I left the barns before 7 pm.   Stock was fed and cared for.  Tomorrow will be a long day.  Shut it down and come in fresh on the next day.  This is not a plan that I followed for the past couple of decades.  But, it is a plan that I am going to follow in order to preserve some sanity.

I took a shower, put on clean clothes and met a friend for supper.  Then another buddy joined us.  Great meal with good people.

While I was eating prime rib, the Dragon Lady texted me and said that it was a perfect evening at home.  I know what that means.  The weather is mild, the grass is greening up, month old baby mini-herfs are running around with their tails straight up and she is sitting in the gator watching all of this.  Probably has a dog or 3 in the vicinity.

I’m not much of a farmer but I did call the Dacoma CooP and tell them to spread some Nitrogen last week.  BOY HOWDY that crap got expensive!!!  They got it spread within 48 hours.  Another 48 hours brought a nice rain, less than a 1/2 inch.  Perfect!!!  Barring a late freeze, we might make some wheat hay.

Back in January, I was in Fredericksburg, TX.  A happy place!  While following the Dragon Lady from store to store, and sampling the wares in every store, (salsa. Yeah, salsa.  lots of salsa.  That’s the ticket.).  I found a book of songs.  I think that it was titled the Great American Songbook: the music of Dolly Parton.  Songs all written by Dolly Parton.  What caught my eye was a young picture of Dolly on the cover.  I’ll be honest, it was mesmerizing.  So hot!!  She is so talented and so smart.  Yet, as I looked at this picture and look at pictures of her now….well, it reminds me of today’s stock show industry.  Damn!!  How far are we going to let this go?  That shit just doesn’t look quite right.

Sure, Dolly has some age on her.  But unlike the stock show industry, she is at least honest that she has had things stretched, tightened, filled and stuffed.

Until some judges start pulling on the reins, the outlaws will keep pushing the boundaries.  And sometimes, things were already pretty close to right.  I know, I know.  Some of you are reading this and going, “Here you come again.”  And you are right.  A correction in the marketplace is coming.

It would have been a perfect evening if I had been at home.

Best Dolly songs:

5–Here you come again

4–9 to 5

3–Islands in the Stream

2–I will always love you  (one of the best songs of all time)

1–Jolene     (nobody else can replicate this song)