What a good thing it is to wake up to a world full of bawling cattle and know that a mess has been created somewhere! I could hear the bawling somewhere in my sleep, but it finally pierced deep enough to wake me. It was four in the wee hours and I was not ready to face the ordeal, but nobody asked me! I got up and started anyway.

The cattle were ours and they were all hanging around the barn and delivering fertilizer as only they can. The yard gate was secure and it was certainly a good thing, as I did not want the billion dollars worth of flowers to be injured or patties in her yard that I would be required to dispose of!

The old cows swarmed me as I went to the feed room, and they all followed through the gate into the house trap. I closed them in and went to the house for coffee. I found the hole in the fence, actually the gate was open, and took the herd back to their home with no problems. A sack of cubes is better than a dozen cowboys if the cattle know what a sack rattle sounds like.

So my day started early and, even at that, it was sure nice to drink my coffee on the porch and listen to the birds wake up. I could smell breakfast, sausage and biscuits, and that meant I was also going to have a good day, food wise! My close relative is sure a good cook and I mostly forgive her when she tries to feed me unfried food, stuff like greens and that thing she called some African name. I know fruit is good, bananas and apples, fresh peaches and strawberries. Don't figure I need anything else in that category!

The ticks are so bad this spring that I find them everywhere. Snip had a tick on his neck, and I sprayed him down good with insecticide. I have been careful to apply some stuff to my pants legs and around my belt line because the diseases the little pests share with us are pretty bad. Ticks and purple mint weeds are thick, but the thistles and poison hemlock are taking over in some places. I have started spraying and hoping it was soon enough to kill before they seeded out.

This wonderful wet weather is sure pleasant, but we gotta watch for foot rot real close. The grass is thick and on some days the dew is still on after noon. I believe I can catch problems better by horseback when the conditions are like this. I try to ride through all the places before noon and that takes care of counting and checking for problems in one swing. Snip loads easy and I enjoy the rides. Hauling Snip saves a bunch of time and me!

It is my opinion, and everyone has one, say howdy to your neighbor today and take a widow woman a sack of potatoes. Tell your family how much you like to be with them and thank them for what they do to make life more pleasant for you. Pat your dog, clean off your boots, dust your pants before coming in and always thank the Lord for your blessings! It will be hot and dry soon, remember today's goodness!

Bill is the pen name used by the Gravette-area author of this weekly column. Opinions expressed are those of the author.

Editorial on 06/14/2017