Skippy''s pet calf...

[Gothgrrl]

What a sweet story. I think all animals are wonderful. I just love ALL animals. I told hubby I would like a puffer fish, prairie dog and a hedgehog. But I''m not going to hold my breath. LOL

 

[monarch64]

Date: 4/21/2007 11:28:40 PM
Author: Skippy123
Monarch,
You brought back soooooo many wonderful memories to me. I also saw a calf being born; it was amazing (at the time I was a little in shock and thought it was a little icky but cool). My cousins dogs were work dogs too! I liked the dogs following us around because there were coyotes at the Ranch. Were your cows dairy cows or you all just had a lot of them? Did you help brand cows? That part was not my favorite.

They also had a plum orchard and my grandma would can stuff and make jams. Wow, I am really lucky I got to experience that. Please tell me more if you like. You are not rambling; it brought back so many wonderful memories!!!! Thank you!

Yes, I definitely have lots of good memories of farm life as well! To answer your questions, we had mainly beef cows, and just a few dairy cows who were kept in separate pastures. We didn''t do "branding" they had little tags in their ears that looked like guitar picks, as I recall them. My parents only have about 65 acres, and their barns were not set up for milking really, so basically they would buy calves once a year and sell them when they got big enough. They didn''t farm or raise livestock for more than about 5 years, because for one they also had other businesses to run and there wasn''t enough time to take care of so many things, and also the cows were ALWAYS getting out and that is a big issue to deal with. My older brother could tell you all about how to mend a fence, lol! We didn''t have "fancy" electric fences like some of our neighbors, so the cows would just push right through the barbed wire and be cruising down the road, or they''d be up by our house in the morning--imagine waking up and looking out your bedroom window to find a big cow standing there staring at you!

I still remember my mom packing me up in the big Ford truck and watching her actually run at the cows in the road with a cane to herd them back into a different pasture!

My brother and I used to go hunting for wild mushrooms every spring, and we weren''t supposed to go on our neighbor''s property but we always sneaked over there anyway because we knew all the good spots to find mushrooms, however there were a LOT of cattle there and we would have to run at them so they''d back off, then they would charge us, then we would run at them, gaining a little ground towards where we wanted to go each time. Looking back on it now, if they''d really wanted to trample us they probably could have, we shouldn''t have messed with them like that, but it was fun at the time!

We also had an orchard...peaches, pears, apples, and cherries, plus there were a ton of wild blackberry and raspberry bushes around, as well as mulberry trees. I don''t remember my mother ever making jams or jellies, she wasn''t much of a preserver, lol! She did make a few apple pies, though, and cherry and peach cobblers, when we were young. Over the years almost all of the trees were lost to storms or diseases, unfortunately.

Hmmm, what else do I remember? One year we had a drastic cold spell that came overnight and the spring-fed pond where the ducks and geese hung out froze so suddenly that we had to go down to the pond with an axe and chop some of the birds out of there, and one winter my dad and I went down to chop a hole in it so the horses could get water and he ended up falling in--I was only 12 and didn''t know how to drive yet, I remember being so freaked out that I would have to drive him back up to the house because I was afraid he wouldn''t be able to, fortunately he was ok, just cold and wet up to his waist.

Only one instance of a rabid animal--a skunk who was lurching around the barn lot one day when my mother happened to glance down there and knew right away something was wrong. She had to call one of the neighbors, this man who ended up going down with an axe and chopping the thing''s head off...that is really all that can be done in those circumstances, and since our dogs were outside animals for the most part they had to be protected.

This has really brought back some great memories Skippy! My parents are currently in the process of getting their house ready to sell, and I will be sad when the time comes for them to move after almost 30 years there. The land is owned half by my dad and half by my uncle, I''m not sure how exactly it will be divided up since there are a few of us children who stand to inherit some of it.

Thanks for letting me reminisce--hopefully it stirred up more goodies for you too!

 

[Skippy123]

Monarch,
Okay, I think you are just the best for sharing! You truly are wonderful for that!!! You did give me more memories.
We would always take the catus out of the poor dogs paws. when they would step on one. Poor guys. Our cows were taken to the market about every year also, since my parents had other jobs and paid people to look after their cattle. We had to brand cows because some neighbors would take out the tags if you know what I mean. It just really helped in the long run. My parents have land and a house about 15 miles away from my cousins and grandma. I loved going to the cousins because of course they had kids my age and we would hike all over their property. They also had atv's and horses. My grandma's property is about 1,000 acres so there was a lot to hike and they had a river and we would river raft. I just remember all the fun we had during the summer months!

