Stories from the Stringam Family Ranches of Southern Alberta

From the 50s and 60s to today . . .



Thursday, March 8, 2012

Cow Sniff

Watch out! She'll get you!
The morning milking happened . . . early.
Before any of the younger kids were stirring.
It was a peaceful time.
Just the farmer and the cows.
The afternoon milking, though was quite different.
Though the milker was still ensconced (real word) with the cows, the bustle of afternoon chores was going on all around.
Talk and laughter as the kids fed chickens and pigs.
Held buckets for the calves.
Hauled feed.
Opened and closed gates.
Chased kittens.
It was a busy, happy time.
And the baby generally was left with little to do.
Tristan was five.
He had helped feed.
And now was looking for Mom.
I should mention, here, that our little milk barn had two rooms.
One for the business part of the operation.
And a waiting room with a little pen.
I was milking Kitty.
One of our two gentle, little Jersey milk cows.
Bunny was in the outer room, already milked and patiently awaiting her freedom.
Tristan came into the barn.
"Mom?"
"I'm here, sweetheart."
(Real conversation.)
"You done?"
"Almost."
I could hear sounds of someone small climbing the gate of the pen.
"Can I wait here?"
"Sure, sweetie. I'll just be a minute."
A heavy sigh. "Okay."
"Did you help feed?"
"Yeah. Are you coming?"
"Pretty soon."
"Okay."
Suddenly, "Mom! Mom!"
"What's the matter?"
"Mom! This cow is coming over!"
Cows are intensely curious. If something comes into their sphere, it needs to be investigated.
And smelled.
And tasted.
"She won't hurt you."
"Mom! She's getting closer!"
"She won't hurt you, sweetie!"
Silence.
Then, indignantly, "Mom, she's getting sniff on me!"
Cow sniff.
If that's the worst that could happen . . .



13 comments:

  1. Cow sniff....OMG that is so cute.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Cow sniff...Oh that's priceless. I have to admit. I'd react the same way. I'll be laughing about this later today, too.

    Found you on Mormon Moms....Please feel to visit my blogs as well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for finding me, Trina! Yep. Cow sniff is not one of my favourite things, either!

      Delete
  3. Love the five year old indignity. Here's to nothing worse for all of us than an little cow sniff.

    ReplyDelete
  4. lol... I love the things kids say. This really makes me miss my little kids!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I really miss my little ones, too! That's why I blog. It keeps the past alive! And having wonderful blog friends makes it that much more worthwhile!

      Delete
  5. If I had to choose between cow sniff and cow manucky I'd definitely take the sniff! I get to relieve my past a little bit too through your posts. Love them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm so glad I can help you remember your past! I love it in the past. It's peaceful there!

      Delete
  6. Lol
    Boy you had a great childhood!!
    I had a goat trying to buck my butt so when you were around it you had to make sure your butt faced a wall or something. Then he'd come and eat your clothes lol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A goat! Dad had a goat once that he put in the feedlot with the yearling bulls. (They were polled and the goat definitely wasn't, so if any fighting started, the goat would get into it, with his horns, and the other participants gave up pretty quickly!)

      Delete
  7. Diane,
    What a great blogsite and I loved the ranch story. I didn't grow up on a ranch, much to my sorrow but I did have the best times of my life in the 50's & 60's. I did manage to collect my share of injured birds, especially crows and tend them until they healed. I'm going to attempt subcribing to your blog :)

    Micki

    ReplyDelete

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