Skippy''s pet calf...

[Skippy123]

Strmr,
Share with us your memories, please. How often did you visit???

We were up there at least once a month and more often during the summers. The dumb thing I would do as a kid probably 7 years old; I would pretend I was a safari guide! My sister and my younger cousin would hike with me all over and I would make reference to a jungle being over in the distance (I guess I saw too many tarzan Movies). heehee I still think it is funny that Monarch was afraid of the corn fields after dark, but I don't blame her after seeing Children of the Corn. Creepy

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 4/25/2007 3:29:15 PM
Author: Skippy123
Strmr,
Share with us your memories, please. How often did you visit???

ND once a year mostly for varies amounts of time, the local ones more often.

cow pie wars :}
pretty fun they would explode pretty good if they were dry.
one of my cousins nailed another on the back of the head with one that wasn't totally dry we got into a bit of trouble over that one when he walked into the house stinking really really bad!

I also spent a lot of time shooting out there.

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 4/25/2007 4:43:54 PM
Author: strmrdr
ND once a year mostly for varies amounts of time, the local ones more often.

cow pie wars :}
pretty fun they would explode pretty good if they were dry.
one of my cousins nailed another on the back of the head with one that wasn't totally dry we got into a bit of trouble over that one when he walked into the house stinking really really bad!

I also spent a lot of time shooting out there.

LOL! I use to do the same and they weren't stinky when they were dry. I can't believe I am say thing. heeheee

I wonder if Monarch did the same??

Okay, now after seeing Monarch's pics maybe I will see if next weekend I can drive up and take pics of the cows; my parents would soooo love that. Maybe I can con my hubby into going and treating him to dinner in Taos, NM which is close to my parents.

heehee

 

[strmrdr]

getting in a fight outside the chicken coup with another of my cousins and getting really really dirty and stinky.
The adults were none too happy, my parents weren''t there so I didn''t get in too much trouble.
They usually dropped me off at the farm then went to visit my moms sister in town and picked me up when it was time too head home.

Then there was the time my dad got food poisoning and ended up in the hospital for a few days and we had to stay 1.5 weeks over felt bad about my dad but loved the extra time on the farm.

 

[Skippy123]

I hated the chicken coop except gathering the eggs; it is stinky and icky in there. Plus I hated the rooster because it would chase me.

Gosh, your poor dad. How did he get food poinsoning?

I remember my grandma had a wood stove and I would practice cutting the wood and gathering tiny pieces of wood. I wasn't very good with the axe. Thank goodness I never hurt myself!

 

[monarch64]

No, Monarch did most certainly NOT participate in cow pie wars. Nor did she ever touch a cow pie, BLECH. At least not on purpose anyway.

 

[Skippy123]

LOL!!! I guess I was bored and had to join in on the boy (cousins) fun or I else no one except my sister would play with me.

 

[Cehrabehra]

I kinda skimmed over this thread and it reminded me of my grandfather... his family for generations had the town store and they traded with others and local NA tribes and my g''father was a butcher and had cows and sheep and chickens but I never thought of him as a farmer because he didn''t have a ton, just kind of a supplement.... we used to chase the baby lambs around, they were so cute... the cows would come and look in the windows while you were in bed in the am and moo you awake and lick at you through the screens... you know that curious long lashed blinking they do - like *youre* an alien and they want to know what you''re doing LOL In later years he just had a few cows for I have no idea why - he didn''t butcher anymore and hadn''t for years... not in any sort of official capacity - didn''t milk them... couldn''t protect the sheep from the bears because he was getting older... so he just had like 5 cows and they just kinda hung out... too funny! I''m much more of a city girl and learned how to cross busy streets to get the corner store at 6 years old LOL

 

[monarch64]

Date: 4/25/2007 5:02:23 PM
Author: Skippy123
LOL!!! I guess I was bored and had to join in on the boy (cousins) fun or I else no one except my sister would play with me.

