We are slowly going down, drowning, coughing, sputtering, and hitting the water with our fists. We know how to swim but it is very difficult to swim in economically-thick water!
We float along, keeping our noses just above the danger line, and hope no one needs to tug on our toes; but we will fight to keep above and provide the help asked of us! Right now, no one is planning on a double mugging or even in dire love. Maybe they are all studying.
I suppose my mental state changes with the wind and we have had a big dose of that lately! Yesterday, I wasn't this upset and the day was just like others. Today I was told the income tax was sure enough higher and not to expect any juicy returns. The mail clerk at the post office said the whole thing and was smiling as she isn't a farmer's wife and her son is a doctor in the city who helps his parents each month. I don't know if she really thinks it is funny or just passes on gossip.
It is windy and cold as the dickens today! Tomorrow is the first day of spring and you know we are gonna get hot, but old Mother Nature can't sort of level them out. Maybe she has been around so long that she is getting forgetful! I can't tell her how to run her business; it is not mine to do but just to suffer.
We have sorted and weighed the heifers. We will sell the lightweights and then decide if or how many to keep. The grass is about all used up and land is way out of our budget. The idea of going to the poor house is forever rolling around in my head, so we have to think hard over this one! I will depend on the wisdom introduced by the college-educated pair and see if they realize the world's condition and see if they have anything helpful to drop in the conversation. My close relative lectures me about letting them state their thoughts and turning some of this loose as we go along. Once again she is right!
One of the cows who has crooked and long toes every spring has a problem already. We need to get the trimmer set up and try to get it all done as we put them through the chute for the big gathering. We can run them in the horse trap for a day or two and drive Snip up the wall. He really hates to share.
I stopped for a cup at the coffee emporium after counting cows, and the round table was in session. Roy Grainner was telling about selling 350 pigs at the sale in Oklahoma City. The hogs were good ones and had been fed right and they brought lots of money to carry home. Roy was sure he was gonna be able to retire after the sale; but when they totaled up the feed tickets and vet costs, he was about in the hole. Enough said for me to hear and never go in the hog business!
I guess I am going to the University of Kansas in July for a bull sale. The ad reported some registered heifers just to be bred in June and tested as settled and we might could use new high-dollar blood in the herd. The younger is worried about passing on the bad traits to new heifers as they age into breeding. Depending on the talk at the round table, I might better stay home.
One of the most serious deer hunters in our area showed up at the house and gave my close relative half of a feed sack of fresh turnips. He had planted a big deer trap last fall and just thought of the turnips. I don't know how, but they made it through the winter in good shape and are so good.
You must be busy or sort of busy to learn lessons. I barely brushed against work this day and learned about the Lord yesterday. I guess I learned you can almost die of frozen parts the day before spring in this area -- the parks and swings were not busy, no children running around on the baseball field, and certainly not any sane adult on Main Street! The water in the puddles was frozen this morning and that is a good sign I need to take care of myself.
I hope everyone is preparing for the Easter holiday and thinking about what it means to all of us. This is the reason we celebrate Christmas and eternal life. Big family gatherings and huge feasts are on the docket, but the main thing is Jesus has victory over death.
Take care of the weeds next week! It will warm up, and you can weed eat. Fill the groundhog holes in the yard and spread enough killer on the yard to kill all the grub worms. Oil the springs on each and everything around the shop and stay busy. Pray, and Remember the ALAMO!
Bill is the pen name used by the Gravette-area author of this weekly column. Opinions expressed are those of the author.