In my neck of the woods, Ted Emerson is the person to call if your pasture is overgrown with weeds and brush, and the grass is too tall and full of thistles, bugs, and parasites.

I’ve known Ted for years but have rarely spoken to him.

This happens mostly when he runs his tractor into our swamp, which he does now and then to see if he can get around the water.

When he gets stuck, his son comes in a different tractor and pulls him out.

Ted isn’t one for small talk. It works this way,  you call him and leave a message (these days, a text), and that’s about all the communications there will be.

A week or so later, he’ll ride up onto the farm in his blue tractor, open the gates and close them behind him (he makes sure no animals get out), and then spends two or three hours meticulously brushhogging and trimming the pastures.

When he’s done, he drives off the farm and heads off to another pasture somewhere.  There is no hello, goodbye, or small talk.

In a few weeks, a bill will arrive, usually much cheaper than it ought to be and cheaper than anyone else would be.

Now and then, I run into Ted with his large and loving family at a local restaurant. He is a friendly, loving, and conscientious person. Almost everyone for miles around calls him for brushhogging. No one is disappointed.

We’ve brush hogged, limed, and fertilized our fields; the sun and the rain have done the rest.  I’m proud of the way we keep the pastures up; they will easily get us through to November.

Ted is one of the things I love about the country. Mostly, we work off of trust, experience, and good faith. It almost always works out. He does a great job; the pasture has never looked better.