Thursday........

This is what I call a natural SMILE!!!! Kim sent this to me today and I had to share.....:)))

Another weaning day has come and gone without a lot of problems, give or take a few gals with a stubborn streak who didn't want to associate with the group, and we even got outta the barn on time. Four more weanings to go before we start on a new journey which in theory at least will take us towards some bigger healthier piglets, did that sound like a Star Trek thingy "to oink where no piglet has oinked before," "to wean like we have never weaned before" well that much is true. We will start our new batch system (that is all in a big bunch to you city folk) May 6Th and are looking forward to some pretty dramatic changes both in tasks and pig performance.

Given the number of pigs and sows we are going to have to deal with we have been looking at some new possibilities in speeding up the moving process. No, not make the pigs move faster I mean like roller blades, skate boards, electric carts, and my personal favorite small 4-wheelers with carts behind. We have even looked at the grain vacuum but pig damage might be a little over the limit (which is none) so that one is out. I am sure we will come up with something innovative when it is time (we are really good at that).

I will leave now before I start getting silly or just rambling on about nothing and heaven knows I wouldn't want to bore everyone with mindless dribble, or is it drivell or maybe druell I can never remember although I can't say that I ever did know but If I were to know I bet it would be dribble cause I do that sometimes when I am drinking and I get it on my shirt or what I am reading which I really hate but what is worse is when it gets on your shirt and the shirt is white and your dribble is red or brown but wouldn't that be called druell or just at what stage does dribble turn into druell or are they the same thing or is dribble when it comes out fast and druell when it is really slooooow and this brings up another question, just what is drivell or is that just something I made up, I think not, but it could happen but in any case I am sure I have never drivelled, someone would have told me.

It is as quiet as a mouse outside, rain is on the horizon, everyone is home and tucked in for the night and all is well on the farm once again......:))

Changes..........

Changes are a big part of our lives and like them or not they will happen and you WILL have to deal with them, but it is how you deal with them that matters most.




For those of you that don't know, this is Terry, a long time Manager here at the farm. We won't go into the apron he is holding or why, or what else was cropped out of the photo. Sadly, the 26Th of March is Terry's last day at the farm and I for one am going to miss him. Terry is going off to be a mechanic for some race car driver, something he really wants to do and all here wish him nothing but the best (sending pit passes back to us couldn't hurt either) and a fond farewell...:)
So, when you see Terry next week be sure and say your good-byes and give him a big hug, a hardy handshake, and what the heck, a great big kiss, tongue no tongue your choice but be sure and wish him the best and let him know we will miss him and his family, God's speed Terry....:)))

Things are growin........

See what I found today! So, do you know what that means??? Yep, tulips are coming up! I spent most of the afternoon with the lawn roller trying to smash down the mole hills left by the mutant ninja mole that invaded our yard last fall.

I am not kidding, it looked like a scene from Bill Murray's Caddy Shack you know the one with the gopher that invaded the golf course.....if I had been in possession of some C-4 I would have used it!!!

It's been a pretty quiet week work and weather wise. Nothing too exciting or mind bending oh well, maybe a little fun with Matt (the new guy) since today was his birthday HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATT... and we kept him up half the night watching for us to pull a prank on him so he was a little tired, to say the least, and a little jumpy to boot!! Ronda did have to come over and fix our copy machine....hey, she should have known better than to send us a machine with no hand book and think we wouldn't push all the little buttons to see what they did or didn't do so it's not our fault the pages all came out solid black or covered in spots......well, maybe a little bit our fault, but we did pull the plug when it started to smoke......:)

Well, I will take my leave of.......something.......and go find a pain pill and the TV and call it a night like everyone else has or at least it appears that way. But for now all are home and tucked in for the day and all is well on the farm once again.....:)

Laaaaaaaazy Day.....

What a lazy day, or maybe it is just me. I've been fighting the side effects of antibiotics of which have not cured my problem but instead made me develop a whole new set of problems and given the new set, I wish I had left the medicine alone. Sometimes technology sucks, anyway I dug out this list this morning and decided to post them, again so to speak, they are "Kims Top Ten" as I like to call them or tips if you will from one of our previous round tables and I liked them very much as they are good advice........

Before you say anything to anyone, ask 3 things: Is this True? Is It Kind? Is it Necessary?
Make promises sparingly and keep them faithfully.
Never miss the opportunity to complement or say something encouraging to someone.
Refuse to talk negatively about others; don’t gossip and don’t listen to gossip.
Have a forgiving view of people. Believe that most people are doing the best they can.
Keep an open mind; discuss, don’t argue.
Forget about counting to 10. Count to 1,000 before doing or saying anything that could make matters worse.
Let your virtues speak for themselves.
Cultivate your sense of humor; laughter is the shortest distance between two people.
Do not seek so much to be consoled, as to console; do not seek so much to be understood, as to understand; do not seek so much to be loved, as to Love.

Remember to set your clocks up an hour on Sunday, I'm just not sure which Sunday or which hour but I am leaning towards lunch time.......:)

Gettinnewstuff........

It was a beautiful sunny 40 degree day and a perfect time for Jerry to unload the new semi scales and set them on the concrete...but wait, the concrete isn't there yet....ooops, Jerry said Kim had been on him about that but he was just a little behind....(I'll let that go, you fill it in)....

Don and I tried to tell him they should go end to end but you see how that went....see what happens when Randy is not here........:)

Weather........

