We spent four weeks at farms this year, which gave us plentiful opportunities to live like rednecks. That may sound like a derogatory term, but in reality, it’s not. The word originated in the South in reference to sunburned white farmers and outdoor laborers. Today, it’s synonymous with hardworking, inventive, friendly people — not necessarily in the South — who are down to earth and know how to have fun. 

Here are highlights of our redneck adventures this summer.

Homemade fireworks show

We arrived at my brother Steve’s farm in Central Michigan toward the end of June. He and his friend Jake had bought a collection of fireworks in anticipation of the Fourth of July. Since Steve’s neighbor Travis would be out of town on the Fourth and we’d be in Arizona to meet our grandson, Steve decided to have the celebration early.

One night between 9 and 10 p.m. (it stays light late in Michigan as it’s on the western edge of the Eastern time zone), we pulled out our lawn chairs and settled in for some excitement toward the back of Steve’s property. Thankfully, Travis brought mosquito deterrents to keep us from getting bit during the revelry.

Typically barefoot Steve and shoed Jake synchronized the lighting of various fireworks and quickly moved away. Loud pops startled us, feeling a bit too close for comfort. We moved our chairs back a few times and oohed and aahed at the spectacular displays.

Redneck water slide

Practically every weekend, my cousin Deb and her husband, Keith, go stay in their camper, which is set up on their farm next to a pond in Southwestern Michigan. 

When you hear the term “farm pond,” you may think of something murky that you wouldn’t want to step foot in. Indeed, that used to be the case when we first started visiting Deb annually. Since then, however, she and Keith have spent countless hours working to clean and maintain the pond, which has become their little piece of paradise.

We spent a couple of evenings there enjoying cookouts with the family and watching Deb and Keith’s grandkids, and adult kids, play in the water. The merriment started with a brave grandson climbing the ladder of an old-style metal slide common at playgrounds when I grew up. With water running down the slide, he got into position, glided down, and plunged into the water. His dad followed, and so did his aunt.

I didn’t go dressed to participate, but I was determined to try the experience before moving on to our next location as it looked quite fun. On our last evening at Deb’s farm, I finally got my chance. Not wanting to lose my glasses in the pond, I handed them to Bob, ascended the ladder, sat down, pushed off, and went for a thrilling ride. I enjoyed it so much that I did it again before swimming around the pond for a bit.

Hauling our waste

Weeks spent at Deb’s necessitated us dumping our black and gray wastewater tanks partway through. One day while I worked, Bob borrowed a waste tote tank stored on the farm property and painstakingly emptied the contents of our black tank and two gray tanks into it one at a time.

Then, unlike a previous time, he manually dragged the tote to a septic tank drain, where he proceeded to dump it. He returned to the trailer and repeated the process until the tanks were empty.

Ingenious repairs

While camped at our friends Norm and Susan’s farm in Idabel, Oklahoma, Bob helped Norm get some farm equipment that had been sitting on the property for years ready to level a lot. When a local tire shop wouldn’t take on the repairs, Bob and Norm used a Sawzall and an angle grinder to remove rusted-on tires from rims. It took considerable time and effort — and a few minor injuries — but the two were successful.

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