This old rock sure gets dry in a hurry. We had rain, sleet, hail and snow; and then the wind blew for a couple of hours and it was dusty again. Thank the good Lord for the moisture that came again to enable the spring grass to grow. And, yes, it is beginning to green up a little around here. My close relative mentioned it, calling the new grass baby grass. We are gonna have to have the rain to stay in business.
I am busy day and night now. The bundles of bovine are popping and most are healthy and hop up to suck that good stuff into their bodies. They buck and run around for the pure joy of being alive and give all of us cattlemen the pleasure of watching. Some of the little things are not exactly perfect and require attention.
We have a good cow that delivered a big bull calf that had its front feet buckled under. We splinted them and they are now fine. It takes a good part of a day to take care of the checking and counting. I still use a pencil and a notebook to do my tally and make the notations necessary for keeping track of each calf. The male offspring want to go all electronic, but I am not ready for that.
I am thankful for the covered working area and the good pens we have. I enjoyed the dry ground under my feet while we doctored a rupture, pulled a calf and splinted the legs of calves. The cold wind is not to my liking, but it is not a thing compared to cold and wet wind!
My close relative had a message to deliver to me at noon yesterday. She is so thoughtful that she waited until I had finished my pie and was on the last cup of coffee to spread the sunshine. Her second cousin by marriage, father of 11 children from three wives, is ailing and wanted to know if he could ask her for financial assistance while he is sick. He added that he has a job, but the director of the city dump said, if he didn't show up on time this week, he would no longer be employed there. He said his head hurts in the morning if he gets up early and he just didn't know what he was gonna do if he lost his job.
I, being the sweet gentle person I am, told my close relative to call him and tell him exactly how to handle his problem. She is to mail him a big bottle of generic aspirin and a bottle of vitamins, a note of instructions as to how to go to bed early and stop playing with his video games instead of sleeping. She is not to send one red cent for compensation of lost job or anything else! My youngest Grand happened by about the time we were discussing the relative, and I immediately closed my ranting and raving.
The spring break has allowed the presence of the Grands and I have surely enjoyed every minute of it. Some of them show up at odd times during the day and a couple of the older ones have been helping out with chores. Snip and the paint have been ridden and enjoyed as we counted the heifers. I learned many years ago to take the extra time to saddle a kid pony and enjoy the company as life lessons could be taught in doing instead of just lectured about.
It is my opinion, and everyone has one, spring is about the newness of the earth and even revitalizes the oldest of mankind. I am happy to have the longer days of sunshine, the smell of greens exploding in the trees and on the ground. Sure is nice to hear the birds and see the blue sky. I guess you could say I am a sucker for spring! But not all is wonderful. I have already seen a snake!
Bill is the pen name used by the Gravette author of this weekly column. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 04/02/2014