The Final Count(down)

When starting this post I realized that the "final count(down)" could mean one of several things:  the end of the world as we know it if you're from Harold Camping's camp, the end of the Space Shuttle era if you're a NASA junkie, or the end of the school year if you're a student (or teacher).

Last night, my darling husband and I did a final count of the animals we have on the farm.  With the arrival of four Berkshire/Duroc piglets yesterday, we are in full operational mode for the next six months (well, minus some broilers we'll be dispatching).  The final count:

26 Cornish cross broilers
10 hens (and 1 rooster)
10 Dorset cross sheep
9 turkeys
4 piglets
3 cats
2 dogs
1 horse

Total count:  66 animals, of which 43 will only be here until October (sorry to be so morbid, but that's the reality of it). 

Our trip down to the Southern Tier of New York in a borrowed 1980-something vintage Dodge pick up to retrieve the piglets was relatively uneventful.  We found some old karaoke tapes (one of our friends holds regular karoke evenings in the church basement) in the cab of the truck, and shamelessly played them...with the windows down.  After all, it wasn't our voices on the tapes.  Bud got a kick out of listening to "Sweet Caroline" and a very off-key "Achy-Breaky Heart".  There's only so much one can do to keep a 9 year old entertained on a four hour journey.

We took the truck out again today to help a dear friend move some belongings.  Three trips to the storage unit was all that was required and we just barely dodged the requisite afternoon rainstorm (which was a good thing considering the last load had boxes of cameras and canvases in it).  Bud was very proud of the fact that he snagged a 1980-something era mortar board, a very cheesy pair of sunglasses and a garden owl (thanks Doug!).

And since it's not often that we have the use of a pick-up truck, my darling husband will be taking our snowblower in for a tune up--better do it now as it will be snowing before you know it (or at least before we would normally have the snowblower in working order) as well as the weed-whacker (which we definitely do need as the grass is enjoying all of the rain we've been getting).

I could probably think of a hundred more uses for the truck before we have to return it tomorrow afternoon, but I'm tired and tomorrow I will be camping overnight with my students, so sleep is definitely a requirement!