Indiana weather, a little extreme, but sometimes gives us a very nice picture. Last week a minor snow storm, 8-10 inches, Saturday morning, -5, when I got up today it was almost 40, and the weatherman is saying we could have a round of thunderstorms by the weekend after another round of snow in the eastern part of the state Tuesday and Wednesday, go figure.....

Enjoy the warmth ...........:)

Good Deed Dooer....

I know what you are thinking but your wrong.....I think....but under that retro outrageously stylish hat and under that, lord only knows what it's for, pie pan lies a heart of gold, or maybe silver given the outfit, and today he let it show......Randy got up before daylight and got the lane and roads, yep roads, all the way to town plowed of snow so all those coming to work who didn't have 4-wheel drives, and all those whom it wouldn't matter what they drove couldn't navigate the snow (Lori) could get here without getting stuck or getting an aneurysm from gripping the steering wheel to hard (Ronda) so everyone at work thanks you Randy and I think you may have set the trend in farming attire..........:)

OFFICIAL DISCLAIMER:

Staples does hearby deny any knowledge of or any part hearwith in the taking of this photo but does claim that no office supply products were injured or damaged in the making of Randy's outfit!!!

Yep, the frikkin spell checker was off......I'm done...

BREAKING NEWS.......

We all got a bit of a suprise this morning from Lori, and I am going to let you figure it out using the attached photo. July (4-H fair time) is the date she hit, I mean gave us so we will all be looking forward to that.......
So when you see her, give her a big hug and a hardy "well done" cause she is 2 for 2 in the conception category.....by the way, the vet paid us a visit today and got us on the right track again and honestly it had nothing to do with Lori and her, well, you know, he was just here for the 4 legged animals.......:)

I told you it was time......

Yes we got some decorating done in between episodes of "as the snot drips or will the head just exlplode"and we have yet to shake whatever this is. But at least we are not alone, for all we meet have the same issues, it is just the weather I think, oh, I have to go, I think I just hocked up a lung...:(

At the time of this post it is snowing and that will just serve to accent the decorations. I don't think we are to get much though, maybe next time......:)

Christmas Times A Commin......

This is my new Christmas Pig and I just can't seem to get myself (me) to put him outside cause he's so darn cute and I have never seen one like him before.......so for the time being, he is resting under the Christmas tree.......

I found this article and thought I would share.....

Having A Bad Boss Is Bad for The Heart.......

(WebMD) People who consider their bosses to be unfair, arbitrary, inconsiderate, and generally deficient in managerial skills are at greater risk for having a heart disease event such as a heart attack , a new Swedish study shows. And stress that workers think is caused by bad managers adds up, increasing risk of heart problems over time, the researchers report in the Nov. 24 issue of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Swedish scientists tracked the heart health of more than 3,000 male workers between 1992 and 1995. Their occupational health records then were matched with national registry data on hospital admissions and death from ischemic heart disease up to 2003. During the monitoring period of almost a decade, 74 cases of fatal and non-fatal heart disease events such as heart attack, unstable angina , or cardiac arrest occurred. The more competent that workers ranked their managers, the lower their risk of serious heart problems. The association between perceived leadership of managers and the risk of serious heart problems among workers increased the longer an employee worked for the same company, the study showed, suggesting that stress caused by bad bosses may increase over time. The researchers suggest that companies take steps to improve managers' deficient skills, as rated by their subordinates, to ward off serious heart disease of workers. "One could speculate that a present and active manager, providing structure, information, and support, counteracts destructive processes in work groups, thereby promoting regenerative rather than stress-related physiological processes in employees," writes Anna Nyberg of the Karolinska Institute and the Stress Research Institute at Stockholm University. Rating the Bosses Participants used a rating system for their senior managers, grading them on such things as how good they were at communicating and offering feedback, their success at managing change, their ability to set goals, and how much they delegated. Higher leadership scores were found to be associated with lower risk for heart disease, and the association was "robust to adjustments for education, social class, income, supervisory status, perceived physical load at work, smoking, physical exercise, [body mass index ], lipids, fibrinogen, and diabetes." In short, the study shows that bad bosses can be hazardous to the health, and even to long life, of the people who work for them. In another recent study, the researchers say, employees who were exposed to what they perceive as an adverse psychological work environment were found to be at a 50% excess risk of cardiovascular disease. The results from that study, the researchers write, "have considerable clinical implications, especially since psychosocial stressors at work are relatively common." The researchers say evidence is mounting that the perceived quality of managerial behavior affects worker health. Workers are concerned about "considerate behavior" of bosses, how well managers are able to stimulate employees intellectually, and their ability to communicate with those who work under their supervision. Questions used to rate bosses included such statements as "I am criticized by my boss if I have done something that is not good" and others about how well managers communicate their expectations. What was clear was that workers who felt their bosses had trouble communicating information -- not just negative thoughts -- were at increased risk of developing heart problems. Training of managers about how to do their jobs better might be a good start, the researchers suggest.

A very interesting article to say the least, and what it means as far as we all here at the farm are concerned is it sounds like we are all going to stay healthy and happy, and possibly live forever.....do you suppose there are Walmarts in Sweden......

Christmas is coming, Santa is watching, (I just hope he doesn't watch me when I am sleeping cause I know I drool), so you better be good........and the forecast is for snow on Sunday....HoHoHo!