The dams are full to the brim, The veld knee-high and green, cattle thriving and fat, my borehole pump fixed and the house water tank full. The lucerne is thriving with another cut and bale due shortly. The roads department is fixing our broken cattle grids and has promised to grade our road into town (while no specific date was mentioned their intentions are commendable). It’s all going too well on the farm, something’s got to give.
Well, it did. Firstly, my bakkie’s clutch packed up. Despite a month’s apprenticeship on mechanical maintenance with neighbour Jan, I wasn’t confident enough to replace the gearbox. I limped into the local garage and left it to the professionals, much to Jan’s disgust. Over morning coffee on my stoep, Jan asked, “Do you know what today is, Townie?” “Friday,” I answered confidently. “Smart-arse,” he replied. “It’s 29 February – 2008 is a leap year!” A lecture followed on the Julian and Gregorian calendars and ended two dunked rusks later with the astounding revelation that this year has 366 days. “So we’ve scored an extra day. Let’s declare it a public holiday, bring out the Klipdrift, lie in a hammock and get vrot.” “No way,” said Jan, “take advantage of the extra day and cut the lucerne.” “Slave driver!”
The staff were uncharacteristically cooperative. We cut and raked hectares of lucerne until the sun went down. “Just look at that, enough bales to feed our cattle ‘til next spring. Aren’t you glad now you didn’t sit all day on your butt and do nothing?” I went home to prepare the wages for the week. Fill in interminable forms, deduct money owing, calculate days worked, sick days off … admin’s not my thing. With pay-packets ready for the Saturday morning handout, I poured a stiff Klipdrift and contemplated my busy extra day. Come the morning, staff gathered in anticipation of their weekly wage. The muttering started immediately. They gathered in a group, and after much debate, elected foreman Elias as their spokesperson. He approached, reciting “30 days have September, April, June and November, all the rest have 31, except February which has 28 – except in a leap year when it’s 29. You’ve short-paid us boss, it’s an extra day this year!”
As the next time February will have five Fridays is in 2036, there was no point in trying to explain the complications of the lunar calendar as I won’t be around to witness it. So I paid up, consoled by the knowledge that barns full of lucerne from their enthusiastic work the day before were fair recompense. – Derek Christopher
