Dog Days of Summer in the Osage

Believe it or not there were advantages to having hot days of summer in the Osage particularly when you were younger and not old enough to haul hay.  Now what I mean by that is there was never a break from hauling hay when you worked for Don Kelsey as we hauled every day 7 days a week unless it rained and it better be enough to make the fields muddy and the hay wet.  I do remember that during those extremely hot times working in the sun WITHOUT A SHIRT and WITHOUT SUN SCREEN a cloud in the sky was a gift from God.  If you worked in the fields you know what I mean because you watched the sky closely and hoped for the cloud to come in front of the sun and block the burning heat.

OK, back to the advantages of a hot summer. 

• First off:  things slowed down because the hay did not need cutting as often
• Second:  the cows would lay around looking for shade because they did not want to work either and in fact they would hang around the pond or creeks.  It was not uncommon for the cows to stand out in the pond with  water up to their bellies so they could stay cool.
• Third:  Even Dad and Mom would slow down which meant that I could which would allow me to go to the creek!  Aha moment!  Yes, time to go fishing.
• Fourth:  Even the muddiest of ponds was great to swim in except for the occasional water moccasin and a few turtles (not to be confused with chocolate turtles which I love)
• Fifth:  I would slip off to Beaver Creek behind the house and find the shallow running water and just lay in it.  The perch would come up and nibble on my toes but I did not care.  I always said we never had air conditioning but I guess we did, a water cooler in the creek.
• Sixth:  As we got older baseball games and the Dixie Dog were favorites and again it was totally a function of Mom and Dad slowing down due to the heat.
• Seventh:  Ice Cream makers
• Eighth:  Remember when Nestea came out and you could have iced tea during those hot days in an instant.  Instant Nestea was a much better invention than the microwave.
• Ninth:  Did you ever lay underneath the truck bed and take a nap especially when there was a slight breeze that cooled the sweat on your body?

I know there are more but that summer heat could ware you down but the greatest thing was what you learned from the Osage:

• Enjoy everything even a few seconds from a refreshing cloud
• Be thankful for those few moments in summer where you can get away and relax and rejuvenate
• Get it done, work like crazy, then smell the roses (that means relax and have an iced tea)
• It is much easier to appreciate what you have if you work for what you got

Thanks for your time,
garythepioneerman.com