Extremely hot weather makes me think of the "good old days" of my grandparents and how they must have had some very bad days. I also think about how the livestock bore the heat when trees were so sparse in early Oklahoma. My daddy shut down all farm work at noon, until it got cooler in the late afternoon. He also removed the harnesses and took off the bridles for the comfort of his team of horses. I felt good watching him do that. He taught me a lesson I have never forgotten about caring about the comfort of animals as well as humans. Our animals always had plenty of fresh cool water. We hand, or should I say foot pumped, water each evening when the wind did not run the windmill. My dad had a contraption that he invented that he used on top of the big hand pump by our cattle tank. It was like a teeter-totter. attached to the long pump handle. We could climb on top and rock back and forth with our feet while standing on the board plank attached to the pump handle. This took so little effort. My sister Lila and I loved to pump the water that way. We actually fought for turns. Daddy was often on the foot treadle board with us. When it was really hot, we slept out in the yard on a set of springs with a mattress on top. My grandmother Clover had the whole bed outside. Many a time, a shower or rain made us scurry to get the bedding inside before it got wet. There is nothing better than sleeping outside where you have a sky full of beautiful stars and a big full moon for a ceiling with the cool night breeze for your fan. We had no electricity, so this was a treat for us. We lived a long way from any traveled road, so never had to worry about onlookers. I always imagined the old-time cowboys doing close to this out on the prairie; only they used their saddle for a pillow and the saddle blanket for a cover. My bachelor uncle, Lloyd Caywood made a screen house to sleep in during the hot summer nights, so he was not bothered by the insects like we were. He lived by a well-traveled road, but he was an early riser, so privacy was no problem for him either. Great memories, but I still prefer my air-conditioned bedroom.

Any copyright remains with the artist.
There is no commercial use of it.





Created December 26, 2020

Updated: 14 June, 2021

Webmaster ~ Ray Clark ~ rayclark07"at"gmail.com

Return To Depression Days

Return To Home Page