I was up in the hay loft yesterday stacking hay.
I grab the strings of a bale with my gloved hands, hefting it and as I drop it into its space I am already looking to see where the next one will be going. So when I swing the bale up off the clatter box it is already aimed at the slot where it will rest while my eyes mark the space for the next one as I am walking back.
This is how we pick apples too: as we pick one apple with one hand, our second hand is already moving to the second apple and our eyes are already choosing the third apple. That way our movements are not wasted and time is well used. And the brain does not get taxed with indecision.
But more than this, if you consciously choose where you are moving to, you are more likely to get there. If you see the steps ahead, you can then look further ahead as you step.
Does any of that make sense? I have a lot to get through in the next few days but if I make a visual list, seeing myself writing the cheques, seeing myself picking up the hay and stacking it exactly where it belongs, putting books into bags, stripping beds and moving sheep aside and cows in. Fixing the last fences and oiling the gates. If I visualise the steps I need to take to achieve the next task as I am finishing the first one.. I usually get it all done.
The other trick is not to expect to get too much done. Always write an achievable list. I am working on that one. Stacking wood and stacking hay I can do. The List? I am working on the list.
But goodness, I will be ready for my rest by the sea!
Last night it absolutely Poured! So much water coming out of the sky.
So I stayed in and began negotiations for a boarfriend (I know that is not that funny but I laughed!) for Tima (He is from California!)
Then I finished negotiations for a lovely Dutch Belted Cow.
She is in Southern Illinois. Both will be transported to the farm in November. The Dutch Belted cow is 6 years old and has always been a nurse cow, but is very quiet, very easy to manage and her owner believes that she will adjust to being milked very easily. She is a gentle calm cow, he said. She also has a nice firm udder and good legs and a history of easy births and no problems. He calls her a dreamer. She is bred, due to calve in the spring and he has given me a very good price as he has shifted to a new farm with less pasture.
The little Boar is black and white and has an excellent lineage, we are still negotiating. I don’t know terribly much more than that yet. I will let you know.
This shot is for Equus. Do you see her eyelashes? So sweet when she is asleep.
Poppy tells me that she is going to be a very good piggie while I am away and will do nothing but sleep and eat good grass. And she will never ever pick up her food dish and bash the gate with it. She would never do that. That must have been some other piggie, she said.
The new set of chicks have been delivered very gently to the post mistress. All alive and well. They are now at Jake’s place with a warm light and lots of good food.
Queenie had her bloods taken and we will find out late next week whether she is pregnant or not. The Lady Vet will send me an email and I will let you know. Nothing ever stays still for long does it. Now I am off out to see how much rain we got last night, it is a huge downpour.
I hope you all have a lovely day.
Your friend on the farmy,
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
40 responses to “Thinking hay”
That sounds like good news. I visualise where I am going when I memorise maps – it works quite well 😉
ah yes, that is a good example.. c
Yes, I know what you are talking about. I am aware, sometimes, that I am moving like that. With great efficiency almost like a balletic machine. But I am not moving like that now. Right now I am still. With a headache, wondering when it will pass, and deciding that the best strategy is ignoring it. The Dutch belted cow is BEAUTIFUL. What a lovely animal. Are you already thinking of names or will she arrive with one you can’t change? Or does the name grow out of knowing her for some time? The pictures of Tima are beautiful. She smiles in her sleep. And dear Poppy. It is comforting to see them sleep. I wonder what they are dreaming…
We will name her after she arrives. And i love watching the animals sleep too. Though it took some time for them to GO to sleep so i can take a photo!.. c
Oh Celi, you make me tired just reading all you have to do. Sending you extra energy to get it done! xx
Beautiful pics of Godaot in flight. That sweet little face sleeping just couldn’t possibly be a tomato and sweet potato thief you were telling us about 🙂 I will relax on my but in front of the screen and send you the energy I am conserving/saving to you, to complete your List. Laura
You have your proverbial ducks in a row as always. Wonderful news about the new additions. Tima looks so sweet as she sleeps on her straw, angelic even, dreaming about her new boarfriend perhaps. Excellent name for him. Happy Friday!
Oh, Belted Galloway’s are fun cows to have around. There is a post card for “Texas” that say “Texas version of Oreo’s”. And there is a rather large herd up in Camden Maine that are a signature item. They are very cold & winter hardy.
Gadot is so beautiful. Almost ghostly though in flight.
