Mud In The Mouth

Once Upon A Time

The Title

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Mud In The Mouth And God's Grace

It was Spring, only it was miserably wet and cold that spring, the corrals where a mucky mess and they only got worse as the day drug on.  We were tired and the cows were restless and did not want to cooperate. When we worked in the corrals pushing cattle through, we each had our job to do that day, like it or not.  Mom was the secretary, each animals treatment was recorded in a record book. Treatment like reading the tag number in the ear, which was yelled out above the bawl of the herd.. Mom, believing that she heard us right would then write it down in a record book as an identification of who that animal belonged to.  There was often,  a brand to see and a name on the back of the tag to help with that.

The place where mom sat, was always nice and dry, but not always warm. That place was a little barn we had set up right close to the head squeeze where we would catch the cattle so that we could do work on them. In the end of the barn was a window hinged at the top so it could swing upward, designed to block sun but also to shield from the rain or snow which ever the case may be.  Rain or shine the show had to go on, it had to be done.

Chucks job was to read the tag numbers, take off the horns, put the tag in if the animal didn’t have one or had lost it, and do all of the head stuff on each one.

My job was the pusher, I pushed the critters into the head squeeze, pushed any medication into the hip with a sharp needle and playing around twisting the tail, causing a distractions while Chuck done his thing at the other end.  You might say I got the tail end of the deal.  Many times I would get my feet stepped on and I would get splashed with water mixed with a lot of other brown looking stuff. (POOOOOp)  One time in the spring I remember getting the brownish green stuff directly from the source.  I had ran up behind a old cow and kicked her in the bottom to make her get moving.  Truly, I should of known better, even though it did get her going.  If you know what I mean?  Well she got going alright. First it was good, she got going in the right direction, but then it backfired, and a long juicy squirt of green juicy poop nailed me directly in the chest just below the chin, "thankfully"but then it ran downward on my bare chest of my open western shirt. You got it, it ran right down my bare belly, and you can imagine where else.  What a mess, she really gave me pay back for that kick. Yuke!!

My sisters and bubby would make sure the chutes were kept full.  Dad always gave a hand where ever he was needed.  Those years of his fighting cancer was tough, but he was always there for us. He never stopped pulling his load of the work, when he could and always joined in with our fits of laughter when ever they happened to start.  That could happen at any moment because one never knew when something would occur.

Well, like I had said earlier, things were getting pretty muddy around the old corral, and the cattle were getting tired of being pushed around.  So things were getting a little tense for both animal and man.

As Chuck let another old cow out, I pushed an old black Angus up, and with a rattle and a shake of the head gate, a clatter and a bang she was caught.  “There you old cure”, I said, “that’s as far as you go for now.”  As I gave her another big kick just for good measure.  There was not a lot of love lost between me and the Angus breed of cattle, I seen them as a miserable ornery breed.  Stubborn as a mule, I am sure I thought they were related somehow, but knew it was impossible.

So Chuck started doctoring on his end.  But she would have none of it, she throw her head this away, she throw her head that away, she throw her head up, she throw her head down.  But as I said, she was going no where special at the time.  A couple of times she and my brother almost met heads, and once or twice she almost throw him off his feet.

Now back in those days Chuck and I both had a bit of a temper. When that temper got set off, watch out because anybody or anything close by felt the fur flying, if you no what I’m a get-en at.  I was right there and watching close as he was being yanked back and forth, I tried my distraction tactics, on the tail- end but to no avail.  But what next, the old girl went down on her knees and started to pray, and my brother by this time was everything but praying.  

I need to stop and let you know that the owner of the cattle we were doctoring was helping out as well, and watching all of the commotion.  As this whole episode unfolded, his eyes got bigger and bigger with anticipation as to what would happen next.

All of a sudden Chuck lost it and with a big swing of his cowboy boot and a yell that would of curdled milk, he kicked the old bag (pardon the expression) right squarely in the side of the head.  As that big boot met face of cow, a large piece of mud mixed with manure and what have you, "fleeewwwwww" off of the toe of his boot and went spiralling towards that open barn window where our mother was setting keeping books. You can only imagine what happened next, so I will tell you.

Just as the mud was passing through the open window, mother opened her mouth to yell something to Chuck, but you know what none of us are sure to this day what it was she was going to say.  Because it was about that time that the spiralling clump of mud and all of it’s added ingredient entered mothers mouth and all words were muffled or stopped completely.

Well you have never seen anything so funny in all of your live long days.  There was a spitting and a sputtering going on like you have never seen before.  While she was spitting and sputtering, the rest of us got into one of those laughing spells, that is all but the owner of the cattle.  He was as serious faced as can be, for a long time but when he seen no one else had stopped laughing, he to caught the bug and we all had another belly jiggling laugh., but not at mom's expense because by this time mom had joined into the laughter. For she had time to get the mud spit out all over the little barn walls. Let me tell you, that was one year we didn’t have to chink any cracks in that barn. LOL

The cattle owner couldn’t believe that mom wasn’t mad, and there was no cursing or swearing going on at all, just a lot of laughing.  He said, “ I have never seen such a family as this before.  In most families this would have caused a big fight.  But not you guys, you just laugh.  Well none of us likely thought at the time as to why that was, but I know now it was because we loved each other and Jesus God’s own Son was very present in our home.  So I know it was God who should have gotten the glory that day.  In those times, it was the grace of God that kept us having fun.

I know it was almost dark when we finished that day and as we sat around in the little line shack that evening eating supper, the talk would not go back to mud in the eye episode but to the mud in the mouth and we would all burst out laughing again.

As a family had fun at what ever we done, wether it was work or play, mind you there wasn’t much play so we just played while we worked.  It was a lot of fun. Oh, don't get me wrong, we were a normal family and there was many a ruff spots, but I am happy to say, I believe the fun times out weighed the sad times.  But the sad times were heaven and hard times and it left its toll on us in many areas of our lives, and it is only by the grace of God, we have reached the age we are today.  I praise God that He is good and has carried us through, even when we didn't recognize that He was.  If you will look you will find God's grace woven into everything - even into the working of a herd of cattle.  God grace is everywhere.

(Luke 3:31 and 1 Chronicles 3:4-9)