I am sorry to hear they are selling the property but I am sure it will be nice to take a break from all that work! Wow, I can't believe the ducks froze; it snowed but nothing like that. We did have skunks and the dogs would smell like them every once in awhile. heehe Poor dogs.

Gosh, thank you Monarch.

 

[monarch64]

Ok, I can totally understand the branding thing especially with 1,000 acres and not-so-ethical neighbors, lol! I am glad I never had to do that, I''m sure it''s not fun.

I bet you guys had so much fun on all that land, I can''t even imagine! We would stay out all day until it was time for dinner sometimes, and my mom had one of those referee whistles she would blow when she wanted us to come to the house. Those were the days, huh. I hope someday my children will be able to experience things like we did growing up, I would like them to learn all about wildlife and agriculture from their area and be at home in the outdoors. Living in a metropolitan area unless you are in scouts you don''t get to experience much of that nowadays. I mean, I remember my dad teaching me what all the indigenous trees'' names were, how to tell what direction you were heading by the way moss grew on a tree trunk, how to defend yourself from snakes with a long forked stick, the names of all sorts of flora and fauna, etc.

Oh, and you made me laugh thinking about pulling cactus stickers out of the dogs'' paws! Kind of like pulling porcupine quills out of their hinds in this area!

 

[Skippy123]

Monarch,
I am curious what part of the country you lived in when you grew up on the farm? We are in the Northern part of New Mexico; they get more rain and snow than the city which I live/lived in. Also, it is much greener and closer to Colorado. I remember learning all about rocks and which types of rock formations were happening. I also learned all about clouds from my mom; my mom was a science teacher so that type of environment was great for learning all that stuff! Wow, your dad sounds cool; thank goodness I never saw any snakes. I heard my cousins once saw a rattle snake and my mom did too; yikes! Thanks for the walk down memory lane. I do want someday if I have kids for them to enjoy that same experience

Thanks again dearest friend

 

[KimberlyH]

Ladies,

I am loving reading your stories.

I had limited exposure to farm animals as a child (I was raised in a suburb of LA). One of my first memories is my aunt and uncle taking my cousins, my sister and I out to a ranch when I was four. We were feeding the horses carrots and the one I was feeding finished his and then kept chomping...he ended up lifting me off the ground by my pinky and I dangled in the air for about 30 seconds before he put me down. My aunt and uncle were laighing so hard they didn''t try to help me. It''s a good thing I''m not a fearful person, I could have been terrified of horses for life!

Anyways, I''m just really enjoying reading your tales.

~K

 

[monarch64]

Skippy, I grew up in southern Indiana, basically between Indianapolis and Lousiville, KY. Lots of cornfields, soybeans, farmland in general, also much hillier than northern Indiana, and Illinois which are somewhat flat. The climate is your basic midwestern hot and humid summers turning into very dry autumns and sometimes nasty winters, but for the most part when I was growing up they were pretty mild with only a few major snowfalls (and when I say major for that area I mean less than a foot, lol!) Your part of the country sounds beautiful, I have never been to New Mexico but have been to Nevada and will be in Colorado Springs and Denver this coming Labor Day for the wedding of one of DH''s college frat brothers. I''m quite looking forward to seeing that part of the states!

Kimberly, yikes, I can''t imagine a horse lifting me up by a finger, ouch and how scary!!! If I can give anyone one piece of advice when hand feeding a horse it should always be done with palm flat out to avoid that very thing you experienced! You can feed them carrots, a handful of oats, sugar cubes, and we used to give our horse Cricket Lifesavers or Werthers candies! You will have to try it again sometime! Their muzzles are so soft and sweet and breathy, that is one thing I miss about having a horse. I''m sure Lorelei or Equestrienne could elaborate more on the joys of owning horses...I never rode competitively but had friends who did and now my niece does, it''s such a fun sport/activity. My DH''s best friend who actually introduced us a few years ago lives in Lexington and insures Thoroughbreds for a living, among other things, so he is part of the horsey set and we get to hear a lot about it, he usually has a horse or two running in the Arlington something-or-other (forgive my ignorance here, lol) and this year had one in the KY Derby which was quite exciting. He''s a very interesting person to talk to, and loves his Maker''s Mark which makes him even more entertaining, hee hee.

I don''t know if I mentioned this yet but I have another memory of my "town" friend coming out to my house once in the summer when things around the farm were rather fragrant, if you will (cow manure at its ripest). She commented on the fact that it stunk and I was kind of embarrassed because I realized I was immune to the smell and she wasn''t!

