A Cow Dung Monday

"O-O-O-OKLAHOMA! Where the wind comes sweeping down the plain!"

Ok, so I'm not in the Sooner state, but I guarantee there are days when the wind comes sweeping down the plain here in Huskerland. There's not much to stop it, so when Mother Wind gets out her broom, all sorts of things are swept across our lawns and fields: crunchy corn husks, lost leaves, hazy dust clouds, detached rain gutters, mangled twigs and of course, that stale, sour odor of livestock manure. This smell FOLLOWS you. HUNTS you. PERMEATES INTO YOUR CAR AND SETTLES ON YOUR NOISE HAIRS. Ever heard of Bitter Beer Face? Try Bitter Poop Face. It's a common sight around here on days like this. Yet, some people like my uncle, who is in the cattle business, will tell you this stench is "the smell of money!" Mmm, yummy. Don't worry, not all our money smells like cow dung.

But the dusty gusts always bring something less visible and thankfully less odorlicious - the promise of change. It may only be February, but today's warm, southwest gales had me sniffing the air like a canine - is that SPRING I smell?! I dare not hope yet - March winters have been known to shut down entire populations around here. Stay tuned.