Skippy ours just never got baked enough by the sun in between rains to actually pick up and throw...I''m not a total priss, I did dig in the garden for fishing bait worms by the barn and that was all fertilized with cow manure so I know I unknowingly touched a lot of cow poo then, but as far as throwing cow pies I had heard of it but never done it. Other names for cow pies: meadow muffins...um that''s all I can think of right now, lol!

 

[monarch64]

Date: 4/25/2007 5:15:23 PM
Author: Cehrabehra
I kinda skimmed over this thread and it reminded me of my grandfather... his family for generations had the town store and they traded with others and local NA tribes and my g''father was a butcher and had cows and sheep and chickens but I never thought of him as a farmer because he didn''t have a ton, just kind of a supplement.... we used to chase the baby lambs around, they were so cute... the cows would come and look in the windows while you were in bed in the am and moo you awake and lick at you through the screens... you know that curious long lashed blinking they do - like *youre* an alien and they want to know what you''re doing LOL In later years he just had a few cows for I have no idea why - he didn''t butcher anymore and hadn''t for years... not in any sort of official capacity - didn''t milk them... couldn''t protect the sheep from the bears because he was getting older... so he just had like 5 cows and they just kinda hung out... too funny! I''m much more of a city girl and learned how to cross busy streets to get the corner store at 6 years old LOL

Cute story/memory Cehra! Funny how those things stick with us from our youth. Cows definitely look at you like you''re the weirdo, that''s for sure.

 

[Skippy123]

I found this funny pic when looking for some pictures but I guess I need to go to my parents to find the farm pics. I guess I wanted to be a farmer as an adult (this was for halloween). hee hee

 

[Gothgrrl]

Skippy, you are so purdy!

 

[Skippy123]

Thanks Gothgirl. I think all that make up helps. heehe

 

[monarch64]

Skippy, LMAO, you are sooo cute! (and pretty!) We must see more of this "farmgirl" side of you!!!

It''s only fair, I showed my farm side amongst the diamond lovers so now I need backup, LOL!

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 4/28/2007 12:19:24 AM
Author: monarch64
Skippy, LMAO, you are sooo cute! (and pretty!) We must see more of this ''farmgirl'' side of you!!!

It''s only fair, I showed my farm side amongst the diamond lovers so now I need backup, LOL!

K, will ask my mom. Plus I want to try and take a trip up there so I can take a pic of the cows. Thanks! I want to see a pic of you and your bother on the farm as kids if you have any

 

[monarch64]

Date: 4/28/2007 12:21:57 AM
Author: Skippy123

Date: 4/28/2007 12:19:24 AM
Author: monarch64
Skippy, LMAO, you are sooo cute! (and pretty!) We must see more of this ''farmgirl'' side of you!!!

It''s only fair, I showed my farm side amongst the diamond lovers so now I need backup, LOL!

K, will ask my mom. Plus I want to try and take a trip up there so I can take a pic of the cows. Thanks! I want to see a pic of you and your bother on the farm as kids if you have any

LOL, I know there are pics like that which exist of me and my bro, but I would have to go get them from my parents and scan and upload them. I won''t be going home for awhile now due to my upcoming surgery but I will certainly ask my mom to send me some of those snapshots in the mail, I would love to share them! I can tell you this: when I was little I used to want to be a cowboy so I would NEVER wear a shirt and just wore jeans and cowboy boots passed down from my bro and a western hat and thought I was a cowgirl, LOL! About a year or two later I discovered jewelry, thank goodness!

 

[Skippy123]

Gosh Monarch; lots of good vibes on your upcoming surgery.

 

[Skippy123]

Just for you Monarch

Hoping this puts a smile on your face

 

[Skippy123]

my parents land; my dad closing the gate. According to my dad; this is what keeps him young

 

[Skippy123]

their land facing west

 

[Skippy123]

the cows

 

[Skippy123]

I think they said they have 7 babies. See the tiny one with her momma.