 

[KimberlyH]

Date: 4/23/2007 10:13:53 PM
Author: monarch64
Skippy, I grew up in southern Indiana, basically between Indianapolis and Lousiville, KY. Lots of cornfields, soybeans, farmland in general, also much hillier than northern Indiana, and Illinois which are somewhat flat. The climate is your basic midwestern hot and humid summers turning into very dry autumns and sometimes nasty winters, but for the most part when I was growing up they were pretty mild with only a few major snowfalls (and when I say major for that area I mean less than a foot, lol!) Your part of the country sounds beautiful, I have never been to New Mexico but have been to Nevada and will be in Colorado Springs and Denver this coming Labor Day for the wedding of one of DH''s college frat brothers. I''m quite looking forward to seeing that part of the states!

Kimberly, yikes, I can''t imagine a horse lifting me up by a finger, ouch and how scary!!! If I can give anyone one piece of advice when hand feeding a horse it should always be done with palm flat out to avoid that very thing you experienced! You can feed them carrots, a handful of oats, sugar cubes, and we used to give our horse Cricket Lifesavers or Werthers candies! You will have to try it again sometime! Their muzzles are so soft and sweet and breathy, that is one thing I miss about having a horse. I''m sure Lorelei or Equestrienne could elaborate more on the joys of owning horses...I never rode competitively but had friends who did and now my niece does, it''s such a fun sport/activity. My DH''s best friend who actually introduced us a few years ago lives in Lexington and insures Thoroughbreds for a living, among other things, so he is part of the horsey set and we get to hear a lot about it, he usually has a horse or two running in the Arlington something-or-other (forgive my ignorance here, lol) and this year had one in the KY Derby which was quite exciting. He''s a very interesting person to talk to, and loves his Maker''s Mark which makes him even more entertaining, hee hee.

I don''t know if I mentioned this yet but I have another memory of my ''town'' friend coming out to my house once in the summer when things around the farm were rather fragrant, if you will (cow manure at its ripest). She commented on the fact that it stunk and I was kind of embarrassed because I realized I was immune to the smell and she wasn''t!

I remember crying and their laughter, that''s about it. I actually really enjoy riding horses, at least I did the few times we had the opportunity. We live across the street from a ranch/boarding facility and I always wish I could get to know the owners (no one lives there) so I could go pet the horses now, instead I admire them from afar.

Love the story about being immune, it''s definitely a different smell...as is that of a city!

 

[Skippy123]

Kimberly,
You should see if you can visit the horses. Wow, that is pretty cool they are across from your house! Horses are so beautiful!! I always wanted one but nope, my parents said they would buy me cows if I wanted more and they said I should ride the horses at my grandma's. I actually took some horesback riding lessons but didn't push it after I heard all the work that went into taking care of horses and that would mean I would have to move to the country. I liked visiting but didn't want to leave my friends in the city. You know how it goes when you have friends you grew up with!

Monarch,
Wow, I bet your farmland is really lush and green!!! You will like Colorado when you come to visit.
I talked to my mom last night and they are up north and she was telling me one of the cows just had a baby calf last night. I thought it was funny and appropriate since this thread was started. heehee.
I need to find out more about the baby. They are so cute; I would love watching the little calf feed from its momma. I loved how the little calf's had long eyelashes. I never smelt manure or at least do not remember it. I must have been immune too! heehee. See I could have visited you at your farm and I wouldn't have known

I do remember stepping in it when we would hike all over.

 

[monarch64]

Skippy, how exciting--a new baby cow! I''d love to see pics of her/him if you ever get any!

That reminds me of how when I go and visit my parents sometimes, the neighbor''s cows will be bellowing and carrying on at the tops of their lungs when they''re separating them from their babies, it is so sad to listen to. They get really upset.

I never remembered hearing that when I was a kid but that''s probably because I didn''t know what was going on.

Oh, and I remembered also my dad teaching me how to "call" the cows when we would get hay down from the barn loft to feed them. You had to say "SUE, cow, SUE, SUE, SUE!"

Then they would all come running, and you''d think you were big stuff, lol.

I''ll see if I can find some pics to post of their land/house. I don''t have any digital ones of the barns, I would have to dig those out from photo albums...we''ll see what I can come up with!

Skippy, with so much acreage, did your cousins use horses to drive their cattle from one place to the next? I''ve never been on a ranch or farm that big, I''m interested in knowing what that''s like!

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 4/24/2007 2:29:22 PM
Author: monarch64
Skippy, how exciting--a new baby cow! I'd love to see pics of her/him if you ever get any!

