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Baymule
Herd Master
Covid 19 cases are spiking in Texas as well as other states. There are already rumblings of shutting down the country again on the news this morning. I would advise everyone to avoid the rush and stock up on needed items now. At best, there will be plenty and you will have a lot of stuff to use up, feeling maybe a little bit foolish for hitting the panic button. At worst, we will repeat the whole horrible process again, only worse than before.
On the national news right now, 23 states have rising cases. Hospitalizations in Texas have doubled since May, our governor was just on the news asking people to wear masks to help cut down on the spread of the virus. Ya' think?
Us, personally, we are working the garden hard this summer. Many of what I have planted is just coming in and I will be busy canning and dehydrating. We put 2 lambs in the freezer and we sold 4 as live, took them with ours and the customers paid the processing. We have 2 pigs going to slaughter August 24, one is pre-sold, which ought to cover the cost of raising ours. We are picking up 30 Cornish Cross chicks August 12, I have 2 different people wanting 14, dressed. They didn't bat an eye when I quoted $6 a pound. Again, that will more than pay for what we keep. We had already raised a spring batch, this is the first time we are raising a fall batch.
So food wise we have plenty, no worries there, on consumables, we also have plenty. If the country shuts down again, we are prepared. Not to sound like the sky is falling, but are you ready for Round #2?
On the national news right now, 23 states have rising cases. Hospitalizations in Texas have doubled since May, our governor was just on the news asking people to wear masks to help cut down on the spread of the virus. Ya' think?
Us, personally, we are working the garden hard this summer. Many of what I have planted is just coming in and I will be busy canning and dehydrating. We put 2 lambs in the freezer and we sold 4 as live, took them with ours and the customers paid the processing. We have 2 pigs going to slaughter August 24, one is pre-sold, which ought to cover the cost of raising ours. We are picking up 30 Cornish Cross chicks August 12, I have 2 different people wanting 14, dressed. They didn't bat an eye when I quoted $6 a pound. Again, that will more than pay for what we keep. We had already raised a spring batch, this is the first time we are raising a fall batch.
So food wise we have plenty, no worries there, on consumables, we also have plenty. If the country shuts down again, we are prepared. Not to sound like the sky is falling, but are you ready for Round #2?
As annoying as it may be for most folks, this looks to me like we are still in the upward part of the original curve. We've had "flattening the curve" preached at us to the point of numbness; I reckon we've managed that pretty well. The question remains whether our medical system can manage at whatever level the peak turns out to be, since it appears we haven't reached it yet. There is little doubt that the economy in general and some businesses in particular cannot stand being shut down again, and at this point, it would be rather like locking the barn door after the horse has been stolen. Some businesses are doing temporary shutdowns for a cleaning blitz when a customer or employee tests positive (and doing the contact testing dance too, of course), but a wholesale shutdown isn't likely to happen. Making masks mandatory in public places where social distancing is difficult is being considered by the lawmakers in Raleigh; some municipalities have already put that restriction in place. And the organizer of a protest group called REopenNC has created a "burn your mask challenge" in response. 
I understand; most of the members of the group are people whose livelihoods are being negatively impacted by the restrictions, but with the numbers continuing to climb and hospitalizations at an all-time high, fighting for your "rights" like these folks are seems to me about as bright as a screen door on a submarine.
Don't mess with my family, and especially DON'T mess with my little kids (who, like all little kids, are like petri dishes, and couldn't wear a mask all day or stay 6 feet from the next kid because they are...little kids, they're barely out of the floor licking phase)
