[AT] off topic , really confused

[John Hall]

  Not really wanting to get into this discussion but  I will add to 
something Spencer said earlier. As my son is getting old enough to do 
real work, I am having to find (and it ain't easy) the patience to teach 
him. Yesterday we were baling hay, I had him packing on the wagon. He 
knows the pattern well from riding the wagon with me. Now he has to 
learn the technique. Anyone who has ever packed bales knows that you 
don't sit a bale down and then scoot it into place--it doesn't work that 
way, tries to spring back and loosens the pack. I never realized until 
recently how long I have known that, or how how many bales I had to 
handle until I learned that. It's slowly sinking in to his head. Also 
techniques of putting a bale on the next layer before finishing the 
current one just because its physically easier to clear a bale that is 
not there.

  I don't use any of the straw or hay we bale, I sell in small 
quantities to the end user. Truth be told, most folks cannot pack bales 
properly--they were never taught.  What is more shocking to me is how 
many teenagers can't quite get the concept of handling bales. Some of 
them ain't figured out  you don't grab it by you fingertips and hold it 
away from your body and tote it 100 ft out of the barn to the trailer. 
Then again I suppose that is a much better workout!

To sum up, I find my time to get work done is always in short supply. 
But if I don't choose the less efficient path of teaching my son instead 
of doing everything myself, I'm running my farming operation (as small 
as it is) wide open headed off a cliff.

John Hall

On 8/12/2016 9:06 PM, Spencer Yost wrote:
>
> Its hard sometimes I know - trust me I understand.  I hire local teenagers on the farm just to expose them to the lifestyle and hard work in the sun.  I promise they will brag about hauling hay in July, just like we do, one day.   Their performance sucks, but truth be told mine probably did do.  The baton we pass is a funny, fickle thing.
>
> Spencer Yost
>
>