I am sweaty. All the time. Because I am sweaty, I attract dust. Because it hasn't rained more than a few drops here & there, there is dust. Dust is attracted to sweat. It's a physics thing apparently.
I sweat standing outside without doing anything but breathing. I sweat doing morning chores. Morning chores involve hay. Hay loves to stick to sweat. That is not a happy feeling. It's irritating.
It's not that I am so delicate that I break a sweat just walking to the barn. I don't think a walk to the barn warrants a sweaty brow. Driving fence posts? Yep. That will bring on the sweat no matter what the temperature. The back of my knees get moist from feeding chickens now-a-days. How does that happen?!
Sweat & dust are iconic of high summer days on the farm. There hasn't been a good soaking rain for months. We've had the occasional passing shower, but it's not enough to wet the dust back down.
We had to drill a well this year. We have a spring on the property that has served the farm for 60 years. The spring is fine, but the catchment tank is disintegrating. It is made of blocks & mortar. The spring water is extremely acidic & has been eating away the tank for the past 6 decades. It would have cost us twice as much to fix the spring than to drill the well. Either way, we now have plenty of water for our needs.
And I need a shower. Every day. Sometimes twice a day.
Ugh. I hate sweating. It's just gross.
Watering the gardens has become my nightly ritual. It take about 45 minutes to an hour to get both done. The gardens are struggling with the heat. There is a breeze that blows up the hill of the farm. While this feels good to the farmers & livestock, that glorious zephyr is drying out the plants. The apple trees are dropping their fruit to save themselves.
The goats & pigs would probably love to sweat. You see, they can't. That old saying, "Sweating like a pig" is wrong.
Pigs can't sweat. Hence the pig wallow. Pigs need to chill down by wallowing in the cool mud. Goats hide in the shade to relax on hot summer days. I always worry about my goats getting pneumonia in these conditions, Heavy thick sultry air. It has happened. I try to keep my animals as comfy as possible, but there's nothing I can do about the heat & humidity. Goats don't like getting wet. I can't even spray them down to give them relief. The pigs enjoy the spray-downs.
I am thankful that the One who created these amazing critters & flora has given them the instincts on how to pass the "Dog Days of Summer".
I sweat & they can't. Which would be worse? Should I complain about sweating? Should I enjoy the breezes that bring me comfort but suck the moisture out of the plants? Because I know that these sweaty days are only a drop in the bucket of time, I will endure them. I will still look forward to the days when I can put in a day of work without soaking my clothes with sweat. I will gladly say with sweat dripping down my back, that I am glad I live this dirty life. A life without sweat & dust isn't for me.
As the daylight grows shorter, I am certain that cooler rainy days are ahead.
When?
When the wind blows them here. And when they do get here, I'll stand in the rain & be thankful.