As you might deduce from the previous post, yesterday was one of those days. After our adventures in rodeo, dairy style, we went in to breakfast.
Liz went to work, Alan was already at college, so it was just the boss, Becky and me. As the boss passed by he asked Beck, "How handy are you with the nippers?'
Since the cows got out through a partially shorted out electric fence and since brush nippers are the usual remedy for that ailment, I thought he wanted someone to cut the brush out of the fence. Becky told him no she wasn't handy with nippers, but the request lingered in the back of my mind.
Man, it was so hot. I put it off and put it off, doing all manner of normally unwelcome indoor chores, but I knew that brush needed nipping.
Finally I tucked my trusty iPod into my snap-down shirt pocket, sprayed some WD-40 on my nipper head and went out to nip. I tend to spend my non-milking hours in flip flops. Nettles soon convinced me that, as miserable as it is to wear rubber work boots in ninety+ degree sunshine, I had no choice but to change footwear. It probably didn't take me much over an hour and a half to get the fence all cleared out but I was so disappointed that I didn't get any compliments from the boss on my self-imposed industry.
Then about half way through evening milking I realized. He didn't expect either me or Beck to trim up the fence. He was hinting, in his obviously far too subtle manner, that he wanted me to give him a hair cut.......which I had already done, long before the brush nipping nirvana portion of my day...as a means of further delaying the latter job.
I love it when I completely outsmart myself.
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- Embracing agricultural diversity, one species at a time. All rights reserved
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9 comments:
Veterans will tell you that it rarely pays to volunteer ... :^)
There is NOT much worse than rubber boots, humidity and heat to make life's walk a misery.
I kept thinking he was asking you to help nip of some long cow hoof or two. That's what we do if we happen to have a cow whose hoof grows too long.
Good story I was NOT expecting the ending.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
I'm laughing! I admire the way you make us all smile over incidents that would normally be negative. The boss should consider himself lucky that he got that haircut BEFORE you did all that other nipping. I've been known to give some really, really close haircuts!
Rev. Paul, you are so right. I suppose I am glad the fence is all trimmed up, but on the other hand we moved most of it today so I probably would have been just as well off to leave it. lol
Linda, hate em! But they are nettle proof.
Linda B, the ending was a surprise to me too. Especially after all that fence clearing. lol
NW he IS lucky. And at that it was so hot and I hate cutting hair so much that I didn't exactly give him the best one he ever had. Buzzzz, buzzzzz, buzzzzz...yeah, you're done.
It had to be done anyway. I hope the boss gave you some brownie points for thinking for yourself.
[Just read your follow up comment. Moved the fence! LOL indeed!]
Joated, you should have seen last night when the cows came down. They all walked past the new fence with its fluttering surveyors tape....except one, MOnday. She paused to look at it in a kind of fearful manner and just as she did another cow rattled a piece of plastic she found on the ground and was playing with...right behind her! We got a good chuckle at her pointless panic.
Oh Honey! That is really too funny! And you are a good woman.
Amen.
Cathy, thanks...sometimes I wonder about myself.
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