I gave away my first book yesterday. My friend cried when when she read the forward, which made me cry again. So very thankful for this book and I can wait to write for the next one. I’m drafting in my head each morning on my drive into work. I do that with much of my writing.
The Dutch Belted is a different breed to the Galloway, The Belted Galloway is Scottish in origin. The Dutch belted is much older and Dutch.. very rare..though my reading tells me that there is a suspicion that the Galloway got the belt from being crossed with a Dutch Belted. I need to do more reading on them. how wonderful to be able to give away a book, i love the idea of them being read and passed along. The sales have slowed right down though. c
I had not seen a Dutch Belted Cow before but I am familiar with the Belted Galloway and I always heard them referred to them as Oreo Cookie Cows. Tima and Poppy look so innocent but we all know that looks can be deceiving. I need to make my own List — still have things to find homes for after my move.
yes the belted galloway is different.. we will all be well read about the dutch belted breed before long.. c
I love that you will have “a dreamer” of a cow!
You are so right about making a list that is achievable Celi! Often I make my daily list way too long and am not able to check off even half of the tasks on the list! Checking thiem off is very rewarding!!! 🙂 Sounds like you making wonderful progress and have it all together! I’m very much looking forward to our trip to New Zealand!!! xo
I like the idea of an achievable list otherwise we constantly set our self up for failure eh?
I think that in another life you had training in Organization and Method. Nobody but an expert could accomplish all you do and write about it so well.
The 4th copy of Letters has arrived, thank you muchly. Did you get the payment?
Yes Viv, and thank you muchly! Did not want you running out.. c
You’ve just made my night with those blissful shots of Tima and Poppy. And I’ve just finished reading my copy of Letters and am busily counting my blessings. Some of the poor Fellowship have had such a hard time. I’m looking forward to seeing your new Lakenvelder, as I was taught to call Belted Cows. Not all cows in Holland are Friesians, and I used to see a lot of them on visits to family over there. Will the Farmy Fellows have a chance to choose a name for her, or do you have something picked out?
I love the name Lakenvelder. We will have to live with our new cow for a bit before she is named but I am leaning towards Elsie. Another great aunt. But we will see. She will be smalller that Daisy (well almost any cow would be) so that will be nice.
Elsie is a great cows name! My Grandfather had an Elsie and a Bossy. I would go out to the pasture to bring the cows in every night. One day I decided to see if I ride one of them in. I had a cow stop by a huge rock up there. I climbed onto the rock, then onto the back of the cow (I could ride both of them) and in we would come to the milking parlor. The first time I did it my Grandfather was stunned and afraid I would get hurt. After the third time he gave up telling me to stop. I think the cows liked it as much as my 9 year old self loved it!
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com/?s=The+Adventures+of+Fuzzy+and+Boomer&submit=Search
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
That s just the sweetest story, riding the cows in to be milked. I am thinking I might also buy that guernsey. Two cows would suit me fine I think.. c
You will love those gentle Guernsey! Or Brown Swiss or a Jersey…Brown Swiss are tall cows the others short. All three give huge amounts of butter fat!
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com/?s=The+Adventures+of+Fuzzy+and+Boomer&submit=Search
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
Elsie is an excellent name for a cow. I used to know a very beautiful Jersey cow called Phoebe. All those old fashioned girls’ names are so suitable, somehow.
My book arrived and I love it. It took Amazon three days to send it. Planning ahead is good, I’ll try to do it myself. Elsie is a great name for a cow, my father gave names to all his milking cows. He liked the name Gertrud , when people here in the US call me Gertrude I always tell them that my father named his cows Gertrude and it is not my name.
Glad you got your book already! Hope you enjoy it.. My Dad used to call us Giggle Gerts! c
You are productive… your style of getting things done is much like mine. My problem is I expect others to have this same “common sense” way of organizing thoughts and prioritizing work, and I am so very often disappointed. This is why it is better for me to work alone. You are so gracious to explain… to help others have understanding about how it works for you. I think in this post, you have helped all of us feel a little more at ease about leaving the farmy for a few days (everything cinched up and taken care of) and you have also planted some seeds of promise for the coming weeks and months. I will have to check out the difference between the Dutch and Belted Galloway. We see a lot of the Belted Galloway here in the south, but then of course most cattle ranchers here are meat producers. I understand the Dutch is more of a dairy species. Happy day to you Celi!