I'm playing catchup.

The last week got me behind on lots of things, and to be honest I have put some things off. So, now I am needing to pay the piper!

Yesterday I went to Roscoe to return seed we had taken out on Friday, just in case we needed it for the weekend. We had one bag from Jason's pickup that I placed on top of a partial pallet of seed in the barn. The partial pallet still had the plastic wrapping around the bottom. I went to the coop and did the paperwork and then the warehouseman and I went to unload it. As he drove up he stopped, motioning at the plastic that was blocking his seeing the forklift slots in the pallet. I reached down and removed the plastic and he began to drive forward when he stopped.

"There's a hole in that bag", he said, "I can't take that bag back". I looked and sure enough when the plastic was removed seed had begun to run out of the bag. I looked and sure enough there was a hole. "That's O.K., I said, "I will eat that bag".

We moved the bag off to the side, trying to stop the flow of seed from it.

The warehouseman got on the forklift and began to pull forward when he stopped again. "There is another bag leaking seed", he said.

Sure enough, when we had removed the first bag from the pallet, it had been keeping seed from leaking out of the second bag. Thing is, where the second bag hole was at I do not believe we punctured the bag.

The warehouseman said, "I'm not taking that bag either!"

I told him, "I will eat one of them, but I will not eat two of them."

At $279 per bag, you can understand my position.

The warehouseman just stood there and told me I would have to take it up with either the manager or the Helena representative. I was busy stopping seed from flowing and was extremely frustrated with this coop employee's inability to function. I finally told him he had better get whoever he needed to get out there, out there now.

I honestly do not believe we were responsible for either bag puncture. Especially the second bag because of where the puncture was located. I also felt my offering to eat the cost of one bag was fair to all concerned.

In a strange happening, not usual with my luck, the Helena representative was there in the office. He came out, looked over the bags and told me he would take one and apply for a re-plant. This meant that Memama would pay for the bag, then they would credit it back. The guy asked me what I was going to do with the bag I was going to pay for and I told him if we were paying for I was taking the bag. He sat there for a minute and told me, "Tell you what, I will do the re-plant on both bags".

We visited for a few minutes. The warehouseman unloaded the seed. The Helena representative told me he was surprised that the warehouseman wouldn't "man up" and offer to eat the other bag after I made my offer on the first one. I told the Helena representative I was not trying to be difficult, and that I thought my offer was fair, and I thanked him for his help in rectifying the problem.

When this seed is loaded out, it is shrink wrapped on the pallets. I feel that is why no one was aware of the seed punture on the outside bag. Episodes like this are what will make it necessary for the bags to be individually loaded in the future. Asking us to take the bags on faith may be a thing of the past.

Most of my day has been consumed with correspondence. Now choices must be made!

What to do, what to do.

I need to replace a sprinkler system valve. I need to swap out the ECM on the little wild man's truck. I need to mow. I need to weed eat. I need to trim hedges and trees.

Yuk!

And I messed around and let it get hot already!

Have a day!

FATHER, thank you for seeing us through planting. We give it up to you as to where it goes from here. FATHER we ask for relief from the hot and windy conditions.