• During Koffee Klutchers the other day, Fridge had a big roll on his stomach — no, not just in it. Sighing, he lamented: “Whyzit so easy to gain 10 pounds and so hard to lose it?”
“Cuz it sneaks up from behind, grows on ya,” explained Barn Bette, “then refuses to leave cuz you’re always patting it.”

ROLL OUT: Fridge wondered how it happened. (Dan Foote image)

• With a troublemaking glint in his eye, Cowboy George asked Bette: “Do ya like dogs?”
“Of course,” she replied.
“How bout cats?”
“Yeah, some of ’em,” she added, frowning about what might come next — and rightly so.
“Men?” he queried.
And she came back with: “Can do without ’em,”

• Then talk shifted to gender-neutral bathrooms. “Why’d I ever want to use a woman’s bathroom,” wondered Country Boy Eddie. “I’ve heard they’re dirtier than men’s, and always have waiting lines.”

• Kids have their own "take" on just about everything. For instance, I asked my 7-year-old grandson to complete this old saying: "The pen is mightier than the …"
"The pig!" he shouted.

• Murphy’s got another new law: The bigger the city, the faster people drive — to escape!

• I smacked a turkey vulture on the road last week. And his buddies thanked me for the fresh, hot meal.

• “Honey,” I asked my wife, “how many great men of the world can you think of?”
“One less than you think, my dear,” she replied.

• I guess Preacher was right in saying “Romance hasta be cultivated to grow.”

Birdsong is a pen name for a Farm Progress editor.