Sepia Saturday

Sepia Saturday

Friday, February 3, 2012

Man and Beast

My brother is showing off his new band uniform for the Murray High School band.  Our dog Tippy is checking out the smell of his shoes.  The shoes had to be painted with a white polish to keep them white.  It was opaque enough that it was like whitewashing a picket fence to get it to be clean and white again. Tippy was the first dog that I remember in the family. They had a border collie which they lost the year before I was born.  Tippy was get outdoor dog that fathered many of puppies in the farm neighbor hood.  I remember his smells as he loved rolling around in about everything. He reminds of a part border collie but he was a mixed breed.


I had a photo of my dad with the twin calves.  Couldn't find the photo so I give you just the calves.  It was rare and profitable to have cows give birth to two calves.  Hereford is the breed in case you couldn't tell.  They survived the winter births in March down in low valley areas of our pasture out of the wind. These two were brought to the barn as they were small and dad wanted to be sure they survived.


Larry and Dwight holding their killer beasts.  The cats were a major way for us to learn how to relate to animals.  It was also a bad way to learn about life and death as cats tended to get them selves in trouble and skip the nine lives situation. 



My dad's assigned regiment in Washington DC had a mascot German Shepard.  The man is covering the dogs eyes so the flash of the camera won't scare him. 


My oldest brother Ron is showing off his heifer that he showed in the 4-H county fair.  She was a gentle cow and we had her for many years giving us a calf each spring.  I suffer emotionally when I think of the day my Dad called up a man to sell off his herd of 27 Herefords. He was selling the farm and they had to go. I was in college at the time, 1970.  I know my dad cried and I didn't have to be there to know it.  That is the part of raising animals that makes it difficult and they do become like family members and our emotions are so intertwined with them.



My youngest son Aaron and his two dogs.  The one is a puppy that he got so the other dog would have company.  Aaron was terrified of dogs when young and now carries his babies around the house in his arms.  The are great dogs who get to enjoy their home in Maine. We always have to ask how Penny and Hannah are doing as they are the closet thing we have to grandchildren.

Check out the others who are sharing in Sepia Saturday this week.  Click here and see what they have posted from around the world.





11 comments:

Unknown said...

I love cows. The bit about the covering of the dog's eyes is an interesting detail.

Wendy said...

Yeah, I always enjoyed my father-in-law's cows, but I never wanted to know which one we were eating at Sunday dinner.

Postcardy said...

Your "killer beasts" look sweet and cuddly. there must have been a lot of them around even if they did tend to get themselves in trouble.

21 Wits said...

Oh yes, your beasts are very, very scary! ;)

Bob Scotney said...

Granddogs I know about, some justlike Aaron's. All dogs are grand to me. I just how Tippy did not christen your brother's shoes.

Alan Burnett said...

What a great post Larry - so many dogs, so many memories.

Teresa Wilson Rogers said...

I grew up around farmers although I always lived in town and having grown up around kids who raised farm animals for 4H I often wondered how they were able to sell them or give them up later - they surely had grown very attached.

As far as raising your own livestock, I once knew someone who said, "I couldn't eat something I knew personally" and even though I laughed at the time I tend to agree.

Little Nell said...

You are right Larry about helping children to relate to animals; it’s so important. I hope neither of those cats was named ‘Lucky’!

Jo said...

Yes, we become attached to all types of creatures. I had pet lambs when I was growing up and broke my heart when they had "to go". Love the photo with the kittens :-) Jo

Far Side of Fifty said...

Love your Grand Dogs..we have several of those two. I enjoyed all your old photos especially the twin calves..what fun! :)

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy said...

Hi Larry, this is so cool. I love seeing and learning about your family and family pets and animals.

Sure did enjoy the Valentine post too. Thank you so much for your visit this morning. I was finishing up the post on the mural when I noticed it. I learned that the staff of the 5th Street Market had been doing historical research and used what they found to design and paint the mural.