Weather, Brewer Game - oh my!

Hi,

I hope everything is going well there.

Weather – definitely cooler now. I’m thinking of getting ready for winter more seriously now. The vegetables are decidedly slower in producing. I doubt some of them will do anything more this fall. I’ll have to prepare the containers for next spring and get them in storage soon. I’ve also got to take out my window air conditioner (I’ve been delaying that – it hardly got used at all this past summer). Then there’s the window plastic to do and sealing some of the openings. Lots to do and think about…I dread the thought of winter – the cold, the snow, the ice, and the wind…

Work – well that’s been a challenge. This week is the World Dairy Expo. I’ll be working at it on Wednesday so that will take me out of the office for an entire day. I have lots of appointments and things that need attention too. It’ll be interesting.

Brewers Baseball Game – yesterday my son, daughter, and I went to a Brewers game. It was really interesting. I’m not a big sports fan (though I know the basics on this one!) but I still enjoyed spending time with them, seeing the stadium, watching the game, and just having fun. We decided to “tailgate”. Although traditional tailgating involves grilling out, we stopped at a restaurant and picked up some carry outs which were very nice. It was really interesting. As we waited for the food, we found out the restaurant has quite a history. Bill and Hillary Clinton, German Chancellor Kohl, and quite a few other historical figures had stopped to eat there. Looks like an equal mix of Republicans and Democrats. There are also some signed photos of popular chefs (like those on TV and others) on the walls. The place is actually an old fashion diner which struggles with a lack of parking areas and looks like it survived on sheer will. The food was quite nice and we had a nice time with our impromptu tailgating. So, we had lunch at about 11:30, and the game started at 3 (it was delayed and we didn’t know it until then – something about wanting to televise it).

After the game (which the Brewers lost to the Cubs), we walked down to Marquette University. There we stopped and had some dinner at a small, local pizzeria on the campus (a priest at MU had recommended it and it’s only open nights). The pizza was very nice. After that it was time to go home. It was a very late night.

Best wishes and take care!

I hope everything is well there.

We’ve had some beautiful fall weather here the last few days. Some of the trees are starting to turn (which seems early but maybe I have a short memory since it is later in September). We probably could use a bit of rain again.

My vegetables are starting to go down hill. I’ve decided to discontinue watering them. It just doesn’t seem to be an efficient use of my time or resources since we’ve entered fall and things are less productive. I saw at a house not far from here where someone created a rain barrel from a garbage can with tubing that runs directly from the eaves trough to the can (which is propped up so that the hose that they’ve attached at the bottom can readily let water flow out). I think the design and what they did to modify it are quite clever.

The price of city water is a definite consideration in not watering the plants. It seems like all the utilities and things have gone up in price. I’m concerned about how to best save money on natural gas (I’m on the city line) this winter. I usually plastic the windows, shut off the upstairs heat, and turn down the thermostat downstairs to about 60 weekdays and 65 nights. I then get to bundle up. Since I put in long hours at work during the week, that seemed to work (though I’ll admit I did forget a lot to re-set the thermostat many times). This year, I’m not sure what other measures would be prudent. I may get new windows installed in the 2 oldest downstairs windows (they do seem to be drafty now). Other than that – well I’ll have to keep thinking. I’ve heard that heating costs will be up between 36-55% this winter. It’s a scary thought.

My work is going pretty well. I’ve gotten behind on some things and I’ve brought home some of my procedure update readings so I’ve been working on that today. I should try and go into the office later today and do some data input for customers. Then I’d be further ahead with some of my work at the start of the week. We’ll see…

Well, I’d better get going. I still have a lot on my “to do” list and I’m running out of weekend to get it all done.

Best wishes and take care!

I hope everything is going well there.

Quite warm and rainy here – some would say downright humid. At least it’s not a cold rain though – just dull sky’s and lots of rain. I wish we could bottle some of it up to save it for when things are really dry.

