Time Is A Slippery Slope

I've had my "Brain Box" for years,
















I keep a Planner,

(Yes, it's so full of IDEAS it won't zip.)



















and I keep a tiny white board in the kitchen with my weekly schedule in plain view.

To some this may appear annal. OCD. Controlling. To me it's sanity. I don't have to even try to remember what I want to do, what I need to do, what I have to do. This releases me from appointment anxiety. Sets me free from the trials of the dreaded What Did I Forget To Do. What time am I supposed to be in Braymer? I don't know but my planner does. When was the last time I checked for cobwebs in the corner? I don't know but my Brain Box does. Do I have time to play on Facebook? Check the whiteboard to see where I am on my list. I LOVE BEING SCHEDULED. Once a week or so I SYNC UP with those folks I interact with the most.

STUFF HAPPENS. Even in the best of circumstances stuff happens to derail the Plan. Take this morning. My Plan was to write articles as soon as the chores were done. But, Rocky had his own Plan.

Rocky in one of his most endearing moments.










He decided that being "outside" the barn-pasture was more fun than being inside. Never mind the electric fence. I saw him make the decision to get shocked. Three times. Afterall, chasing chickens is SO worth a second's worth of JOLT. By his third time out he had wised up and was no longer a breeze to catch. So, there went a good portion of my "planned time". Since I started this blog he got out twice more; FarmBoy is out there dealing with him. I'd better go.

No worries. I just PLAN IT FORWARD.

Garden Planning

I've been scribbling and scratching on paper for months plotting my garden plots; in fact I started it LAST summer. I have notes about what grows good where and sidebars about what I liked and didn't like about certain tomato species and what the black swallowtail caterpillar-cum-butterfly ate for lunch. But, this year I'm adding something new to my lay outs: a computer garden plan module. Wow, never thought I'd be saying that. Remember, I'm an organic person in the sense that I prefer paper to plastic, pens to keyboards, walking to wheels. I do not have nor do I want enough left-brain synapses to plan my garden with a right click in an autoCad type program. I did miserably poor on the high-school what's-your-best-vocation tests where we added missing parts to three dimensional objects. I already knew I didn't want to be an engineer. However, this garden program has the three criteria I most require: A) easy B) easy C) easy. And, it looks so stinkin' cute on the screen. There are several garden planners out there offered by different magazine/seed companies. Through a little sleuthing I discovered they are exactly the same program so I chose to subscribe through one of my favorite magazines: Herb Companion. Last night I had a little glitch (which is not unusual for me when it comes to anything electronic or mechanical) and I emailed the support center. We all know how disappointing "support" centers can be, but this morning bright and early I had a response waiting for me. Not only did my new BFF "Jeremy" answer my questions, he went the second mile and tweaked the program to accommodate my operational issues. Ahhh, customer service may be wounded, but it's alive. Now, I am even more delighted with my new "program" and am laying out new gardens at a pace that rivals Henry Ford's assembly line.

Yesterday afternoon Gary and I, Cassie, our trusty farmer-dog, April, the queen-of-everything cat, Chance, the neighbors dog and at least three Mables, the laying hens, all trooped out into the field to finish marking off the rest of our nine garden plots. After measuring, remeasuring and measuring again just for good measure (my husband got the engineer gene) to be sure they were square, plum, accurate to the nth degree, aligned with the north star and could easily be entered into the surveyors hall of fame if there is such a thing, we pronounced it not only finished but perfect. Perfect in spite of the fact we couldn't locate the compass prior to beginning. Now all I have to do is transfer my plants from the paper to the dirt and I'm off and running. Life is Good.