OPINION

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Did anyone here hear someone calling my name? I guess it was the wind blowing and count me gone to the mailbox to check on the delivery of today’s essential junk. I might just take off from there to town.

Yes, I know it is important to have a yard that appears to belong to the banker’s father-in-law, you know, the one with all the old money. But I don’t have any old or new cash and I can’t hire my yard landscaped and primped up.

I’ve already readied the mower for my close relative, fixed a tire on Mrs.Wheeler’s mower, plowed up a spot for tomatoes and it is a long spell before we should be planting anything. I am pretty sure I did hear something but I am not ready to do the yard work today. I want to travel the fence lines, listen to birds, hear the grass growand do a little thinking about the old cow herd.

Sunshine is a mind blower when a man is trying to decide what cows to keep and which ones to send to town. Even old Mot, a 1996 model, looks good in the sunlight. But I drug out a pen and notebook and started marking numbers in the keep and sell columns. I tried to decide what body condition the old hides came through the winter carrying and then we will mouth them as we run them through the chute. It is a pretty good guess if the age is below 2000, that a string of pearls for teeth indicates a trip to the golden arches. But, then, a feller might just keep her if she raised a good calf again this last year and is bred back!

Getting to the pasture and enjoying the day was great. I did sit on the tailgate and watch the cows graze, oncein awhile paying attention to the job at hand and mostly just taking pleasure in the crunch of the herd as they wandered around the truck. Old Dog was close to my side and only growled a tiny bit if a nose got real close. Pertenear, that means pretty near, perfection in an hour or so for a cattleman. And I did mark some numbers to cull.

Gonna turn the bulls in on June 15 this year. That is probably a mistake but I will surely hit a good calm winter someday. I like calves later in the spring than most, but being fond of keeping my person out of the cold is the main reason! My male offspring have been after me to turn in on June 1, but that is just too chancy for this feller.

I know hay season is right around the corner and lots of things are happening in the shop. No, can’t afforda new mower/conditioner this year and so it has to be gone over and repaired. Someone hit a few rocks (how big does a rock have to be to become a boulder?) and therefore maintenance is desired.

It is my opinion, and everyone has one, being able to enjoy an hour or so a day is a real blessing and I would wish it for all my fellow persons. Sitting to watch a baby play, a calf romp or teenagers play ball is a gift. Playing with kids, yours or someone else’s, breathing in spring air and just thinking are sure enough good activities right now.

I did finally go home, rake some stuff up around the pine trees and then just plain quit! Enough said.

-Bill

Bill is a pen name used by the Gravette author of this weekly column.

Opinion, Pages 4 on 04/07/2010