I noticed the Davis skeleton was welcoming visitors to the building again this morning, after having spent some time in the elevator and on the exercise bike. The skeleton appears to now be waiting for a meeting to begin. I am a bit fearful that the skeleton is a past employee who suffered the effects of too many meetings. I feel that way myself at times. While the meetings themselves are important, the tradeoff is that while I am giving my full attention to the meeting topic, I'm not answering emails or getting projects completed, leaving those items to early morning, noon time, evening, and/or weekend hours. Fortunately, it is a small price to pay to be part of UC ANR and a part of the important brainstormings, discussions, and celebrations of the great work across the state.

Yesterday I was in Napa for their annual luncheon with the county. I really liked how that brief, <2 hr meeting is used to share with the county Board of Supervisors, CEO, and department heads the highlights of the work in an informal way. It's a great opportunity to thank the county for their partnership in UCCE and arm the county with good information about how the county's investment is translating to important outcomes for county residents. David referred to it as their way of providing a live annual report.

Today is a rare day when I have just a couple of meetings, allowing time to catch up on yesterday's email and the ‘to do' list as well as rest up for a full day of meetings on Friday. It's odd that the week seems a bit slow Tues-Thurs but back-to-back with things all day each of Monday and Friday.

Saturday is the Orange County Farm Bureau/UC ANR steak fry. I like the idea of attending for the third consecutive year because I have a chance to reconnect with partners, supporters, volunteers, and clientele that I don't normally see when I am at South Coast. In addition, I have a chance to say hi to the South Coast team. It makes for a quick trip, but long enough that I can get out of yard work for the weekend.