Image by Beth Berger from Pixabay
by Brenda Gorseth
They say farmers wear many hats and I would agree with this; however, if you live on a farm you also wear a variety of clothes. We have four hooks to hang our clothes on and the thought was hubby got two and I had two. Silly man! I have three and he has one with my robe on his sole hook as well. Yesterday, after changing for the third time I realized why I need so many hooks and thus, the blog.
First, one has to have inside home clothes; these include t-shirts, shorts, sweats or any article of clothing you would never wear in public, but maybe did ten or so years ago. The shirt I’m wearing right now is from Homecoming 2010 and the shorts are my son’s from junior high basketball (he’s 28), so I am right on target. Unless I get sweaty or dirty, I will wear this for several days because, as I’ve told my children, we are not the laundromat.
Then you have your outdoor clothes and in North Dakota, this involves various lengths and thickness. If I’m picking berries, outside before the grass dries, checking cattle, or want to avoid being the mosquitos’ breakfast buffet, this means long sleeves and pants, both jean and capri length. By mid-morning the change to shorts and t-shirt with the sleeves cut off because let’s face it, it’s cheaper than a tank top and one already has enough sleeved t-shirts. If it’s really windy or cool (or if sunburn has occurred), then another vintage t-shirt, usually much raggier, is put on until it warms up. Those outdoor shirts get worn until they are so holey, stained or smelly they take themselves to the trash barrel. And they can be really old; last week’s was the 1991 Minnesota Twins World Series shirt with the sleeves cut off. Why wear a perfectly good shirt outside where no one sees you? Our nearest neighbor is four miles away and our driveway is three quarters of a mile long; the cows don’t care what I wear.
When it is hot and/or mowing day, a swimsuit top and separate pair of shorts is hanging, ready for use, with an emergency tank top on my lap because the Fed Ex guy doesn’t need to see this; and yes, experience has taught me this. Pretty sure we had a driver change routes because he couldn’t unsee it. I have also learned that mowing ten acres on a windy day and then going into the house with those shorts on yields a whole lotta grass on the carpet, so now they hang in the entry way on their own separate hook. Changing clothes in the entry way is a topic my teen son cringes at, especially when I’m doing it while he’s taking an online class and his computer's camera can see me. Who knew?
That, folks, is why I’m hooked on a feeling…a feeling that maybe I need more hooks in my life.
Brenda Gorseth is the District 5 representative on the NDFB Promotion and Education Committee. She also operates a custom baking, processed foods and catering business, Woodward Farm that uses all North Dakota and Minnesota products.