"It's hotter than a snake's ass in a wagon rut." - Robin Williams

Rock bottom

It's hot at home, but we're not there so I can't really be sure of that. We're sitting in an air conditioned Carl's Jr. eating dinner and using their wifi. We left home about 1:00 after eating lunch and headed into town to figure out how much it will cost to put up a goat fence. Between Jerry's Hdw Store (a local equivalent to Home Depot only much better) and Coastal Farm it looks like we'd be at about $600 for T-posts, pressure treated wood posts, no-climb field fencing, cement and some odds and ends. Add estimated costs for building a simple shed for shelter and two bottle-fed goat kids and we can be in this for under $1,000. Add in costs for milk replacer, alfalfa hay, hoof trimmers, etc. and the first year's meat is going to be more expensive than good BACON. But those up front costs get amortized over years and offset by the sale of each year's second goat.
We *think* this is financially doable.

Plus, we like the philosophical dimension. We eat eggs from our chickens, vegetables from our garden, and maybe meat from our goats. Nowhere close to self sufficiency, but it's gratifying to eat what we had a part in. There's just something good, whole, about producing what we consume.
Hey, it's Oregon, so we're supposed to be a little weird.

I worked this morning cutting logs into rounds and hauling those rounds up by the house one wheelbarrow load at a time. I was a sweaty mess when I ran out of steam at 11:00.

Our shopping trip included a stop at the running store where I got a small water bottle that comes with a fabric grip that slips over my hand and allows me to carry it without having to hold on with my fingers. After last Saturday's crash on my long run, which I think was due mostly to dehydration, I want to carry even this small amount of water with me.
We're going to do The Salmon Run in Mapleton on the 27th. They have a 5k run and a 3k walk that Pam will do. Mapleton is about 45 minutes west of us, a tiny town on the way out to Florence. This course starts at the H.S. and goes along the Siuslaw River so it should be a pretty run.

THIS JUST IN!!
Through the Chevy Truck restoration forum I belong to I found a T-5 tranny in South Carolina that this guy will sell me for...
wait for it...
$250 plus shipping.
T'ank you, Fadder.
Seriously, that is an incredible deal. I've learned those trannies are scarce and highly sought after. This guy said just the tailpiece on mine is worth $300 on eBay. (There's a technical reason for that I won't bore you with.)
Oh my, this makes my day. I may actually have a drivable truck before the snow flies.

OK, we're starting to look like moochers here. I've consumed enough Diet Coke that my bladder is about to burst, so a visit to their rest room is in order, and then home for some Olympics. Hey, maybe there will be some synchronized swimming on! Wouldn't that be the perfect ending to the day!