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mud-testing Berne overalls


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Posted by Zonie on May 23, 2022 at 04:14:45

I had tried experimentation with a new brand of overalls and ordered three sets from the Berne company. That they were of the RealTree pattern caused some mirth at work. Alejandro of the night shift passed close by me and exclaimed, "I almost didn't see you!"

I thought the lightweight fabric might be better in the heat. Unfortunately it conducts the heat from the furnaces better and the heat from the degreaser better. In late March I found out the hard way that the fabric was partly translucent in the ultraviolet. I received an abdominal sunburn from doing yard work while wearing them. My back was unharmed, probably from the base tan I had developed there in winter. In all fairness the manufacturer probably thought people would wear shirts with them.

The first pair met an untimely demise. There was a tear near the right pocket from having brushed the rough edge of furnace four's electrical box. In heavier overalls this would be a minor matter, but the tear quickly spread until it was down my right leg and they were obviously unserviceable, so this brand fails the durability test.

Waste not want not, so I decided to wear out the other two and not buy this brand again. The second pair are still intact after a couple weeks, so today I decided to mud test them. I didn't have a chance to test them against rattlesnake fangs, as we were warned about it by other hikers this morning, but I had yard work to do that required watering the trees and cleaning the pool filters. The late morning was spent vacuuming the pool and then I spent the midday and early afternoon indoors. In the late afternoon I figured I'd do the yard work and mud testing.

It was clear and slightly cooler than usual. The maximum temperature was 97°F, and the relative humidity got down to 9%--ideal conditions for evaporative cooling.

I transferred my wallet, change and mobile phone to the old sturdy Carhartt overalls I planned to wear to work Monday. I wore a camouflage ball cap, a brown button down shirt, torn calf-high bull riding socks (yes, they lasted longer than eight seconds), and wellies. As the Berne overalls have another annoying feature--excessive length and draw strings, I simply tucked them into the wellies.

I ran the hose under the fig tree and swung the pick-ax the break up the soil in the dried mud pit. Then I moved the hose to the pit and stomped in the puddle it was making. I then swung the pick into the puddle to further break up the ground. Each swing sent a splash of mud on my overalls and boots. Strangely my left leg was getting a lot muddier than my right leg. Maybe it has something to do with my right-handed pick-ax swings. As the puddle got deeper, I swung vigorously trying to get the mud to splash higher on me. I got it to splash up to my arms and my chest. By then the mud pit was full enough. It was just a matter of churning it. I moved the hose back to the fig tree and commenced to stomp around and swing the pick- axe some more. I finally discarded the pick-axe, knelt in the mud hole and went down on my belly. I grabbed mud and splashed it on my hat. I rolled around to my backside and churned the mud horizontally with my boots.

All covered with mud, I got up, and the overalls did quite well. They didn't sag much, and I felt quite at ease moving around. I then crawled under the fig tree to get at the leaves, twigs and debris that was difficult to reach with a rake from a standing position. Naturally I was crawling around in water and mud. After it was wet enough, I crawled back and moved the hose to the grapefruit tree. I then crawled back under the fig tree and crawled through the mud to various places to gather leaves and twigs, and, of course, lots of mud.

I then backed out and got up. It was time to hose off the pool filters. By that time the water pressure in my wellies was a bit unpleasant, but the chore didn't take long. I then moved to the lemon tree so it could get some water while I hosed myself down, disrobed, and hosed down the clothing assembly. Then daylight was fading, and I showered and laundered the clothing. The overalls at least did well in mud.



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