 

[Skippy123]

see the babies

 

[Skippy123]

last pic. I talked to my mom and she will look for the photo album for the pics of us when we were younger playing on the farm @ grandmas and I will post those later.

 

[sarahthewarrior]

*squeals with delight* I don''t know how it is that I just came across this thread, but it''s so nice to find a fellow farmgirl, Skippy!

I grew up on a dairy farm in Virginia (currently in NYC for college--talk about culture shock), and your pictures have inspired me to post my own! I wish I had more scanned, but this is the only one I could find. The rest are just prints. This is me with one of the many calves--don''t worry, there are no diamonds on that hand (yet!).

 

[Linda W]

Skippy,

LOVE the pictures of your parents land and of the babies. Whenever I see the babies here, I want to get out of the car and give them a kiss.

If they are out in the morning or late afternoon, we can hear them mooing. I love that sound. Of course, if Miss Mazie is in the car with me, she will give them a "woof".

Linda

 

[Linda W]

STORM,


Cow pie wars????? LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL.

Linda

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 5/5/2007 11:09:02 PM
Author: Linda W
Skippy,

LOVE the pictures of your parents land and of the babies. Whenever I see the babies here, I want to get out of the car and give them a kiss.

If they are out in the morning or late afternoon, we can hear them mooing. I love that sound. Of course, if Miss Mazie is in the car with me, she will give them a ''woof''.

Linda

Linda,
You are adorable. The babies are so cute!!!

 

[Skippy123]

Sarahthewarrior,
That picture is so cool and best of all you look so happy! Tell us more pretty please

 

[sarahthewarrior]

Date: 5/6/2007 12:01:24 AM
Author: Skippy123
Sarahthewarrior,
That picture is so cool! Tell us more pretty please

Hi Skippy,

I''m not really sure what to tell. The farm itself has been in my family for several generations and currently belongs to my grandmother (my grandfather passed away two years ago). There is a main farmhouse and big barns and everything, including an outdoor kitchen and garage that used to be slave quarters in former times.

Originally, it was just for crops, but my grandmother''s dowry included two Guernsey cows, which my grandfather expanded to seven, and now we have about 500 Holsteins in a full-fledged dairy operation. I''m not sure just how much land it''s on, but it''s certainly several hundred acres, including at least 10 ponds/small lakes (great for fishing!) and a river on one side. We used to grow tobacco, but the government has since ensured that that''s no longer a cash crop, so now we produce only corn, soybeans, and alfalfa, plus a small garden for personal consumption. We also have lots of chickens (I love collecting eggs, too!), a few bulls for old-fashioned breeding, and several dogs (for herding) and cats (for rodent control). We had geese and pigs when I was younger, but they were more trouble than they were worth. We also used to have a couple horses, but one died of old age (she was in her 30s), and we gave the other away to a riding program for handicapped children shortly afterward. I definitely miss having them, though.

It''s pretty much entirely a family operation. My uncle is the general manager (if you had to give him a title), my father is the mechanic (a pretty intensive job--tractors, corncutters, wagons, spreaders, etc.), one cousin manages the books, my aunt takes care of the taxes/aid money, and a number of my other cousins work there as well. We do have some outside help, but they''re just like family. The woman who practically raised my father is still working in the main house, and her husband ate every meal with us until he passed away when I was much younger. We still have the big "Sunday dinner" every week--those of you from the South know that this is actually the midday meal. Milking takes place twice a day, and the cows never take a holiday. We have our own milking parlor, and a truck comes by every day to take the milk from our tank. The main barn is devoted to calves, and those not born in the fields are usually born in the back section of that barn. The picture above is me letting one of the calves in that barn suck on my fingers--something I always loved to do when I was little before I bottle-fed the youngest ones. I think I will always have a pretty strong upper body (and probably a bad back) from hauling milk buckets when I was younger.

Wow--it looks like I found a lot to say after all. If you''d like to know anything else, just ask. I hope to be able to post some more pictures, too.