Well, I'm home again from my jaunt to Merry Olde England. It was a lovely holiday and visit with my aunt Helen who has lived there since the '50's. Sandy and I had two weeks to soak up some history, take in the beauty of gardens and trees in blossom everywhere, and linger over good food and glasses of wine with Helen's friend Ron, and her in-laws, Richard and Sarah. In retrospect it was a very pampered two weeks - especially when I think of all the work there was to do when I returned to the real world!
The trip over didn't seem like such a marathon ( I guess I was probably pretty fresh and rested) but the return trip seemed to take forever. No matter how good a time you are having on a trip like that, there comes a time when you subconsciously turn a corner in your mind. For months you've anticipated the trip, and then you have actually experienced the travel and adventure, but, with a few days left to go, all of a sudden you find yourself focussing on going back home. At least I do. Whoever said "the best part of going away is coming back home" was absolutely correct. Mind you, if you never travelled, you would never know this.
Glen was gone to an auction sale when I arrived back at the farm so I had the place all to myself for a while. He's not the overly romantic type, but there was a big basket of flowers waiting for me with a card that said "There are too many chairs at the table, the house is too empty, the bed is too big." I was away for two weeks six years ago but he still had Mitchell and Jesse at home at the time - this time I think he really missed me. Maybe next time he'll come with me. Mind you, I have no desire to leave home again for a while so the old home-body is safe for the time being.
The rest of my week has been very busy. I unpacked and did laundry for what seemed like forever and tried to get my days and nights straightened out again. Wednesday night I finally slept all the way through - instead of waking up when the sun is rising on the British Iles. I had taken Monday off to try to make this adjustment and then Tuesday and Wednesday I was off to a two day meeting for Canada Post in Estevan - about 100 miles away. I'm pretty sure I looked like a space cadet for most of the first day, but slowly my brain kicked back into gear. Finally, on Thursday and Friday I went back to real work. Next week should be pretty darned close to normal.
Glen is working on his airseeder. We traded our 4 wheel drive tractor last year; there was just no way we needed that kind of horse power, so we now have something more suitable for the baler and our smaller pull-type combine, but the seeder had to be cut down to less feet of cultivator. It was a simple enough operation to take the wings off, but he's busy now getting the calibrations right for the new width. As we plan to only plant around 200 acres this spring there is no panic to get crop in. Most of the neighbours have reached their half-way mark.
Glen has put the main herd out on the land for now. One field had a lot of volunteer rye grass come up this spring so it only made sense for the cows to enjoy the green grass while he worked on the seeder. He kept in the heifers and a few other cows he was worried about but the rest are enjoying the change in their diet. He checks them every night to make sure everything is going okay. There are a lot of coyotes out there so he's been keeping a watch for them getting too as well. They wouldn't go after an adult animal, but those newborn calves are another story.
I've just spent the better part of two days mowing the lawn. When the job is done it looks lovely out there, but I wonder if we really need that much yard anymore? It's not like I have a couple of kids around the place to draft into the job like I used to. Glen threatens to make half of it (or more) into a calf pasture - I suppose it may have to come to that someday.
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