OPINION: Keep your shirt on; we'll cut hay one of these days

The life of a beef producer is always the embodiment of pleasure, dread and poverty. The in-between days are apt to be days of nervous twitching, wishing and long hours doing labor the boys at the employment office will not even consider doing! The dry days and nights find the feller watching the sky even though the weatherman said nothing was coming. The cold ones find that same feller digging up frozen water lines in the wind and snow. Ask that man to leave his profession, and he will tell you straight out what a wonderful life it is!

That said, the wet pastures and fields with standing water are a blight to many of us today. This is the middle, past middle, of May and not one stem of grass has been mowed, raked or baled! Yes sir, I for one am getting a little concerned about the production of winter feed. I know the offspring have all the equipment ready, even new teeth on the rake, all shined up, fueled up and just sitting there.

Sitting on the edge of the bed at 4:30 a.m. I was sure I heard thunder again. It woke me and then I heard it again. Thankfully it was not thunder, just that old hot water heater heaving and boiling again! I have to remember to do some pricing on those things and get that one replaced. Relieved, I went on to the kitchen and started the coffee. It was sure a nice morning and I was glad to be able to step out on the back porch and watch Old Dog stretch and shake the sleep out of his body!

Not a cloud in the sky this morning and the dew was like a young rain. My pickup truck was dripping, and the eaves of the house had made little puddles. I had been fed a good breakfast of ham and eggs, so all did look a little better than it did when I got up. I could hear the four-wheelers in the south pasture as they headed in for the day. We met at the barn and the offspring fed the horses while I did the rest, including the barn cats.

We didn't talk much, just headed out to the shop. Habits die slowly around here. We knew we couldn't cut hay today; we had other things to take care of, but all three of us went to the shop and looked at the hay equipment. I saw my gloves on the work table, walked over and grabbed them like that had been the sole reason for being there and said I was headed to count cattle. They followed and took off on the iron ponies to check fences and find something that had to be done.

Things are slowly trying to get back to normal since we had church meeting this week. We all had to do the social distancing and wore masks but, at least, we got to go to the place we enjoy so much to worship. I visited with some of the men as we left and stood around outside. They are all waiting until maybe after Labor Day and that is upon us now. Well, hay season is the most hated of all the work on this rock pile and yet I am very anxious!

So now as I once again stop to open a gate, I am wondering about normal. What exactly is normal in our lives? The human part of this world changes constantly. Look back at a hundred years ago, autos had about replaced horses and the world war was killing Americans on foreign soil. Change is the normal, I think.

It is my opinion, and everyone has one, read all the information you can find on your business. Bankers have to stay informed, as well as mechanics and beef producers. No one had ever heard of pour-on insecticide 50 years ago, so now there are even pour on fly repellents that continue to keep flies at bay for weeks. Read what the scientists have done, read about the business of the Cattlemen's Association and what is happening in D.C. that will affect you. Keep the news of your business on your mind. We are changing; the human influence will change our way of normal daily.

Keep your shirt on, it will get dry and we will cut hay as we normally do!

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

Editorial on 05/27/2020