The 4 P's of Marketing

Yeah, we're so not even close to figuring out packaging, price, promotion, and really we don't know if the product will be raw almonds or will it be something that has almonds in it...but we needed to give a little gift to our neighbor for his 51st birthday, and this is what we came up with:

A re-purposed 20 kilo potato bag, transformed into a bag with shelled almonds and a ring of unshelled ones near the top so they can have the pleasure (!?) of trying to crack them. This particular neighbor happens to have a bright yellow house, and so now they have a bag of almonds to match it. Shouldn't everyone?

Benefits of 4 Feet

I'm a cat. Cat's have four feet. I'm sure I could find studies that show four feet are better than two. Maybe even a correlation that those with four feet are more intelligent...

This past Thursday I witnessed a case of diminishing intelligence. Or maybe it just was never there.... Hard to say.

The Handlers came out to attend to the goats in the morning. Prior to milking, Female Handler (FH) went out to one of the front pastures to check on the goat stakes. She had on her rubber boots as usual. She could have walked through the front gate and crossed over a path from the driveway, but she selected the shorter more direct route over the wire fence that separates the house garden from the pasture. She's hopped this fence probably a 1000 times, but every now and then she doesn't lift her foot up high enough, and the tread of one of her boots gets caught on the wire. And almost in slow motion, you see panic, a futile attempt to gain balance, and then complete resignation....and she's down on her back in the tall grass with a leg hooked on the fence. Fortunately no damage is done other than to her ego, and she gets back on her two feet, brushing the dew moisture off her clothes while surveying the horizon to see if ....anyone caught that graceful attempt to scale a 3 ft fence.

Thursday evening was a slightly more comical scene. The Handlers were lollygagging at the barn overhang where the goats are put at the end of the day admiring the coats on the kids and wondering what they would be like as bedside rugs... It was dark, but the light was on outside the barn door. FH was leaning against one of the polls where both kids were tied. Male Handler was rubbing Tontín’s head beside their tire "jungle gym". Something out in the darkness spooked the kids, and Tímida circled around the pole knocking FH down. Being tied to a pole, the only thing she could do was go around it. So she circled around the pole again with Tontín right behind. The outcome was FH was on her back with her legs up in the air again this time with them tied to the pole, and a sore right jaw from a close encounter with a goats' hoof.

Four Feet = Greater Intelligence? Just maybe we're on to something...

MH went into town Friday morning to pay the house and car taxes. On the way, he stopped in at one of the supermarkets to get some things. He grabbed their weekly flyer. It wasn't until he got home that he saw they had a special going on printed sweatshirts.

Would be appropriate for at least one member of this family.

 

Fall in Uruguay

It's a full moon weekend. A "supermoon" weekend at that. The combines are working overtime into the night to bring in the crops (soy, sorghum, and corn). Tonight I'll be out late catching mice. Hey, it's what I do. I may stop for a momento to catch a glimpse of the Aquarid meteor shower that is suppose to peak tonight down here in the southern hemisphere.

A few shots of the local sights:

The bouganvillea is blooming...

The shadows are getting longer....

Keika, soaking it all up

What's not to love?

Thankfully the woodpile is stacked high and the evening fires have already started.

Happy Earth Day!

  

  May you find a lovely bench to take a moment to appreciate what's around you, preferably a bench that has been around for at least 100 years and truly one of a kind...

Making sure that we're making an effort to reduce, reuse....is hard work.

These visitors can go home!!

We have had an infestation of mosquitoes this fall. It started last week. Word has it they've come down from Brazil (damn Brazilians!). These aren't any ole mosquito. These are the species Aedes Aegypti brought in on the slave ships during the 16th century. While I appreciate the longevity of this species, you'd think that some organization would have made this a health priority to hinder its growth as this is the very species that carries Yellow Fever (hello...PAHO...anybody home?).

Female Handler has determined she can use her beekeeping hood for more than managing the bees in residence. She can also use it during goat chores .....or ANY outdoor activity.

And here she is...making a fashion statement as usual. Definitely runway ready.

If you do a closeup on the pants, you'll see the legs littered with dead mosquito remains. She is especially pleased with her latest squirt bottle that has a 20ft reach. A squirt on a goat is a gentle reminder that the almond trees are not to be nibbled on.

So these blood suckers have a life span of 2 weeks to a month. Now we're all wishing for an early winter arrival!

Let Down

The handlers were beside themselves yesterday. They were so very excited because their most favorite female comedian would be co-hosting NBC's Today Show, and by 2pm they could start downloading the podcast from earlier that day. After lunch Female Handler (FH) tried to start the download but the new show wasn't yet available. By 3pm, it wasn't yet available either. Before milking Chochi the goat, she tried again. Nothing. Male Handler couldn't muster any other words out of his mouth other than "what the hell!?!" It was going to be the highlight of their week watching this particular episode. Perhaps even their month! As it turned out, NBC didn't hit the switch on making Tuesday's show a podcast or whatever it takes to provide the Handlers with their evening entertainment. Maybe it was intentional?! And here the Handlers were preparing for near britches-soiling laughter....but watching Sarah Palin co-host the Today Show just wasn't meant to be.

More Color

I don't particularly like posts that do not have a single picture of ME! So to expand on yesterday's posting of COLOR, I thought I would share what I'm working on (a knitted headband for mini-Female Handler). Truth be known, I'm not really working on this other than passively modeling it. 

It's a tough job.