Mentally I am still seeing
the thousands of acres of green grass all over the country side as I
made the drive home last week. Hundreds of fat cattle of all color
and sizes were still eating even though their sides were sticking
out. Most of what I noticed to be the best cattle, and pasture was
within our county of Ochiltree. I believe wind mills are still
pumping water for most of the cattle. The picture I have posted is a
close-up but I took some pictures of cattle herds that were too far
away to tell what they were. I knew they would appear to be specks in
the picture, but I was amazed at the great number all grazing side by
side.
I was raised on a farm and we always had cattle to take care of. I think that is why I get so much pleasure from seeing fat cattle with their heads down mowing away on the grass. We raised a lot of the feed we gave our cattle because the pasture was not sufficient. As a child I used to like to watch the cattle when they came to the barnyard at night to chew their cud. I asked my dad why the cows were chewing when they were not eating. That is when I learned that the cattle don't chew their food while eating. They swallowed it then belch it up later and chew it. We had several milk cows that would stand still while being milked, as they chewed their cud. After the milking was finished we took the milk to the smoke house where the separator was housed, and separated the cream from the milk. The thick yellow cream came out a long spout while the milk came out another spout. The cream-less milk was fed to the pigs, and the cream was poured in large cream cans and taken to the creamery to sell. The check my dad got from it went a long way in buying groceries for the family. We also raised our meat, pork, chicken, and fish from the creek we lived by. There were some good fishing holes on it. We also sold eggs from the hens. That may sound ancient to some of you now, but actually it was just about seventy years ago. I love to recall my childhood days, and miss mom, and dad, so much. Also all three of my loving brothers. The four of us girls are still living. However, we live apart, and don't get to see each other very often. The old saying is so true, “You can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy.” That goes for girls also. Of course I appreciate all the modern conveniences. Especially the micro wave, and computer, cell phone, and inside toilet and bathroom. I cannot believe how far we have moved away from my younger days, but I feel blessed to have had such a good childhood.
God Bless
Myrtle Jean Sharp
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