I won't be bored

2/27/08 Wednesday
I don’t remember if I got much done yesterday after going to the VA. I know I was tired and had a hard time thinking about how to do the wiring, getting confused, so I called it a day and came in at six or so. I’ll tackle that today while I’m fresh and have time to think it through. Today is also the day I pick up the broken bags of stuff at Lowe’s so I’ll do that first thing this morning. The rye is doing well near the house in the spots I seeded earliest. It took me over five weeks to get all four hundred and fifty pounds of seed spread and raked in by hand. Unfortunately I hadn’t gathered and spliced together enough hose to get water out to the far edges so that’s in the worst shape. There are lots of tumbleweeds starting to grow so I pull as many as I can up but that is just a dent. I’ll have to dedicate some time with the hoe regularly to keep that problem under control. The two acres I didn’t seed is the worst. If I had a tractor I could till that under. I have a responsibility to keep those weeds down for the cotton farmer next door as they can affect his crops. The three acres I managed to get planted will be a ton of work just to keep the weeds down much less caring for the crops I plant. At least the rye will help combat the weeds. That’s why I planted it.

So I will be pretty busy all year. Perhaps more than busy. I may have bitten off more than I can chew but life without challenge is boring. I won’t be bored.
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They say that all good things come to an end. That may be true but I sure wish they would stay longer. Seems that Lowe’s manager had a meeting with everyone and is tightening things up regarding damaged inventory. I looked at some Romex wire for the seed shack job and there was a roll that had obviously been used and returned. Not only was every inch of the hundred foot roll dirty but there were cuts through the insulation. I asked the employee stocking shelves next to me how much I could get it for. He pointed to the $77.00 price label on the shelf and said “That’s how much”. When I protested that usually stuff like this is reduced he said the manager was cracking down. OK.

I went to the lawn and garden department and said “I’m the guy who picks up your broken bags”. I was informed that the store manager declared that broken bags could only be sold at twenty five percent off unless more than half was missing. Then it would be fifty percent off. Crap. That kills the deal for me. I got deals all last year so this is a major policy change. At least I got one truck load for a good price. In talking to the employees I hear that they are under great pressure to keep everything neat and clean but must wrap torn open leaking bags of dirt and stuff in clear plastic and put it right out in front to sell. Kind of backwards I think. Keep it looking nice and clean but put the ugly stuff right on top of the good. Oh well, pinch a penny and lose a dollar.

I went to Home Depot to see if I can work something out with them but the guy I need to talk to wasn’t in. I did look at their wire and compared prices with what I saw at Lowe’s. Lowe’s has a hundred feet of twelve gauge for $77.00 and Home Depot was $50.00. Not sure if that is an apples for apples but it seemed comparable. Then I saw a two hundred and fifty foot roll for $65.00. It’s more than I need, I think, but is for sure the better price. Fifteen dollars more gets me a hundred and fifty feet. I’m sure I’ll use it.