Less is not More

Just 5 months away from a luscious shoulder roast dinner
 

The hardest thing lately has been telling people No.   As in...

No. We do not have any bacon left and
No. We do not have any ground beef left
No. I cannot make the pig or beef grow faster and
No. I cannot make the cow produce 100% cream

It appears I cannot make the whole world happy at one time, or at even just the carnivores. I have been a huge source of disappointment to the protein lovers we know. Always telling them there will be more meat coming (there is, around Oct 30 ) but then watching it sell out before everyone can make it to Chatsworth to get their piece of the (Shepard's) pie.

I remember a point in our lives a few years back when we had 7 freezers full of meat, another cow and two pigs to be picked up at the locker and no where to put over 600 pounds of burger, steaks, chops and roast. . We had a few customers trickling into the store but no grocery store orders pending.  We were eating burger 3 meals a day.

I was petrified our power would go out or one of the freezers would fail. I seriously considered a BOGO sale but watching my husband work so hard outside later that day, I knew I could not insult him that way.

But, it all worked out. The meat sold, the freezer stayed cold, the orders came in, and the local food pantry was happy to receive a donation.  Now we are faced with the opposite dilemma. The kind of problem many business owners would be very happy to have. Too many customers and not enough product.

But this issue has its problems as well. If customers come to buy a product and finds it missing too often, they will go elsewhere. If they go elsewhere for meat they might go elsewhere for the other items, our chicken, our soap, our flour.

They might go elsewhere for eggs and sunflower oil.

They might get their raw milk from the black market sellers on the corner of Ashland and Wilson.

They might pet someone else's Great Pyrenees and then Fannie, dejected and depressed will go to another farm to take care of their animals.

Then the coyotes will invade and kill off our ducks which means we'll lose our fly eaters.

And then the flies will roar in like those bad bikers roar into Sturgis every August, which will remind me of my bucket list and then Keith will leave me when he hears me talking about that Harley (The Super Glide Sport) because I promised him I would never get a bike while he is still alive, as if I could even get my tree-trunk leg over the seat.

And now you know why...
I don't sleep at night.