Thursday, July 30, 2009

Babble Post

The Bag Lady is off to town today to do some shopping and bill paying.

There is rain in the forecast for today, which is fine with her. Her garden could use a drink.
The Rancher, with the help of his brother, finished baling the little bit of hay that there was (perhaps an eighth of last year's yield), so let it rain! The pasture could use a drink, too.

This has been a strange summer. Cold and dry to start, then about 5 inches of rain in roughly a two-week stretch, then hot and dry. It has really affected the growing season. The hayfields suffered greatly, as did the pasture and garden. The rain that came was almost too late, but did save the garden and the pasture. Unfortunately, the hayfield has already blossomed, so the rain didn't help. Between the lack of moisture and the huge numbers of grasshoppers, well, if the Rancher and the Bag Lady hadn't down-sized their herd, they would be in serious trouble! As it is, they aren't sure they will have enough feed to get them through the winter. And they are not alone in this. There are ranchers in the central and southern portions of the province who have had to resort to buying hay to feed their animals because their pastures have dried up and died.

Buying (expensive!) hay to feed in the summer is disastrous. There are a lot of ranchers who have suffered too many losses over the past few years to keep going. When the last of the independent ranchers go out of business, the entire country will suffer. Once the packing plants own all the feedlots and cattle, they will be able to control the market (even more so than they do already!) and charge whatever they want.

The Bag Lady watched a program on TV the other night about yet another threat to the world's food supply. Honeybees are disappearing at an alarming rate. This poses a threat to our entire food chain. Honeybees don't just produce honey - they pollinate an enormous number of plants such as fruit trees, forage crops, etc. and without them, a lot of the fruits and vegetables we see in our grocery stores will disappear, along with dairy and meat products!

The Bag Lady doesn't want to sound like an alarmist, but she does worry about this in those moments between worrying about paying the bills and worrying about whether her hair is falling out or the sun is going to come out tomorrow!

What kinds of things do you worry about?

19 comments:

Levi said...

I worry about worrying. And I'm sad when I am feeling lonely. But I don't worry about being lonely. I know it will happen at times.

the Bag Lady said...

POD - surprisingly, I understood your comment!

Missicat said...

So many things these days....the economy, my health, etc. etc...

the Bag Lady said...

Missicat - hope I didn't just give you more fodder for worrying!

Leah J. Utas said...

It's sad how isolationist we've become. We see everything on its own rather than how it relates to everything else. Most people would say "Bees? Who cares? All they do is sting." without realizing that they are part of a chain of events we need to survive.
All that said, if the sun doesn't come out tomorrow we will no longer have to worry.

the Bag Lady said...

That is so true, cousin! Since watching that program, I've taken notice of how few bees there are around here. It's disturbing.
On the other hand, the point will be moot if the sun doesn't come up tomorrow!

Missicat said...

No Bag Lady, not at all! I had actually heard about the bee problem...and it is worrying!!

the Bag Lady said...

It is, isn't it?
I hope the scientists who are working on the problem manage to come up with a cure before it's too late!

Reb said...

I have noticed a lack of bees as well as heard about the problem. I wonder if the mosquito spraying that cities do has something to do with it?

As for our drought and the ranch and farming industries, Yes I have been worrying about that too.

And keeping a roof over my head and paying bills and pretty much everything. I don't worry about the sun not coming up though, or dying...it'll happen one day.

the Bag Lady said...

Reb - we are all sounding like a bunch of worry-warts, arent' we? I wonder if it's a sign of the times?

Geosomin said...

I worry about zombies.
Definitely...

Actually I do worry about the loss of small farms...I feel it's vital to society as a whole.

And bees are good too. Just not near my nose...

Melissa said...

Well, I WASN'T worried, but I am now...:-P

JavaChick said...

I keep my head firmly in the sand a lot of the time because there seem to be so many things to worry about, things that I can't do anything about...I'd be in a constant state of panic if I let myself dwell on it.

Sagan said...

Wow, POD said it all.

I think that these days I don't worry so much as am constantly aware and thinking about things. I know that there's no point in worrying, so I don't freak out about stuff, but things tend to just stay in the back of my mind. I'm a people-pleaser so I get concerned if I feel that I might not be spending enough time with people etc.

The weather's been rotten enough for us city dwellers but it's got to be just awful for farmers... jeez. Also sad about the honeybees! It's amazing how something like that could disrupt our whole food chain and way of life and we don't even pay much attention to it for the most part.

the Bag Lady said...

Geo - funnily enough, zombies do not worry me.... much!

Melissa - oops, sor-ry!

JavaChick - I have a tendency to do the head in the sand thing, too, but the program we watched was very disturbing.

Sagan - I think so many of us think of bees as an annoyance or something that will sting us, but don't give a lot of thought to how vital they are to the natural order of things! It's time to start paying attention, I guess!

Lil' Nana said...

Today, my husband had to tell a man he is getting his annual salary cut by 13K a year. Then, he had to tell a woman her annual salary is being cut by 11K a year.

Then...his immediate boss called him...

Yup, pay cut for hubby.

Surprisingly, this is not even on my own radar. My worry is for my adult daughter who is being stalked by her soon to be ex-husband.

The last time he breached the no contact order, it took the police nearly a week to catch up with him. They finally found him.

Sitting in her driveway with a large hunting knife in his pocket.

He was convicted. No time to serve. Now, she has moved and he's found her again. Last week he showed up outside her house with a Doberman that came up to his waist.

No charges pending since the change of address hadn't been processed on the no contact order.

She has two little boys.

I also worry about the bees.

the Bag Lady said...

OMG, Lil Nana! No wonder the bees came last on your list!

How the hell did he find her again? I hope she can get another no-contact order against him (for all the good those do....)

And I hope she remains safe.

Wish I could suggest something, but there are no easy solutions to something like this! (I can think of some nasty, illegal things that should be done to men like that, but that doesn't help the situation.)

Hilary said...

I heard about the bee situation quite a while back and have certainly notices very few of them this summer. Lots of bumble bees but not too many honey bees. Yes, it's quits worrisome.

The Fifth Sparrow said...

He made best friends with a guy who owns a spy shop so he has all kinds of technolgy at his fingertips. He has used mikes that listen into your home if you are too close to a closed window.

And he borrows vehicles from his family and friends and follows us.

She and I run a cleaning company so he follows me or her grandparents to her place.

He has a black belt in at least 3 different disciplines so there's nothing much she can do.

Except pray.

Thanks for the good thoughts. And for letting me babble.

I have also started to blog. Thanks for the good example. I have no clue how to post pictures yet. I'm such a newbie...