Chuck’s Chat - Welcome to February.
How ‘bout them Chiefs!!! I remember when they won the big game fifty years ago. For years during McLouth Elementary recesses we boys all pretended to be Len Dawson, Otis Taylor, Jan Stenerud, Willie Lanier, etc. I can only imagine kids today imitating Mahomes, Kelce, Hill, Honey Badger, and so on. What a great lesson in believing in your team, faith, and execution of a game plan. Some businesses could learn a few things from this team’s progression.
February will be 4% longer than usual, due to this being leap year. The extra day was added to compensate for the fact that a “solar year” is actually 365 ¼ days long. The ancient Egyptians first calculated the need for an extra day, but it was not practiced in Europe until the time of Julius Caesar. Then, in 1582, Pope Gregory XIII instituted a revised Gregorian Calendar to officially observe leap year every four years. The odds of being born on February 29 are 1 in 1,461; with the estimated number in the US around 187,000 people.
The Pennsylvania Prognosticator indicates another early spring. The Old Farmer’s Almanac predicts a wet spring. I just hope it is not as wet as last year. There are many fields with harvest ruts needing worked before spring planting begins. In addition, there are many pastures still damaged from last year’s livestock feeding procedures. Already this year it is becoming a challenge to find a new place to drive while putting out hay.
Montgomery County Farm Bureau will be well represented this week in various activities. Day at the Statehouse, Presidents Conference, Young Farmers and Ranchers Conference, and Leadership KFB will all have representation. Hopefully the weather won’t turn too bad for all those traveling.
Speaking of weather, how crazy is it to have seventy degree temperatures on consecutive early February days, only to be followed by highs in the thirties with snow a couple of days later? I feel for those livestock producers trying to keep newborns healthy. We’re waiting until March in my operation, you know, when the weather really gets unstable.
My pet peeve this month comes courtesy of a large retail store. No, it’s not that self checkout procedure, or recent encounters with the receipt Nazi. With nearly every visit, it doesn’t seem to matter if I’m correctly going in or coming out of one of the doors clearly marked “Enter” or “Exit”, someone else is walking the wrong way. And then they look at me in disgust as though I’m in their way. I just hope I don’t meet them on a one way street someday. Clearly these people had no exposure to Sesame Street, The Electric Company, or Mister Rogers Neighborhood in their youth. My oldest grandchild is now learning to read, and I’m going to be sure she knows which the correct door to use is.
How ‘bout them Chiefs!!!
Until next month,
Chuck Voelker