All the tree leaves in this state are in the yard of my close relative. We have had several deep and serious discussions concerning this particular malady and yet the problem continues to exist.
Today I am the feller wearing the pants and I have cattle to take care of and I will be back to this place for my lunch. Then, with a swift exit, I took myself to the truck.
My heart rate was about to return to normal when I opened the feed room door and the possum that was on the edge of the feed barrel hissed at me. I kicked the barrel and it fell in on the feed, still hissing. I grabbed it by the tail and it immediately died, for which I am grateful and tickled it was not a fighting varmint. I carried it out and Old Dog was delighted to have something to play with.
Snip had hay stuck in his fur clear to his shoulders. Yes, fur, about an inch deep and getting thicker by the day. I guess it is a sign of things to come, snow, sleet and the arctic blasts we dread. The ground in his lot isn't frozen, so he was cutting some circles around the fence, acting like a colt.
The sick pen is finally empty again, so I took off to haul hay.
The offspring are moving feed bunks today. We need to purchase some of the concrete feeders and leave them strategically placed, but we will make do another year with the old ones.
I passed them a couple of times on my hay route and they were doing a good job. A job so good that I sure didn't need to interfere with them. I could sense a short trip to a coffee emporium coming on and it would have been a shame to mess that up!
The members of the round table were in fine fetter this morning. They almost had the problems of the world solved and were working on the state politics. They all scooted around so I could get a chair in and someone asked how things were going around our headquarters. I mentioned the leaf situation, and it was declared the topic of the hour.
Seems like all the close relatives in our area are on the prod about getting the yards cleaned up. Christmas decorations must be placed and lights hung, life size nativity scenes washed off and set up.
We talked about the number of those scenes in our little corner of the state and counted 27 of them. That means that 27 gentlemen are gonna have to carry a barn, people and animals to the yard, wait a few weeks and carry them all back to the shed.
The general consensus was that the many church displays should be enough and that we should not be trying to take their thunder! But we are just men, not the boss of the outfits, so we continue on!
Cattle were out along the way to the south pasture. I started to stop and put them in the pasture they were near, but they were splitting up and going in all directions. I eased through the mess and called the feed store to report the outage. George called the owner and I was saved. I felt bad for not helping, but I could have hurt myself and I need to be physically fit to take care of some yard work.
It is my opinion, and everyone has one, one small glass of tea spilled on a supper table will seem like a gallon before it is sopped up and dried. Five old hides, wise to the position of the gates, will seem like a herd before they are back where they belong.
Crisp days of 40 degrees seem like a feller lives on the frozen tundra after enjoying Indian Summer temps. It might be all in the way we perceive what we are doing or looking at.
I figure on about two hours to take care of what is laid out by the General and we will both be happy again. I perceive the job may not be as big as I thought since I will be thrilled to have a hot meal instead of another Spam sandwich tonight!
Bill is the pen name of the Gravette area author of this weekly column. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 12/17/2014