My air conditioner is working great! The great outdoors in my area is now in the throes of real summer, temps running over 90 and heat indexes in the triple digits. I step out for a few minutes -- walking to my pickup for instance -- and my clothes are pretty damp instantly. Then, when I go into the home of my close relative, my dampness changes into a cloak of frozen material! I have not a clue about the setting of the temp on the air conditioner because I have been in dire straits for touching it many times. I just suffer in silence.
We are back to wishing it would rain. Seems like it has showered on every town around and left all the pastures dry. I don't understand that, but I know it happens. Another thing I find interesting is the fact that the morning dew is plentiful and appears to be as much as a light rain as a feller walks through it to the barn.
This sets up a perfect scenario for hoof rot -- not my feet but the cattle on any grass that is thick and deep. Hooves that never dry out are sure susceptible to all kinds of bacteria.
We went to a big horse sale this last week. A couple of the grands are considering themselves to be in need of a faster, younger and professionally-trained mount. I have tried to explain the difference between a good cold-blooded horse trained by a good handler and the kind they think they want. We sat through five hours of high dollar horses, and I mean really good horses and trained to handle.
The grands were pretty fascinated the whole time. They didn't say much as we headed for the pickup to leave but began talking on the drive home. The shock factor had settled in on the teenagers, one being 14 and the other 13.
The questions of why can't we buy were taken care of. They had never suspected the cost of horses to be so steep. I believe they will work on their owned steeds a little harder now. Horse and rider could both use some practice.
The cows for spring calving are about all bred. We will leave the bulls in for another couple of weeks and then wait to see who is open and taking a trip to the golden arches. I don't have any desire to sell any of the cows but, if they are open, a feller can't make them pay out for another year. The fall calving herd is looking good -- about three months and we will have some calves on the ground again.
It is my opinion, and everyone has one, people love to complain. I needed rain at the beginning of this column and then complained about hoof rot a few sentences later. Too dry or too wet, too hot or too cold, hungry or overfilled seems to be the lament. I figure on making the change in the morning to a man who is thankful for all, and I intend to be diligent about it. I will not gripe about a thing, fuss about anything or nag the offspring to hurry for a week and see if that resets my disposition. I will let you know how that works!
Bill is the pen name used by the Gravette area author of this weekly column. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 07/26/2017