That reminds me of how when I go and visit my parents sometimes, the neighbor's cows will be bellowing and carrying on at the tops of their lungs when they're separating them from their babies, it is so sad to listen to. They get really upset.

I never remembered hearing that when I was a kid but that's probably because I didn't know what was going on.

Oh, and I remembered also my dad teaching me how to 'call' the cows when we would get hay down from the barn loft to feed them. You had to say 'SUE, cow, SUE, SUE, SUE!'

Then they would all come running, and you'd think you were big stuff, lol.

I'll see if I can find some pics to post of their land/house. I don't have any digital ones of the barns, I would have to dig those out from photo albums...we'll see what I can come up with!

Skippy, with so much acreage, did your cousins use horses to drive their cattle from one place to the next? I've never been on a ranch or farm that big, I'm interested in knowing what that's like!

I can't wait!

I will see if I can dig any up over the weekend. Also, I want to see pics of the Horses Kimberly if you have any, please.

I know that since there was a river the cows couldn't get to most of the acreage. They did use their horses to move the cattle and they had trucks and would get out and do that too.
Their land was sort of divided because of the river. I know it was huge but us kids never could get over the river unless it was low so that meant we hiked all over the area before you got to the river. I am guessing same with the cows. I never saw any of the cows in the river. I will have to ask my mom.

That is cute how you guys would call the cows!

 

[monarch64]

Skippy, thanks for elaborating on how they kept the cows on their land, good thing they had a river running through their land as a natural fence, much less painful than the electric kind!

I will attempt to post some pics, however they may turn out too small as these I uploaded last year onto our desktop and the program for editing them sucks. This is an experiment!

 

[Skippy123]

Wow, your farmland is soooooooooo GORGEOUS!!!! No wonder you want your kids to grow up with something like that! Wow, I am blown away by the beauty!

 

[monarch64]

I have no idea how to put all these into one post, sorry...

Holy Cow! (pun intended, lol) I can''t believe I finally resized pictures without shrinking them down to nothing, I am notorious for that on PS! Anyway, that first one was the view from my parent''s back patio. Those pastures grow nothing but hay now, but we used to grow corn there and I used to be so scared to walk through it down to the barns when it was tall because my dad took my brother and me to see that movie Children of the Corn in the 80''s...eeek.

 

[monarch64]

Thanks Skippy! I really will miss it when they sell...this is a shot looking down their driveway which is about a quarter mile long lined with tulip poplars, a few of which they also lost to storms and disease over the years. It''s the prettiest driveway, but I remember it was a PITA to drive up and down when it was completely iced or snowed over in the winter, my dad had a Jeep and a snowplow though, so normally it wasn''t a huge problem. Then again I am from an area where they''d call off school for 2" of snow, lol!

 

[rfath]

I wasn''t kidding about training cows/cattle to ride! I grew up in a pretty rural area and some of my friends who weren''t allowed to have horses trained their dairy cattle on the sly to carry riders. The pic that I posted is real.. the trainer and cow travel to exhibitions to show off. There also used to be a man who broke his bison to saddle and used to take them to the race track as an exhibition, racing them against the horses.

I can''t imagine that they''d be terribly comfortable to ride, though!

I dearly love horse snurfles and nose wriggles. Even though I''ve been around horses for years, they never cease to amaze me with their personalities and dramas (oh! the DRAMA!).

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 4/24/2007 8:52:55 PM
Author: monarch64
I have no idea how to put all these into one post, sorry...

Holy Cow! (pun intended, lol) I can't believe I finally resized pictures without shrinking them down to nothing, I am notorious for that on PS! Anyway, that first one was the view from my parent's back patio. Those pastures grow nothing but hay now, but we used to grow corn there and I used to be so scared to walk through it down to the barns when it was tall because my dad took my brother and me to see that movie Children of the Corn in the 80's...eeek.

LOL! I was scared to walk around during dusk at my grandma's because I thought the Headless Horseman might come. Gosh, aren't we funny as kids! I figured since my grandma had horses that meant there might be a headless horseman hiding somewhere!


Wow, what a sight to see out the front porch; gorgeous!!! I can see why you don't want your parents to sell it. Wow, it is a dream! Look at that drive!!! Gorgeous.

 

[monarch64]

Another view from the midway down the driveway into a front pasture which used to be fenced in, the orchard was to the left of where the pic was taken...

 

[monarch64]

Ha ha Skippy, headless horsemen! I can totally relate, Ichabod Crane scared the bloody hell out of me when my mother read it to us!

Rfath, yup there is nothing better than those snurfles and muffles, and the feeling of a velvety moist muzzle against your palm when feeding a horse a handful of grain. Yum.

