The Smell of Spring is in the Air

The other day Wayne woke up with a low grade fever, stuffy-nose, and a nasty cough. He was bleary-eyed from a restless night. I hated to keep him home from school because he's missed quite a few days this year, but he seemed to be in quite a miserable condition, and I figured sending him to school would just spread his germs around to the rest of the kindergarten class. So I allowed him to stay home to rest. Then somehow he made some kind of miraculous recovery by 9:00a.m. and was able play a house-rattling game of Superhero with Cole. By noontime he had shed his Batman persona and was zipping up and down the driveway on his bicycle. I was regretting my decision to let him stay home, but then, if he had gone to school, he would have missed all the excitement.

It was the first day of May. The temperature never rose above 46 degrees, but there was one sure sign of Springtime in the kingdom. Something that causes little boys' hearts to race with excitement and anticipation. Wayne and Cole planted themselves by the roadside and waved fanatically, as if some big holiday parade were going by our house.


The cause for all this excitement?

Brian driving by on his tractor hauling the manure spreader.



After he drove by, they would race up and over the stone wall (Heather frustrated with her hat and at being left behind),and up onto the knoll in the back field to get a better view of the fertilizer spewing out of the spreader. In all of about 10 minutes, Brian would have emptied his tank and would be on his way back down the road, headed to the barn for a refill. He did this all day long, back and forth, back and forth. Spray the field, back to the barn. Every ten minutes or so.



"Why do farmers have to spray the grass?" Cole wanted to know.

"The manure is fertilizer for the hay. It helps it grow. It's like food that helps the hay grow really tall and thick, so the cows have a lot of it to eat in the winter." I explained.

"What is manure made of anyway?" Cole, at 4, is just a bottomless pit of questions. Every answer you offer just leads to more questions. Actually, I was a little surprised he didn't already know all about manure.

Wayne stepped in to answer this one. "It's cow poop!"

Cole's face lit up with delight. I don't know how it is for those of you who raised (or are raising) little girls, but with little boys, any mention of the word "poop" is cause for celebration. "NO IT'S NOT!!" he shouted gleefully, his huge smile showing that trademark gap between his front teeth. "MOMMY, IS IT REALLY?"

"Yes, it is," I admitted, knowing this would be all they'd talk about for days.

Every time Brian went by with the tractor, Wayne and Cole would race out and wave. Cole, now knowing the whole truth of the situation, ran even faster to the road and waved even harder. They never actually admitted to hoping for a ride, but they reminisced about rides he'd given them in the past. Wayne constantly boasted that he has had three rides, Cole only one. Brian would wave back and toot the tractor's horn but didn't offer a ride, just wanting to get his work done, I'm sure. I couldn't help but feel it must be a very long and tedious day for him. I hope seeing his little cheerleaders out there by the road at least gave him something to smile about.

All evening and during dinner they talked about Brian, the tractor, the manure spreader, and of course, the main ingredient - poop. Nearly forgotten die-cast John Deeres were resurrected from the bottom of the toy box, and the livingroom floor was transformed into a hay field. They constantly argued over who's turn it was to be Brian. At bedtime they wondered if they'd be able to watch the tractor again tomorrow. Would he spray our field? Would he spray Grammie's field? Wayne plans to set up his little roadside stand and sell refreshments, just in case Brian needs a cold drink or a snack to keep him going. I'm sure they fell asleep with happy tractors buzzing around in their dreams.

Move over Batman. There's a new Superhero in town.