Thursday, October 2, 2008

What Was I Thinking?

So, yesterday I got to do something I haven't done in years. I got to go to the World Dairy Expo in Madison. My DH and the other farm guys are busy working in our fields or the neighbors. My little way of helping is to go to the Expo and collect information that they might be interested in. I had forgotten what a lot of walking and carrying it can be though. It wasn't too bad while I was there. There are so many interesting exhibits that you can walk a long way without realizing it. Today, I realized it!! All that walking on the concrete took a toll on my legs and feet. I am hobbling along a little bit today. My knees are sore and my hips are a bit stiff. But, oh, did I have fun. The exhibitors at the Expo are wonderful! I learned a few things I didn't know and I hope you don't mind me sharing some of it.

Did you know that there are fly predators? I didn't either. I was walking along and saw a booth on controlling flies. There was a bag on the table that was clear in back and I couldn't help picking it up. Was I ever surprised when I realized the inside of the bag was crawling with all these tiny little "things". It almost looked like super small ants. Turns out they are actually a member of the wasp family and lay their eggs in fly larvae. That kills the larvae and reduces the population of flies. It was so neat! I couldn't help thinking that the guys on the farm would love to hear about these predators.

My favorite booth used to be one of the AI (artificial insemination) companies. They had a jar of empty semen straws on the table and you picked one out. The times I tried it I pulled out straws that were good for 10 straws of frozen bull semen. Now, the people at work just couldn't understand why I was excited about that. When you live on a dairy farm your livelyhood depends on the calves you have to replace the cows as they age. The 10 straws of semen were worth $150 and that was money that could stay in our account. I did okay! We still have some cows and a bull on our farm that came from those straws. So, weird yes, but worth it? YES!! This year I entered the same company's drawing for $200 worth of frozen semen. Wish me luck!

Now, I didn't do all this walking, talking, and hauling just for the guys. There are rewards for me, too. My "wages" for doing all this is the goodies that are handed out at the booths. I am happy to get pens and pencils. They last us pretty much until next year. But that's not all I got. I brought home a photo of myself taken at one of the booths, a cap, a t-shirt, a flashlight, a cow shaped stress ball, a cow shaped paper clip holder, cheese, candy, key chains, coloring books for the grandchildren, and much more. I had so much fun!!

Today I THOUGHT I had a doctor appointment and got spiffed up. I even wore a new pair of shoes. Trying to be stylish, I wore them without socks or nylons. Big, big mistake. I have at least five blisters on my feet and they hurt! It really doesn't help that I misread the day of the appointment and it isn't until next week! LOL

Okay, enough whining, I am going to sign off for now. Take care of your tootsies everyone!

TTFN
Ginny

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