- Sprayer winterized thoroughly, drained, RV antifreeze used, filters cleaned, pumps checked.
- Forgot to mouse proof, mice set up shop in the engine and gears, causing a noisy midnight scramble.
- Cat chased the mice, bit the narrator, gave a bruised head and a firm vow to get a dog.
This text was generated by OpenAI GPT 5 Mini
Here’s our rendition of the Christmas classic: ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas… but with a bit of a sprayer-winterizing twist. You can hear us read it in the audio bar below, read it yourself, or watch as the talented Bridgette Readel (@bmreadel) reads it to you (end of article). Happy holidays from Sprayers101!
‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the farm
No sprayers were stirring, not even a Dramm
The nozzles were stored in a bucket with care
In the hopes that the herbicides were no longer there
The impeller spun freely in its little bed
We can’t spray next year if the controller is dead
I took off my gloves and my PPE cap
As the sprayer settled down for a long winter’s nap
When from under the hood there arose such a clatter
I sprang back to the cab to see what was the matter
Away to the ladder I flew with a flash
Tripped over clean filters and swore as I crashed
The light from my smartphone held up from below
Gave a luster of mid-day so I could behold
Some movement above as my vision did clear
Eight mice moving ‘round in the engine and gears
With a flash of their tails, so lively and quick
I knew that our cat wasn’t doing the trick
More rapid than eagles my curses they came
I remembered my checklist with each point by name:
- I’d drained all the places that water could hide
- I’d used RV antifreeze throughout the inside
- I looked closely for leaks from tank lid to sump
- I checked the spray tender and both transfer pumps
- I cleaned the outside and cab wall to wall
But I’d forgotten to mouse-proof… dash it all
And then came a scratching from up near the roof
The cat was responding, no longer aloof
Down from the rafters she came with a bound
She coiled as she listened to each squeaking sound
Her claws sprang to life from the tip of each foot
Her fur was all matted with ashes and soot
Her eyes, how they twinkled, her visage so scary
She grinned like the cat that had ate the canary
She leaped over me and into the fray
The mice scampered past, running every which way
One ran up my leg and jumped onto to a shelf
And I screamed when I saw them in spite of myself
Then the cat reappeared strutting all ‘round my head
And I lay there, and knew there was nothing to dread
As I climbed to my knees, I felt I had shirked
Steel wool and some traps would have probably worked
Then the cat rubbed against my legs with her nose
I reached out to pet her, as I slowly rose
And that’s when she bit me and hissed like a kettle
I jumped up too fast and my head hit the metal
As I swayed back and forth the cat ran out of sight
I’m getting a dog by the end of the night
