The Squall

Good Afternoon

Hot, hot, hot! Plain and simple. So hot, I fell asleep. Woke up to a neighbor deliverin' a tractor, belongs to the owner, here, rattle of his big deisel outside the window. Funny guy; don't know why he lives in New Mexico. I believe he grew up in the north. But, he's always in a hurry and never seems very happy; like whatever he's doin' he hates it and, if you get in his way, he'll start to shake, like he's fixin' ta hate you, too. He drove in, unannounced, after tearin' the stake up, holds the gate, opened the other side, the wrong way, crammin' the gate up on the bank, pulled in and set up like he was gonna back into the barn, that happens to be clearly, unaccesible, where I'm cleanin' it out and have a small mountain of trash in front. The tractors on a 20 foot flatbed and hooked up to his 20 foot, extra cab dually and the odds of him backin' any where close to the barn are slim to none, special the way he set up. There's trees on his left, a fence on the right and piles a brush in between. He was half way backed around, time I made it outta the house, where I'm like ta shade up, noon time and jumped when I whistled from the porch, clearly agitated.

I yelled "howdy" and when it was clear, there would be no response, added, "what's up?". He offered that the owner, here wanted his tractor back and I asked if it was runnin'. He said yes, so, I indicated it might be easier, just unload it, then later I could park it. Stead a straightenin' out and findin' a nice roomy spot, he jumped out and went to pullin' the ramps, fired up the tractor and backed it off, only to discover there wasn't enough room, get it all the way off the trailer, 'out crammin' it into the brush pile by the fence and near bustin' the fence in two. I watched quietly. It coulda been smooth and I mighta helped with the ramps and all, but agitated as he was and me movin' slow, just woke up, I figured I'd best stay out the way. He did manage to get the wheels off the ramp, crankin' the wheel, almost tearin' the tires and movin' forward, 'tween the ramps, much to the fences relief. He shut it down, jumped off and set to stowin' his ramps. Occurred to me, he was gonna have a hard time gettin' gone, the truck and trailer tweeked like they were, and now the tractor set where he couldn't back up. But he pulled his chains threw 'em in the truck and was fixin' to try, when I walked over and held out my hand. He gave me a quick, curious glance then, realizin' I was lookin' for a shake, offered his hand, nervous, 'fore jumpin' in his truck. He did manage, just, make the turn, with a little backin' and hoein' and the casual mashin' of a nice big bush next to the owners house, then gave a look, just 'fore he headed on out, like he had a question, but aware the racket, his big old deisel, I wouldn't be able to hear, so he just looked, debatin', I suppose, the value of the minute it might take, shut off the truck. Figurin' he might mean to address the gate, I offered I'd get it. Pleased, thus relieved of two, time consumin' chores, he punched the old deisel and left like an old dust devil, truck and trailer bangin and clangin', the deisel wailin', like to announce the end of time.

Well, the heat had cooked up some clouds. Lo, and behold, here come a squall and a raindrop hit my arm. The wind was fresh and the horses whinnied from the corral; "ya, breakfast had long since passed". I pried the gate from the bank, refixed the post, best I could and went ta find a flake for the boys.

Have a nice afternoon!

Best
jeune