My small container garden is heading into a really non-productive phase. The weather change is causing a lot of my tomatoes to split as they ripen. Most are receiving too much water so they are struggling (I need to remember more drainage holes in the containers next year!). I still have hopes that when we dry out, I’ll be able to harvest a bit more basil, parsley, and a few more peppers. The big worry now will probably be an early frost (one almanac is calling for a late September frost here).

Serious worries here about the corn and soybean crops. The cold, wet spring delayed planting, then we had some really dry weather for quite a while, and now it’s generally been an early fall for us. I did some farm visits and walked some fields last week. The beans (which should have at least 4 or more beans to a pod) had only 2-3 and they seemed smaller than they should be. The corn I saw had smaller ears with shallow kernels, and it was wetter than usual. Overall from what I can tell, production is going to be quite low – I have some farmers who have already decided to take more as silage (rather than grain) because of the high cost of fuel to dry down the corn to where it can be stored and marketed for grain. It’s a big worry for the farmers I work with that have to buy feed. The minute harvest starts, I’m afraid that the USDA projections (which have generally been for a very high yield) will be proven wrong and all corn and soybean products will be quite high priced. It’s a worry…

Work continues to be a challenge. My boss is recommending that I consider an HR job. That would take me away from the customers that I work with and have me work with employees. That can be a real nightmare. The pay is better (of course) but I think the burn out rate would be higher. In addition, it would mean working in a larger city I’m just not sure about that.

In the meantime, I’m still struggling with some serious issues. Lack of trained employees and high expectations are at the top of the list. With over 20 years of work here though I can’t imagine leaving and I’m not sure that an outside the agency job would be any better. Oh my!

Well, I should probably get going – there never seems to be enough time to get things done lately.

Best wishes and take care!

I hope everything is going well there.

Fall is in the air. Cool nights, crisp mornings, and warm but shorter days are here. I guess it’s September so that shouldn’t be a surprise.

I keep wondering how everyone is doing with the hurricanes that are hitting the southern US. Gary and Norma are in Mississippi and Gloria’s aunt lives in Florida. Sue also has a brother who lives in Louisiana. I hope everyone is doing all right.

The weather here is starting to really impact the small container garden I have going. The tomatoes aren’t ripening as fast or as well. The other plants seem to be slow as well. I have a couple of sweet peppers that I think I’ll just harvest and use (they’re quite close if not already ripened). I still haven’t figured out why my squash plants have blossomed but not produced fruits. It’s a bummer. I guess I should be thankful that the rest of the plants have done very well. Then there’s always next year….. ;)

This week was quite busy. Although I had Monday off, the rest of the week was full of meetings and other things. Tuesday was a staff meeting day and lots of appointments. Wednesday and Thursday I was at Manager’s meetings. Friday I was traveling and attending the Wisconsin State Sheep Festival. There just hasn’t been much time to slow things down.

This coming week at work will be quite busy again as I try and work with the trainee, and get customer things caught up. It should be interesting. There’s never enough time. I brought home plenty of things to do to get ready for the next week. We’ll see how it goes.

Best wishes and take care!

Hello,

I hope everything is going well there.

The weather here has been nice lately. We could certainly use some rain though. We ended August about 3” short of normal precipitation. Now it’s turned quite hot and a bit humid (though still tolerable).

Labor Day weekend was busy with a lot of family visits. I wish I had more time to spend with everyone - there never seems to be enough time or energy to get everything done. ;)

My work is going to be very busy this week. I have manager’s meetings on Wednesday and Thursday about a 4 hour drive away. I've got someone who will come here and watch the pets and keep an eye on things when I’m gone. On Friday, I have to go to a sheep festival (for work). That should be interesting.

My container garden is getting daily waterings. I wish I wasn’t paying for the city water! I’ve had quite a few nice tomatoes off it. My dog is enjoying snitching the lower level red cherry tomatoes. I get the rest. My squash is still blooming and not producing anything. I can’t seem to figure out why.

Well, I’d better go walk the dog (she’s circling at the door).

Take care and best wishes!