Poor Richard’s Almanac

Morning chores. August 13, 2009

Here at Hawk’s Haven, our friend Ben and Silence Dogood have a lot of lives depending on us. Not being fans of early rising, we still must meet the needs of a large and boisterous population. Before the clock strikes nine, we’ve been staggering around for hours, attempting to regain a modicum of consciousness while doing our morning chores. Here’s an approximation of our morning schedule:

5:30 a.m.: Get up, showered, dressed, and ready to face the day. Turn on computer, check lottery ticket, open curtains in office and living room, clean toilet and sink. Pet all cats, pick up straying cat toys and replace on a high rung of the “cat castle” before puppy Shiloh can eat them.

6 a.m.: Release Shiloh from crate. Make coffee, turn on aquarium lights. Take Shiloh out for bathroom break, turn on lights in greenhouse with Shiloh in tow, check state of greenhouse plants. Take Shiloh to drop recycling in container and to get newspaper. Feed outdoor cats and fish in water gardens, refill cats’ water, top up water gardens if needed.

6:30 a.m.: Give Shiloh supplements, sweet potato treat, yogurt. Refill Shiloh’s and indoor cats’ water. Read newspaper. Feed Shiloh and indoor cats. Feed fish in indoor aquariums and top up water if needed.

7 a.m.: Write blog post, read favorite blogs’ latest posts. Check out MSN and Yahoo! news. Read and respond to e-mails. Scream at Shiloh to leave the indoor cats alone.

7:30 a.m.: Clean litter box, feed parrot and parakeets. Take Shiloh back out. Feed and water chickens, collect eggs. Water and mist greenhouse plants if needed, check which ones might need repotting. Vacuum and sweep floors and rugs. Take out trash if needed. 

8 a.m.: Clean coffeepot and mugs, put away dry dishes, make bed, open bedroom curtains. Fill outdoor birdfeeders, water deck plants if needed. Sweep deck and front stoop. Take out kitchen compost bucket and feed earthworms in worm composter and/or add to compost bins. Check raised beds, pull weeds, give weeds to chickens. Water beds if needed, check for ripe produce and harvest. Check fruit trees and bushes.

8:30 a.m.: Throw Frisbee for Shiloh, let her splash around afterwards in her playpool to cool off, check weather report to see if it will be cool enough to take Shiloh for a walk in the park later (OFB). Check fridge, see if any groceries need to be picked up, plan day’s meals, consider if any additional activities (bank, post office, library, etc.) must be done while out (Silence).

9 a.m.: Pull lottery ticket from trash, double-check to make sure it’s not a winner, try not to cry. Scream at Shiloh to stop chasing indoor cats and/or eating rugs.

9:01 a.m.: Sit down at computer and start writing or editing.  

Gack. By the time our workday starts, we’re ready to go on permanent vacation. Which, of course, always makes us wonder, how on earth do parents with kids ever manage?! You’ll note that we don’t even have time for breakfast during all this rushing around (though Silence usually manages to get in a spoon or two of yogurt after giving Shiloh her morning yogurt). For us, breakfast is a relaxing weekend ritual that, more often than not, takes place sometime between 10 and 11. In other words, a luxury.

So, what do your mornings look like?