Overwhelmed and Tired of it

Does the word 'overwhelmed' also mean 'frakkin' nutcase'? If it doesn't, it has to be closely related.

Previously I reported spending at least one day with pain so severe I was bedridden. Believe me, that never happens. I have too much to do to gimp out so no matter what I feel like, it's outside at daylight for me. I thought my arthritis was getting worse but I was wrong. That day was the beginning of a severe case of shingles. It's been weeks since it began and I am still in the process of healing. The blisters are gone but the areas where the blisters were are still drying and yes, those areas are sore as shit. There are at least two places where it's going to scar. Lucky me I'm too old to care about that stuff anymore. I never thought I would look forward to the day I would be able to wear bloomers again. I'm trying not to set my goals too high.

In the news... All I've heard lately is about a huge egg recall due to salmonella. Yep, he who controls the food controls the masses. It's a sad thing that not only is something as basic as food so expensive but the method in which it is produced these days will kill you. I love the way the factory farms preach how you shouldn't get things like milk, eggs and meat from people like me who do things like they've been done forever. New and improved production methods are safer. Really??? When was the last time you heard of a farmer with e-coli? Salmonella? I'm a walking monument to that stuff! Eggs were never meant to be scrubbed and then covered in wax. They come out of the hen with an airtight protective covering. If you wash that off the inside of the egg is open to contamination. People have become so fucking stupid most of them don't know where eggs come from anyway. Egg producers can't risk people learning eggs shoot right out a chicken's rear and might get a little poo on them in the process. I'm glad I have my own egg producers, poo and all.

I didn't get a calf this year. I hate dealing with the gut bumping bastards but I like having fresh beef in the freezer. In 2012 there will be no steaks for me. The only thing I ever buy at the grocery store is chicken - and kielbasa when I get a craving - and only when that is on sale. I do look at the price of things once in a while. How on earth do people afford to buy meat? I think of young folks with families trying to afford food and for the life of me I don't know how they do it. How are people supposed to eat healthy when the only thing they can afford is the boxed, fortified with lots of chemicals shit? One green pepper is nearly $4. Four damn dollars for a green pepper??? I'm not much for pondering conspiracies but I can't help but wonder what this is a preview of.

I saw another fox the other day. I came out of the house to a rousing chorus of cackles and figured I'd better check it out. When I got near the hay shed a fox ran out and into the woods. Dear Jude went after it but he had to go around the buck lots while the fox was able to run through them. Jude spent some time barking but I don't know if he found where the thing lives or not. There were feathers lying around but the fox left empty handed (empty mouthed?) and I didn't see anyone mortally wounded so I guess I thwarted a fowl crime. I have one duckling left out of a clutch of twelve. I'm pretty sure it's a drake and since my one and only drake is getting old I really need a replacement. Out of thirty plus ducklings this year, this little fella is the only survivor. I have him under Fort Knox security. During the day he's outside in a pen but at night I put him in a cage placed inside the horse trailer. He hates being carried back and forth every day but you know what I tell him? Shut the fuck up.

Sunday has been jumping the fence and helping herself to the feed barrels. If she were a horse I'd panic but mules have enough sense to stop eating before they kill themselves. I came home from the grocery store the other day to find Sunday with her head in the chicken scratch bag. That wouldn't be so incredible except the bag was inside a non-functioning chest freezer. Miss SmartyPants had opened the lid and fixed it so it stayed up while she munched. She had opened six barrels of feed and sampled all of those too from the looks of things. When supper time came I put only a small amount of feed in her bucket but she stayed with the hay. See what I mean? She knew she had eaten enough concentrate feed to do her so she declined her supper. Too smart. I caught her out again the next day so I tied her and cleaned her ears. She hasn't been back out since.

It's almost light enough to see what I'm doing outside so it's time to put my shoes on and head out the door. Aren't you glad Jesus was a carpenter? If he had been a farmer there would be no day of rest.