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The tools I
carry every day on our farm are a cellular phone and a pocketknife.
The handy pocketknife I have been carrying ever since I was 12 years old
— that old official Boy Scout pocketknife my father gave me with
instructions and many demonstrations. I have passed on this
tradition to many people over the years. I try to tie things in a
half-bow. That makes it easier to undo in an emergency. Or, use the
knife. Animal gets a foot, head or body caught — use the knife. It does
take practice to open and lock the blade without hurting yourself. You
can cut a switch, make a new or enlarge a hole in a halter or strap,
trim a fingernail, scrape out a sliver. Just this last weekend, I used
the whole body of the knife to knock the ice off the barn door clasp so
I could get into the barn. The pocketknife: a handy helper.
One of the other tools I find a necessity for me is a cellular phone. A
cheap phone with service from phone cards has served me well for many
years.
I am here on the farm alone 75 percent of the time. I believe many of
you are also caring for your stock alone. The phone gives me a nice
peace of mind that in an emergency I could call and get help and be
found before I froze to death. We have Dexter bulls, and I try not
to take risks. Okay, while I am lying under six running, bucking young
stock of six months to two years after falling backward over frozen
ground, using a phone isn’t a first priority. But, after I get up I
think, “I could call for help if I couldn’t get up.” About 10
years ago, a large sliding haymow door came off the track and was
swinging to twist itself off the barn wall. I thought I would get under
it and lay the door down so it would not break up or squash a cat or
dog. WRONG! as I got under the door, I found I could not hold it up, BUT
I couldn’t let it down, either, without the door squashing me and now
several pesky cats. Back then, all I could do was holler for help until
a neighbor came to tell me to “stop yelling at the poor animals.”
My tools are the cellular phone and a pocketknife. |
