Jerry Crownover Taking it easy isn’t easy

just athoughtWhat’s On Your Mind, Ozarks? Life Is Simple

By Jerry Crownover

Life

is Simple By Jerry CrownoverIcan now remember what it’s like to be 15 years old again…anxiously awaiting my chance to drive. I had to undergo a little medical procedure last week, at the hospital, and I was given very strict orders concerning what I could and couldn’t do for the first seven days after release. Normally, I would take those orders with a grain of salt, and fast-track my way back to my normal routine, but my wife is a retired nurse and she was witness to the stern instructions I received from both the surgeon and nurse. It’s like sharing a cell with the warden. As usual, there are a thousand things that need doJerry Crownover farms in Lawrence County. He is a former professor of Agriculture Education at Missouri State University, and is an author and professional speaker. To contact Jerry, go to ozarksfn.com and click ing around the farm, but all of them either require the on ‘Contact Us.’ operation of a motorized vehicle, or at least a little bit of strenuous, physical exertion. According to the warden, I’m not allowed to do either.

Helplessly, I sit on the front porch, watching thistles sprout up like a freshly watered chia pet, banned from taking the spray rig out to kill the wicked plants. When I get up and move to the back porch, I see a young bull here in the pasture where he shouldn’t be, and unclipped seed heads that do nothing but irritate the eyes of the cattle, setting them up for a record year of pinkeye. Fly mops on the mineral feeders would help, but they weigh more than 5 pounds, so that is a no-no, also.

I have two more days to go, before I receive a parole, and am allowed to drive again. I still won’t be allowed to “overly exert myself” (do doctors have any clue as to what farmers do, every day?), but I will at least get a little caught up on the most pressing of activities.

Unfortunately, after that one week parole, I have to return to the hospital for an even more invasive procedure (bypass surgery), which will keep me from driving for

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Kati Jones manages many of the day-today tasks at her family’s J5 Farm. See more on page 7.

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Ozarks Farm & Neighbor accepts story suggestions from readers. Story information appears as gathered from interviewees. Ozarks Farm & Neighbor assumes no responsibility for the credibility of statements made by interviewees. © Copyright Ozarks Farm & Neighbor, Inc., 2021. All rights reserved. Printed in USA.

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