September 5, 2017 at 3:32 p.m.
Tails and T-Shirts
Before the hot weather has even reached its peak, the cows are getting ready. As they lay in their stalls, some keep beat with their tails to the rising temperatures. With steady slaps against the gutter, she beats out the slow cadence of the rising temperatures. Other tails hang limply in the gutter. Then with a sudden flick of the switch, she has covered herself and the ceiling with everything from the gutter.
Cattle are great at adapting to their surroundings. Throughout time, their tails were used to keep insects at bay. With tunnel ventilation in the barn, biting insects are not a problem. Boredom is. We cater to our cattle as if they are queens. Food and fresh water are within inches of their mouths. We install giant fans to keep them cool. Some even spray a cool mist upon their bodies to make them feel more comfortable. Sometimes I think we are staging a scene from an old Egyptian movie. The cows are Cleopatra and we are her servants waving palm branches and dropping grapes into her mouth.
Because things are geared toward providing our cattle with every imaginable comfort, I think some can become bored and then the real fun begins during the hot weather. I would love to video tape the cattle and splice it together with sound effects and jerky repeat motions as she tries to cool off and entertain herself. My favorite scenes would focus on the water cup. We have cattle that just love to play in the water. Some use their long tongues to splash their stall mates. Others hold their breath as they flood the cups with their nose till their stall is a river running through their bedding toward the gutter.
Our cattle aren't the only ones trying to find comfort during the hot, muggy days of July. Everyone in the family is scrambling to find their favorite summer t-shirts. These are the shirts that most mothers would not even use as rags, but they are the perfect summer shirt.
My sister was talking about her neighbor who wears a ratty old t-shirt around his farm from his college days in the 70s. Mark and I just looked at each other like "so?" Our favorite farm t-shirts are over 30 years old too! They must meet certain criteria in order to reach favorite summer status. As you hold them up for inspection, you must be able to see through to the opposite wall. They must be thin enough to let in any possible breeze, yet have enough material to keep insects and hay chaff away from your sticky skin. They must dry as quickly as they get wet. We figure it takes a good 20 years and lots of bleach to break in a shirt for summer wear. The kids call them "air-conditioned" shirts. I call them special for it is the memories that come back with the shirt that makes you smile and remember younger days.
For now we have an endless supply of t-shirts thanks to our four children. They bring shirts home from dances, schools and conventions. We must have at least 15 Mills Fleet state fair shirts in five different colors stuffed in dressers. A friend of mine was telling me about his parent's dilemma. The boys were all grown up and they were going to have to go to Good Will and buy some "new" farm shirts. I think I might have a few years to go before we need to head to town to find farm shirts.[[In-content Ad]]
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