The rain we got was heaven sent, but I guess they all are.
I sure did appreciate the moisture and so did the grass. You know we don’t have many more growing days left in this year, and I savor taking advantage of all of them. So do the old hides.
If you have been in this business so long as to have raised a calf crop or two, you must be amazed at what a bovine can do with a mouthful of grass. They don’t even have any top teeth in front, yet a heifer grows to the perfect size, a calf is started and carried right on to 10 months and is delivered. That baby grew with the supplements its Mammy provided through the little blades of grass.That grazing and a few bites of hay and a cube or two during the rough times built strong bones and all the parts of a new calf.
I’d call that a miracle. And folks say we aren’t seeing any in this day and age. Phooey. Yes, a good day’s work of grazing on those little blades of forage keeps a cow weighing nine to fifteen hundred pounds in good flesh, if everything else is working right. It should be a jaw-dropping experience every time you watch a cow lie down and begin to chew her cud, nearly closing her eyes in relaxation and pleasure. Even Solomon couldn’t have known how much grass is capable of doing.
The poets have written many verses about the glories of trees. You know, trees are really nice, but I don’t recall hearing anyone tell about the wonders and beauty of grass.
Tons of cash are spent each spring on mowers and all the fertilizers to make lawns grow. Some of us - not all - water the yard and even have sprinkler systems on automatic clocks to water at the proper intervals. Many of the places in towns have crews hired to do the grass works. Wow, I have some snazzy old hides that could water, fertilize and cut the grass. And all they would require is a little oldelectric fence to hold them in the yard.
The possibility of starting a Redneck Lawn Care is remote. I am sure the close relatives of the neighborhoods would complain about the rose gardens being trampled, the daisies being used as a place to bed down and other such stuff. But, the clipping of lawn grasses continues to crowd our landfills and city governments have hired specialists to figure ways to use the excess grass.
Well, I have an idea, or as my dear old Pappy would say, an “idee.” No need for scholarly specialists or acquiring more acreage for composting or anything, just let a feller come along, rake and bale the clippings. New jobs would result, too. The tractor manufacturers would need to make rakes for the fine little pieces, new plants would open and America would be on the top again ofa new technology.
It is my opinion, and everyone has one, that I have hit upon a solution to our job problems and also a way to help protect our earth. All that in one day! And I have also praised the plant called grass. Think about it. And if I need to patent this, please let me know.
Bill is a pen name used by the Gravette author of this weekly column.
Opinion, Pages 6 on 11/03/2010