At Least I Had a Good Weekend

I am giving this weekend a B...for me. I got my package mailed out for my paying job, I got 12 trays of seeds in the greenhouse (fingers crossed), the semi-permanent brooder is up and ready, the kids' school supplies and a good start of clothes is bought and paid for, the animal food is in the containers (I will explain in a second), the fire ants have somewhat abated from the kitchen, Penny and Cherry free-ranged a bit, and my office is finally painted, partially cleared out and ready for organization. I am content with what we got done.

Bruce and the kids, on the other hand, probably graded a bit lower. Jake got several ant bites and cuts. Sarah got a lot of ant bites on her feet, and every time I turned around she had hiccups. And then there is Bruce...poor, poor Bruce. Right now he is lying on the couch in a Benadryl/Ibuprofen coma. He got stung in the eyelid while feeding the bees. No, he didn't wear any veil and had on a sweaty black T-shirt. He looks like he was in a boxing match with a gorilla. He also has ant bites up to his knees. And last, but not least, he stepped on a stick that went through his shoe and stuck into his foot. Very rough day, indeed. Bless their hearts.

Okay, I am trying a new animal food system so I am not taken unawares when the kids say they have been out of food since last night. I have started using, and will be buying more, those 18-gallon totes you can get for $4 at the dollar store. I lined them with trashbags and dumped a bag of food in it. My goal is to have two totes per animal feed/type (two goat chow, two sweet feed, two chick starter, etc.) stacked on each other. When the top one is full the last person to feed the animal is to bring the empty container to the porch so I know what we need when I make a trip to the feed store. Theoretically it will work; however, I know the day will come when the new container is not rotated or left somewhere between the feed shed and the porch, but hopefully those moments will be few and far between. I also think this will keep the food fresher and not waste as much. But, time will tell.