Boots on the Ground

In contrast to previous years, we've had a pretty wet and soggy late summer.  I'm still compiling the rainfall totals that we keep by logging the amounts on our rain gauge and I'll post the totals a little later.  The rains have really delayed me getting the Fall Garden planted and made the entire barnyard a muddy mess.  It is during these times that you learn how very important it is to own a good pair of rubber boots.

We've tried out quite a few different brands and types, from the cheap brands to the expensive ones and finally have determined that it is well worth the $75 buck investment to purchase a good pair of boots that will last.  The boots we use are LaCrosse boots and they are the same boots that I used when i was rice farming. They are comfortable and durable.  These aren't so nice looking anymore as they have quite a build-up of milk on them from milk that splashes out of the bucket when we're milking the cows. But, we don't care what they look like; we are concerned with how they perform. They do a great job of keeping your feet dry when slogging through muddy conditions day in and day out.  We have two pair - one pair for me and one pair for my bride.

When we got married, one of the songs that was sung in our wedding ceremony had the words (from the Book of Ruth) "Wherever you go, I will go..."  Little did Tricia know at the time that that meant she'd be walking with me through mud!

These boots were made for walking (in mud).

The ground is saturated with rainfall and it takes a while for things to dry out.  It is so important to have good boots when you are walking through mud that's ankle deep.

Plenty of mud by the barn!

In the garage by the back door, we have a long line of boots and shoes.  Obviously, we remove them before coming indoors as we don't want to track all the mud and dirt inside.  Once a week we have to blow out the garage and it is amazing how much mud/topsoil I blow back outside.  Tricia likes to make sure that all the boots are standing up and not laying on their sides as critters such as frogs, mice, bugs, and lizards like to crawl in them.

One of the things that we've learned make boots last longer is to use a "boot-puller-offer" like below. LaCrosse rubber boots fit very snug and you might be tempted to use your other heel or the sidewalk to help work them off, but by doing that, you will eventually weaken the boot and cause it to begin leaking in the heel area.  That's no good.  The "boot puller offer" came from Tricia's Dad and we use it every day, many times a day.  You just stand on one end, put your boot in the heel impression and pull.  So easy!

The Boot puller-offer

If LaCrosse boots have a down-side, it is that they are exceedingly hot on summer days.  Sometimes after wearing them, when you pull the boots off and then your jeans, the jeans will be completely saturated with sweat from the knees down.

When it is not so muddy, I'll wear my Wolverine leather steel toe boots.  Once I broke them in, they became comfortable as well, I just wouldn't advise walking in the mud too much with them.

Leather boots

Amazingly, probably the most used footwear I have are Crocs.  I wear them with socks.  I know it is not stylish to wear Crocs with Socks and I know Crocs are hideous looking, but the animals don't care what I look like.  They are comfortable and get the job done when it is not muddy.

Crocs with Socks, oh my!

Now with all that being said, I DO have some nice shoes that I wear to work and to church, but of course those types of footwear just aren't practical or useful in the barnyard or garden.  That did get me to thinking, though, about memories of going with my mom to buy shoes when I was a kid. Now, my feet have stopped growing and I just get a size 10, but, when I was a kid, we'd go into shoe stores and the shoe salesman would pull out one of these things.  Do you know what it is called?

Image Credit

It is called a Brannock Device.  It is named after the inventor of the contraption that measures your feet.  I can remember pulling off my shoes and putting my socked foot on it as the shoe salesman moved the settings in order to determine my size.  It would feel cold and hard on my foot.  It has been a while since I've seen one of these things.  Maybe it is because buying footwear (at least for me) is mainly self-service as opposed to full service.

Additionally, when buying rubber boots at the feed store, I'm almost certain there's not a Brannock Device anywhere nearby!