Nic Sold

Sold Nicholas the weck today. Good timing. Saturday after working at the farm in the pouring rain, I discovered that he had destroyed a partition in the goat house during the day, and as exhausted as I was, I had to figure a way to fix it. I want to tear that house down in the near, so I was pretty frustrated having to patch it up in the meantime.

Yesterday a very good friend showed up on the verge of tears over financial difficulties beyond his control. He has helped me out many times so I gave him a bit of cash and bags of pet food (I keep that stuff stocked up since the big bags are a much better buy) and some food out of the cupboards to see him through to his next paycheck. To me it is a testament to the sour state of the economy, as this friend has always had enough for himself and family and been there several times when I got in a pinch with emergency pet surgeries.

Three of the four of the last shifts I have worked at the farm have been in downpours. Today we had several inches of rain along with gale force winds; then the sun broke out this afternoon and the temps at two banks on the coast read 68 and 61 degrees F. I am letting the fire die out in the woodstove and have a window wide open upstairs. Phew!

Anyhow, I was soooo soaked through today-jeans, long johns, yes, even my socks shirts and underwear-even though I was wearing mudboots and raincoat. The trouble with all the rain, not just with getting wet, is I work short shifts-just doing the basics of hay and grain and extra bedding-so it hurts the paycheck. I was actually much relieved to sell Nic for the amount I gave my friend yesterday, since I wasn't counting on the money from Nic I broke even in the end. Plus I'll save a bit on hay and grain in the meantime-and will feel safer with the saplings in the goat pens since Nic was too aggressive and used to even shove me around.

I do feel badly for him-he was definitely the lord of our little herd-so I wish him well in his new home.