Feeding Cattle Prickly Pear
I know I've posted this picture before but John is threatening to burn pear after the first of the year. I don't think he should, he is 79 years old. See the tank in the foreground? It is full of Propane. See the wand in his hand with a cone at the end lit with fire? There is a hose running from the tank to the wand. There have been times when a tank blows up and burns the person holding the wand. Sometime a rattlesnake lives in a pear bush (cactus plant). When that fire disturbs them Mr. Snake is not a happy camper and he slithers out ready to strike. If the pear burning man is alert he can burn the snake before it can strike. It is easy to trip over the hose and if a person is agile he can catch himself in time to not drop the burning apparatus. If he is not, he can fall into a pear bush and lose control of the pear burner. Having to pick out zillions of cactus thorns is not a picnic and getting burned can be bad. The cattle do love the cactus minus the thorns when the green grass is gone from the weather being too cold. The cactus (which we have plenty of) is a free feed other then the cost of the Propane but it is hot, hard work. This job does not harm the cactus, within a couple of years it will have grown back tall enough to use for feed again. I think at his age he should give it up.
9 comments:
i know last year he had a young helper. can he hire someone to do this job for him this year? please?
He is hard headed and conservative minded Theresa. The cowboy who helps him work cattle and haul them burns pear down the highway every day all year but I don't know how much he would charge for that job. I'll keep nagging. Hee hee
I agree with you Paula. At his age you are not as steady on your feet as in your younger years. I know that I am not.
Interesting for sure. Safety first, I'd let someone else do it.
I know we are hard headed, but at times we have a 'smart' streak. Mavbe John will get one of 'em 'smart' spells and get some help.
I hope so because we take enough chances in life, without taking one that can be avoided.
Love from over here.
I hope if John has to do this he will get someone to do it are to help him. My husband is in his mid 80's and he still thinks he can do things like he did when he was younger and it's hard for me to stop him from doing it. A while back he went out to the storage shed and was working on electrical wires he took them a part, but couldn't put them back together I hired an electrician to come fix it and he didn't do a good job now only one plug-in out there will work.
I hope if John has to do this he will get someone to do it are to help him. My husband is in his mid 80's and he still thinks he can do things like he did when he was younger and it's hard for me to stop him from doing it. A while back he went out to the storage shed and was working on electrical wires he took them a part, but couldn't put them back together I hired an electrician to come fix it and he didn't do a good job where we have four plug-in now only one plug-in out there will work.
Sounds like very hard work and so many things that could go very wrong...I hope you were able to nag him into getting a helper.
If he's anything like Bud, telling him to give it up will just instigate a stronger urge to prove me wrong.
Besides, -------anything to get rid of a rattlesnake is fine in my book.
I remember you writing about this before - - but I never realized it was such dangerous work. I applaud John for doing it.
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