You don't give up, you never give up.

 I'm really not in the mood for this.  It's raining again and I am on the phone making calls and sending emails and texts; letting myself get frustrated over things that I know, deep down in my soul, that I can not control.

I'm very disappointed in people right now.  Roughly two weeks or so ago I started on a quest to find a small flock of goats of clear some land.   I have made phone calls, texted people, contacted websites and made inquires on sources like Reddit and Facebook.   I even spoke to a few Amish that live in the area.   

Leads were given to me by various sources, companies were found and contacts made via text and voice mail, however, no one got back to me.   Not a single one.   No call back from the local 4 - H club.  No call back from the goat farmer.  Emails went unanswered.  

Well that's not true.  One company did get back to me but the cost was higher than I expected.  Actually about double than what I expected.

As someone that has owned my own business in the past, I know the importance of reaching out to potential clients as soon as possible...preferably that same day but certainly within 24 hours. 

I can not make excuses for these companies, I know that school will be starting up soon, that the weather here in Western PA has been rainy and humid and that makes any outside work that needs done difficult.  I also know that for a variety of reasons that both Susan and I have worked a bunch of hours in the last two weeks which has made things even more difficult.   

I'm not sure what I expected, but, not radio silence.  So, as I enter the humid dog days of August I find myself with two or three challenges ahead of me.  

I'm going to have to rent a Bush Hog and cut this crap down.  Clearing the rocks and stumps as I do so.  

Goats would have been preferred because they would have not only eaten the invasive plants like Mutliflora rose down to the nub, but everything else, allowing me to clear the land in a simple manner.   Not so much now.  The process in the same.  CUT, TREAT WITH CHEMICALS AND WATCH!   

I don't know if I'll own and be able to take care of this property in 20 years or so, but the seeds of that damn plant and its root system can be viable for that long.  That's what makes this plant so damn serious.   

I could do nothing, just maintaining the plants but that is a losing battle due to the highly aggressive nature of the plants themselves.

What bothers me the most about this, is that when I first decided to let this patch of earth go wild, I had the best of intentions.   A foothold for native pollinators and firefly's - it's been stated that we may be the last generation to have these lovely little bugs bring a bit of joy into our lives.  (I highly recommend watching the video at night in a darkened room.).

Good intentions will only go so far.  What I thought was a good idea at the time is now costing me time, money and effort that I simply do not have!

While last year was hard on myself and my family for a variety of reasons, and this year is hard for different reasons, we continue to push forward.   I understand why my ancestors would have planted something like Mutiflora years ago in an attempt to control erosion or  create natural barriers.   They didn't know what would happen...neither do we.  We are always trying to correct the mistakes of the past, while creating new problems for the future.   We do what we can, and move forward.  We have no choice.