm going to take a break for a couple of hours, pack a picnic lunch (including a pocketful of bikkies for Piper) and head down to the pond. Piper worked hard supervising today. She deserves some quality relaxation (or racing around) time.

And maybe it's time for out first trip to the apple orchard!

Mmmmm.

Cider.

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