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| The yellow tablecloth - it's the current "spare" because it is patched. |
It’s a sign of spring that we have begun transporting
animals to Brault’s Custom Processing in Troy.
Farmer’s market days are just around the corner – I can feel them in the
air - and getting all our meat weighed and packaged is the first step to being ready
on time.
I missed the first truck trip of 2011. Dan did the heavy haul with our friend Myron
Collins at the co-pilot position on the Sunday before the last great snowstorm
of the season.
The slaughterhouse wasn’t open, but because of the impending
weather we didn’t think the roads would be safe during the regular Monday receiving
hours.
Brault’s was sympathetic to our plight, and told us they
would send an employee to unlock the doors when we arrived. Dan decided to make a run for it.
He was attempting to thwart Mother Nature by travelling a
day in advance, but she wasn’t having any of it, because as soon as he got off
the phone, it started to hail. Then it
began snowing.
He made many curses against the meteorologists who had
predicted fair skies until evening. I
say meteorologist(s), because we often check with more than one before doing
anything on the farm, though it’s like consulting tele-psychics on most days.
It seemed nearly too late to be pulling a trailer of full of
beefers and vealers over the mountain.
At least Dan wouldn’t have me shrieking at him to slow down
whilst bracing myself against the passenger-side door and the dashboard.
The weather worsened the farther the men traveled through
the two Montgomerys and slowly up the deteriorating mountain road to the very
peak of Jay.
And then. Nothing. It was pleasantly drizzling on the Troy side.
They made it safely. Dan
unpacked a bale of hay so Brault’s wouldn’t have to accommodate us further by
feeding our animals for an extra day.
After counting themselves lucky, they grabbed a bite at the
general store and headed home.
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| The missing April Cornell green/periwinkle tablecloth. |
So, to clarify - on the pre-farmer’s market checklist, major
meat is almost complete, but I haven’t re-painted the signs or located the green
tablecloths I misplaced two summers ago.
I just don’t understand where they could have got to! I even did a house-wide clear out last fall, throwing
out a great deal of detritus. Not every single
useless bit, mind, but such as would fit into four lawn/leaf trash bags.
I must be closer now to discovering them than I have ever
been!
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| Last year's orange tablecloth. |
On a related note, while I was opening seldom-used drawers
and coaxing dust bunnies out of the corners, I found last season’s orange tablecloths
in an unexpected place. I made a note of
it. An actual physical paper note as to
where they are located and I put that in the till so I’ll be able to locate them
for opening day in May.
At least, I never lose track of where the change box is.
