Monday I was meeting a friend/co-worker to go to the movies. I wasn't running late but I wanted to meet up with a little time to spare rather than feeling rushed so I took a backroad around a small town. The speed limit in town is 35. The back roads have the normal 55 limit and that saves time. Of course there are things to consider when taking the back route. It is farming country so you could well get stuck behind a tractor that doesn't even go the in-town 35 speed limit. Someone's cow's could be out in the road. There is always the possibility of deer or turkeys running out into your path.

It seemed I was going to miss all of these hazards. Another big consideration is the condition of the roads. They can get pock marked very easily from rain and vehicles driving to quickly down them. These are actually potholes and can not only be big but stretch across the road, unavoidable for hundreds of yards or more at a time. This means slowing down to at least 35 anyway. It had been wet the day before and my risk paid off until I got to where the dirt meets the blacktop again.

A farmer had been out earier spreading fertilizer, cow feces, on his fields. The tracks were clearly visible down the road, where he started, where he turned off the road into the field to start this process. Pavement up ahead I was too slow realizing I had been focused on that and did not notice the rather huge puddle the farmer had turned through to enter the field. Blurting 'Aw, crap!' (yes I really said crap) I braced myself for the large bump and potential to lose my traction and have to steer out of a slide when I hit the water. Fortunately I plowed right through, water spashing up over the hood of the car and onto the windshield, car never wavering from it's path. I turned on the wipers and that's when I noticed...the smell. It was indeed crap. The farmer had been fertilizing after all and I had just driven straight through a pool of crap.

Now don't get me wrong, I grew up on a farm and I'm actually quite used to the smell though it's been years. This odor was not nearly what it could have been, especially if the farmer had raised pigs instead of dairy cattle. It's just that the vent was on because it was a cold day and I always have the vents sent to bring in 'fresh' air from the outside. It keeps my windows from fogging up. The windows did not fog up, but the air certainly did. I had to laugh about it. It really was kind of funny. The smell was no worse than if someone with pretty well worn farm boots had taken a seat. It's mostly gone now apart from the outside when it's rainy or damp out. I haven't washed it off the car yet and don't know if I really want to. It's not hurting anyone. And I did arrive at my destination with time to not rush and a decent little story for when I got there.