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Over and Done With

Today is technically the last day of the holiday season for most of us, kids are returning to school tomorrow for the full week and the weather will be getting worse with each coming day. I managed to take a few hours yesterday afternoon and take the Christmas tree down and the few holiday decorations that were put out this year with the help of friends and family. They were not any fun putting up and certainly no fun in taking them down, I’m glad that I got through the holidays and that it is over and done with once and for all, at least until next year.

I am hoping that this year will be better than the last and I look forward to a year of hard work on the farm and hopefully a profit will be made due to my efforts.

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The deforestation of the Amazon jungles in the name of the environment

I was reading the Internet version of the April 7 2008 issue of Time Magazine, the article titled “The Clean Energy Myth” about how the big rush to grow corn to use for biofuel is actually worsening the global warming problem and raising the cost of food. Apparently the demand for corn for producing biofuel is so high that the farmers are selling their corn to the companies that will be turning it into fuel instead of selling it to the companies that will be using it to make food. So much of the world depends on corn as a staple; this is causing hardships for them. And the profit for growing corn for fuel is so high that the Amazon jungle, which has already been in jeopardy from deforestation for years now, is being destroyed even faster than ever so that it can be used to grow corn.
I think that this is a shame on so many levels. There are other, better and cheaper plants that could be used for creating fuel than corn. So many farmers are paid subsidies to NOT grow crops, I think that those subsidies should be stopped so that the farmers will actually farm their land, or lease it to someone who will farm it. The Amazon forest needs to be protected, I don’t understand how the ownership of that works, who actually owns that property and why is he/she allowing it to be destroyed? Can’t the government of the country it is in buy it with some kind of eminent domain power and protect it from destruction?

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Dilemma solved

Yesterday my cousin Chrissy dropped in, her kids Amanda and Heather in tow.  She stopped in to invite me to her place for Christmas dinner, and noticed that the tree was still sitting there, naked as a jay bird.  So she and her kids took off their coats, placed a request for some hot chocolate and Christmas music, and we rolled up our sleeves and decorated the tree together.  That was really nice of them to do that with me.  I had a good time; it was good to have some family time putting up the tree.  Thanks Chrissy, Amanda and Heather!  You did a great job!

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Good turnout

The local fire & rescue department held a fund-raising pancake breakfast with Santa Claus this morning down at the community center.  They asked me to help out, so I went down there and helped serve the pancakes and sausage.  It was a nice time, seeing a lot of neighbors that I haven’t seen since my parent’s funeral.  I got a lot of invitations to come drop by and see them during the holidays.  Of course I said I’d try to work it into my schedule.  It was fun seeing how excited all of the children got when Santa arrived to hand out a few gifts that parents had brought in ahead of time.  Of course Santa arrived (and left) on a fire truck, sirens blaring!  I’m thinking about learning to drive an ambulance and volunteer to be a driver for them since I live so close by to the station.  I’ll have to make a point to talk to them about it more when we’re not busy serving up breakfast!

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Little by little

Well I did find the perfect little tree to cut down last weekend.  I decided on a three foot tree to put on a small table in front of the parlor window so that people can see it when they drive up the driveway at night.  I don’t want a larger one because I don’t think I’ll have a lot of time to decorate it.  After cutting the tree I brought it up to the house and let it rest for a few days before bringing it into the house.  I couldn’t find the tree lights that we used last year, so I had to go to the store and buy some new.  That was annoying, I KNOW I had hundreds and hundreds of them, but I can’t find them anywhere!  Anyway, I strung the lights on the tree last night, I hope to get the decorating finished by the end of this weekend.

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Gas prices are coming down

I am sure glad that the price of gasoline is coming down, but I sure wish that the price of diesel would come down more!  I use diesel in most of my farm equipment, and the price just doesn’t seem to be dropping very much, or very fast!  I seem to remember a time when diesel fuel was cheaper than gasoline, and I don’t know what caused it to increase the way it has.  This makes it very difficult for all of the farmers and the long-haul truckers and their companies to make a profit too! 

People are not going to be very understanding about how their food prices are going to keep going up when the price of gasoline is going down – they don’t realize that diesel fuel prices are still “up there” and that the cost of transporting their food is going to increase the price they pay for it.  Come to think of it, maybe this will be a good thing for farmer’s markets – maybe this will make their prices more competitive with the foods in the stores that were hauled in from hundreds of miles away!

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Japan announces it is in a recession

I’ve heard that Japan has announced that it is in a recession.  I think that the USA is in one too, and I don’t understand why the “officials” have not admitted to that.  Our economy is really horrible and has been for a very long time!  Almost every time I meet folks out on the errands that I have to run I hear that someone else that I know has been laid off, or that someone has had to close down their business because the customers just aren’t coming around anymore, or someone else has lost their house to foreclosure.  It really is a very difficult time for almost everyone that I know.  I think that the community is going to have to open up some more soup kitchens and homeless shelters pretty quickly!

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A heartfelt thank you to our Veterans

Every generation of my family has had its menfolk serve in the military up until this generation.  We have a long history of military service, and our family has seen a lot of wars.  I want to extend my heartfelt love to all of the menfolk in my family that have served in the military, and extend my sincere gratitude to all military families everywhere for the sacrifices they all make in service of our country.  I pray that the service people overseas will return home safe and sound and soon.

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Elections are over

Thank goodness the elections are over!  The phone has quieted down, the robocalls have stopped – THANK GOODNESS INDEED!  I was getting awfully tired of answering the phone about six times every night, just to be greeted by a pre-recorded political message.  I’d simply hang up on them, but it was a huge annoyance just the same.  I keep a phone by the bed in case there is an emergency and someone needs to reach me, but I do go to bed early (after all, I AM a farmer!) and I was being awakened every night for weeks with those stupid robocalls!  It has been nice the past couple of nights to be able to SLEEP!

As for the aftermath of the election, so far I have to say that I’m pleasantly surprised that the celebrations have been so very peaceful.  I was thinking that the celebrations would be similar to the celebrations that happen after sporting events where the masses of people start to get a little carried away in their enthusiasm and end up damaging property.  I’m glad to say that around here it seems that has not been the case.

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I hope you voted!

I voted today.  I had a hard time finding a parking spot, the parking lot was full so I had to park about a 1/4 mile away down the street and walk the rest of the way in.  It surprised me to see so many people considering the time of day I went in – around 11am.   I had to stand in line for about an hour, which is a lot less time than I expected to stand in line.

I think the line would have moved a lot quicker if the election officials running the check-in books hadn’t spent so much time socializing with the folks coming in to vote.  I found it very aggravating to be hearing the all going on and on about “how’s your Aunt Sue?” and “Whatever happened to ol’ what’s his name.”  I wanted to get nasty and scream “This ain’t no ice cream social, ladies, get a move on!”  Maybe when I’m old and gray I’ll get up the nerve to do just that!