The Green, Green Grass of Home...

It's been a typical April here in the great Pacific Northwest which means that it rains...a lot...and the sun comes out about every third day...for a while...and all the time the grass is growing, and growing, and growing. This is a problem on the farm, for while we can rush out and get the lawn mowed while the grass is dry, it is much more difficult to get 40 acres mowed before it rains again...

And so, the grass is VERY tall between the rows...

And, The Farmer needs some help getting it all cut down...

And then, this is what happens:

Yep, I actually have to drive that little tractor he bought for me.

Look at me, smiling there...the epitome of the Happy Farmer's Wife. What else would I be doing on a Monday afternoon after all?

Well, frankly, I had thought of a not a few things, but I did realize that this was urgent, important, imperative!! And so I got my coffee (caffeinated) and my bag of chocolate kisses, licorice, and salted mixed nuts, turned on the radio and had at it!

And it was all good...for the first 3 hours...But then my disorder kicked in. You see, I cannot seem to ride or drive in any vehicle for an extended period of time without getting sleepy. First, just a little tired. Then, well, a little drowsy...and then the heavy-liddedness, and head-dropping-into-your-lap sleepiness begins to threaten the lives of all plants that are confined to straight rows...Not to mention the goodwill between a Farmer and his plant-murdering Wife.

It finally got so bad that I stopped the tractor and went to the house to eat ice cream. Hey! What else can one do? And you might note, for future reference, that ice cream is a very effective antidote to sleepiness, and my personal favorite as well. Of course, The Farmer said, "You're sleepy? You should turn on the air-conditioning." Of course, I knew he would say this -- because he always says this. "Keep it cool! That will keep you awake." He doesn't get it. When I keep it cool, I am cold. When I am cold, I want a blanket. When I have a blanket, I want to sleep...Uh-huh...it's always that way...but he will say it next time too.

Anyway, I revived, and finished the job...and was glad to be done because it came to me that at about 4 hours of tractor time, I start to want to hit somebody. There is just no rational reason for this feeling...it just comes over me. I take it as evidence that women are not supposed to drive tractor for more than 3.5 hours at a time.  Another piece of evidence for this is that, anatomically speaking, women are not made to be far away from restrooms, or at least bushes. Back in the day, Before Kids, I was Randy's hired man, and drove tractor for 8 -10 hours per day...Many was the hour that I reflected on this truth, firmly believing it was a sign of God's design for women's occupations. It was another of the many reasons I was thrilled to switch from Farmerette, to Full-Time Mom, part-time Farmerette.

But I digress...as usual...

In the end, I mowed all of this:

And all of that tall grass is now lying around like this:

...and most of the time our feet look like this:

And soon I will get to see all that grass I cut down again...when it comes in the mud room.

That's April for you!