A Couple Funny Stories

In too cool I wrote about the guys from up the holler taking that tree down. Things like that make me extremely nervous. I'm always sure something huge will surely go wrong. They had wanted to come one day when husband wasn't home and I wouldn't let them cut the tree. I don't think they understood why but they eventually got it through their head that me calling him wasn't going to make me let them do it. He kept saying, "can you call him?" "YES but that doesn't matter, he isn't home and you aren't cutting that tree without him HOME!"

So when they did come, they really did know what they were doing. Still, husband didn't tell me until later about Garland notching that tree, putting a wedge in there to make sure it can't fall the wrong way, then cutting through it, yelling "TIMBER!" . . . and the tree moving about a foot and stopping. He yelled timber three times before it finally crashed.

The other funny thing that happened was milking. This was after I was some better, not the sickest I was, but not well either. It was a night milking. I was just off my game enough that when the cow moved early on in the milking that she kicked the bucket. Which meant I had to fiddle around with her enough that by the time I was doing the last of the milking she had moved her body around to a place in the shelter with deep muck. It had been cold and had warmed up and so the muck was thick and sticky. The stool sunk down in it, as did my boots. For the first time in a few days I felt like I really got her milked out completely instead of just figuring I'd milked her enough and was tired. I stood up, picking up the bucket as I did so, and turned to step away from her and . . . my foot wouldn't move being totally caught in the much. And I had moved just a bit too much to recover. Boom, down I went. Knee and hip into the muck.

And the milk bucket landed somewhere near my shoulder and all the milk, a gallon of milk, all over my face.

I just laughed. I was glad that I was feeling enough better to have found some of my sense of humor again. When I came in the house, daughter #2, the same one who had noticed right away that I smelled like a skunk after I'd gotten sprayed, said, "Why is there milk all over you Mama?" I love her remarking on the obvious -- she never just lets it pass and I appreciate that.

I told Laura that story at dinner last night and she said, "Oh, to be a fly on a cow's butt and see that!" That is a real friend's comment!