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Monday, November 23, 2009

Why Winters at the Farm drive me insane

Saturday I worked in the shop. We share a shop with my uncle. This has always given rise to tensions as it always seems as though I do something wrong and then I don't react very well to the criticism. We had another one of those little incidents today.
I was sort of proud of myself. I only made a brief sarcastic comment and then remembered that it is not polite to swear at the older folks and it was not that important an issue anyway. My problem is that I am easy going to a point. When the point is reached then I can't seem to go back to reset mode. Then every time the person says something to piss me off I'm right back to the serious anger management mode. I work on it, now that I've figured out I have a problem.
So the issue was floor dry.
I was changing the oil in my pickup and I got distracted and wandered off. Somehow the drain pan tipped over and four quarts of oil went all over the shop floor. I hunted all over and could not find any floor dry or sawdust. So I went out to the barn and got some of the floor dry that I use to clean out my drill or to mix with seed or slugbait to let me plant at a lower seed rate than the drill is metered for.
I really didn't want to give up the floor dry and I knew my Uncle would not like the floor dry but oil was spreading across the floor.
My uncle likes to use sawdust to clean up oil spills. He has been getting it from the basement of the old farmhouse where Bro and Dad live now, for the past 50 years. I really don't care all that much but I don't like to go into the basement of someone else's home and get sawdust. Plus, sawdust is messy and it is usually wet.  It also does not absorb near as well as floor dry.
The uncle is kind of obsessed with sawdust. He likes to burn it in the stove when it has absorbed all the oil and he has this think about the little white flakes of floor dry getting all over in the shop. He also "doesn't like the way it crunches" under his shoes.
I kind of think this is stupid. You can burn the oil out of the floor dry if you want. You have to sweep the shop floor anyway, it works way better, and really-WHO GIVES A RATS BOTTOM what you use. It is kind of like people who are proud of being dirty and stupid.
I also realize that the whole arguement is pointless and I feel silly for getting annoyed.
And...I know the real reason I was getting a lecture. It is called "transference."
The real reasons I was in trouble:
1. His Case crawler broke a crank
2. His pot head grandson just called and said he was not working today
3. His one remaining employee is on a mission trip to Mexico
4. His son now works for the railroad and doesn't want to work on the bulldozer
5. I've been talking about buying a truck
6. I've been getting checks in the mail and I told everyone the story about the $5000 check.
So, now the floor dry bugs him.
I think I handled it well. I'm going to go sweep the shop floor while everyone is at lunch. The last time I got a lecture about something like this it didn't go so well. Perhaps I have matured.
Have a happy Day!

Edit: It is now an hour later and I went out and swept the shop floor. My uncle wanted me to make sure I got every little bit of floor dry. Then my dad called and said I need to come in the office before I leave. 20 years of weirdness kind of wears me down. Oh, now the phone is ringing again. Dad again. I should not have thrown my phone across the room. Now what good has that done. It did stop ringing but it is my phone. I don't feel better.
I can hear a pickup outside the window. We have been selling hay to a lady that rescues horse. We give them a good deal. I don't really care about her problems. She just loves horses. I don't care. I don't want to climb up on that stack and throw down a bale of hay for her. I want to be miles and miles away.
I seem to have broken the ringer on the phone. However it does keep beeping. Sounds like I have about five messages.
I really hate winter on the farm.
I want to go plant.

3 comments:

  1. Nice post...I don't like winters on my farm because it means I have to break the ice in the water tanks and walk out the water hoses afterwards. Everything is freezing cold and I don't like it. I love the cool fall and spring but once there's snow and ice I'd much rather be indoors...unless we get enough snow to attach the sled to the 4-wheeler. Talk about having fun :)

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  2. Two farmers sharing a shop is like two women trying to share a kitchen...

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  3. Bethany,
    Sadie and I want to go sledding. We live in the wrong part of the country. I never minded breaking the ice for the cows-but I only had to do it for a couple weeks out of the year!
    It being cooped up and doing all sorts of annoying little chores that drives me batty!

    Collieguy,
    The old guys just have to set up young pups straight once in a while. I knew I was in for something when I started getting no-till checks in mail.
    I wanted to tell him that in the old days we wiped our bottoms with corn cobs but since they were getting hard to find we had to adapt. But I said nothing...
    I have never noticed how uncomfortable floor dry was under my feet, but then I've never had a pea under my mattress either. So what.. I'm not a #$%^&*ing princess...
    Uncle needs to borrow some medical m from the grandson. Or perhaps I do....

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