Rural Gardening: The retired life:, 1 by kittriana

kittriana wrote:
Semi- yes, what is retired? Of course there are a ton of things I once did, or were part of... Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas claim my heart. Paternal grandfather sold the place finally to stop the sons sibling attitudes, and retire himself at 70 something. Those 1600 acres of Oklahoma Blue River bottoms made 11grandkids a happy childhood tho. We ran 500 head of stockers (grass fed whiteface crosses cattle) 150 head of Holsteins, 400 acres of reclaimed river bottom crops. My summers were spent from 10yrs old on a horse watching cattle or moving freshening milkers back to the grass lots to return to a dbl 6 herringbone pit milking parlor, we converted from old style floor stanchion milkers. Tractors from many conversions were my toys- little ford- 2blade moleboard or a blade for grading lots. Poppin johnnies- an A and a B with cornrow setups. My Minneapolis Moline with front end loader for the silo pit. And of course a larger Ford 4000 for the hay sickle, baler and green chopper when needed. The JD winnower even for some jobs. No doors on tractors back then- we did have canvas blankets to help with the heat in wintertime. Summers were best- even tho we spent itwalking sticks of alumiinum pipes to their next set for irrigation, or following a hay wagon picking up wood chunks from new claimed river bottom land to burn that my uncles little root pullin caterpillar had opened up after building the river crossing and the dyke to protect from spring floods. Chuckl. Summers coaxing 4cuttings of clean alfalfa that filled 4huge barns. I would have never left lifestyle, but my grandfather believed it was best to downsize and so the family got their own places.
Now I wait til this job comes to an end and I can play in the dirt, watch the chickens, rabbits, goats, and maybe a few angus fill out. Bulls are like that when they get a notion, only thing would have calmed him was a nose ring. My brother still claims I brought a bu to his knees for looming crosseyed at me when carrying a walking stick. My mare knew how to turn and dance her rear hooves to keep a fresh cow minding her manners. My sisters BIL on a 4wheeler was mauled near to death by a Jersey bull. Angus just take notions sometimes. Many an old scots took hard headed battles with working these animals