I am fighting with the computer right now as far as uploading more pics and in the middle of laundry as well, so bear with me, lol!

 

[monarch64]

Ok, so I took all these pics last summer when I was getting the hang of my new camera, and of course I took the requisite bling shots, here is one of my ring on a rusty gate hinge on the fence post (there is no more gate, lol!)

 

[monarch64]

Oh, and yes that is not an actual fence post but an old tree that happened to be in the right place at the right time when the fence was built probably 35 years ago, ha!

 

[monarch64]

This is the lovely old Ford tractor you can find my father on from mid-March through October to mow their lawn, bushhog pastures (a bushhog is an attachment that has bigger better blades to mow down small trees, brambles, thick brush, etc.) and generally cruise around on as some men do on golf carts because that''s where he does all of his best thinking, lol!!!

 

[monarch64]

This was taken from the front side end of their house, they have a beautiful dutch colonial house, it''s very rustic and beautiful inside with exposed beams and lots of natural wood, I will miss it so. When they bought the house almost 30 years ago they were planning to have a family with at least 4 children (they wanted 6!), but things happened and all they got were my brother and me, so the four of us just kind of knocked around in there. You can''t tell from this pic, but the house is 5600 square feet plus a full basement and attic so when I went to college and lived in a dorm room the size of a closet my first semester I had quite a rude awakening!

 

[Skippy123]

Wow, you guys had a gorgeous farm; thank you!!!

Any pics of your cows?

Your ring is gorgeous!

 

[monarch64]

Thank you Skippy for your compliments! The pics I have of cows or other animals are all snapshots since we didn''t have digital cameras back in the day, but I will see if I can scan some and post them soon. We had Holsteins, Geurnseys, Jerseys, and Brown Swiss for milk cows if that gives you an idea...Holsteins are the black and white spotted ones and the rest are light brown, hee hee. I don''t know what the "beef" cattle breeds we had were, but I will ask my mom as I''m sure she will remember!

 

[Skippy123]

Okay,
i will see if I can find some pics. Thank you Monarch

Holy Smokes; I just read how big the house is 5600 sq feet! Wow!!!!

 

[strmrdr]

this thread is bringing back some kewl memeries.
my favorite day on the farm was sledding out the second story window of the house, then down the hill and trying not to get caught in the barb wire then walking back, drying off and going back upstairs to do it again.
That was a whole lot of snow.

 

[Nicrez]

Never really spent time on a farm, but Skippy and Monarch your stories are so cute! I love the pictures, they get me so relaxed and I can smell that green grass and fresh air....amazing!!!!

 

[monarch64]

Date: 4/25/2007 1:14:44 AM
Author: strmrdr
this thread is bringing back some kewl memeries.
my favorite day on the farm was sledding out the second story window of the house, then down the hill and trying not to get caught in the barb wire then walking back, drying off and going back upstairs to do it again.
That was a whole lot of snow.

ha, Storm I was wondering if you would chime in here! Barbed wire is no fun, that''s for sure...I used to have to climb the fencepost before I got tall enough to hold the top wire down myself and climb over, before that someone had to either hold up the bottom wire and I would crawl under, or hold down the top wire enough to lift me up and over! Like I said earlier, thank goodness no one around us used electrical fencing! I had some friends in school who did and they had
nasty burns on their legs and arms from getting shocked by it!
Jeez, second story sledding! Where in the heck did you grow up to get that much snow, Alaska?!!!

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 4/25/2007 1:38:42 AM
Author: monarch64

Date: 4/25/2007 1:14:44 AM
Author: strmrdr
this thread is bringing back some kewl memeries.
my favorite day on the farm was sledding out the second story window of the house, then down the hill and trying not to get caught in the barb wire then walking back, drying off and going back upstairs to do it again.
That was a whole lot of snow.

ha, Storm I was wondering if you would chime in here! Barbed wire is no fun, that's for sure...I used to have to climb the fencepost before I got tall enough to hold the top wire down myself and climb over, before that someone had to either hold up the bottom wire and I would crawl under, or hold down the top wire enough to lift me up and over! Like I said earlier, thank goodness no one around us used electrical fencing! I had some friends in school who did and they had
nasty burns on their legs and arms from getting shocked by it!
Jeez, second story sledding! Where in the heck did you grow up to get that much snow, Alaska?!!!

uncles farm in ND didn't grow up there but visited a lot.
He had a little over 2square miles of farm land (~1400 acres)
I also visited and worked on 2 local farms in IL. that were much smaller.