Maxine Lee is grandmother of our good friend carterzest. We will continue to share the narrative of her family’s history as presented in the book she published in 2005 entitled Some Assembly Required. The gathering of her stories in the book was a result of her dream “to leave a printed account to my family, of my beginning, my birth place and childhood, and a few of the lessons life has taught to me.” Thank you, Maxine, for sharing with us what you gathered for them.
Links to previous posts in the series will be shared at the end of each Sunday’s post.
Kittens, Dogs, Etc. ….continued….
Our cows became pets. We rode them, milked them, chased them and loved them. I still love a good Jersey milk cow and until our own boys left home, we kept one. We always had fresh milk, cream and butter and in the event of a bull calf, there was beef on our table. We had Betsy, Dolly, Pet, Spot and dozens I have long forgotten.
One day, when I was about five or six, Dad gave us strict orders to stay away from the barn because a cow was about to drop her calf and must not be disturbed. I had never seen a calf born and I was very curious. When Dad wasn’t looking, I sneaked out of the house to the window of the barn and peeked in. The calf had just entered the world when my father had come up behind me. I thought I got spanked for seeing something forbidden, when actually I got spanked for disobeying him. But it hurt more than just my backside. I had displeased my father, and I had a tender conscience.
We milked cows when we were small. My sister and I took turns, one helping in the house for the week and the other milking five of the cows. I liked the smell of the cows and cuddling up to one on a cold morning to milk was not too bad. I hated trying to find them when they wandered off. We all liked to play hide and seek after the milking was done, until my father finished the chores and we all went to the house.
My brother, Larry, struggled with allergies, so we got goats. They were a trial. The buck butted us when we weren’t on guard. The kids climbed on top of the car and on anything 
else that was around. They all ate ropes, cans – everything in sight. The old Billy almost hanged himself. He was tied beside the barn to eat noxious weeds and decided the grass was greener in the barn. He went through the window, and when I saw him, he was hanging by his rope making gurgling sounds. I ran and got Dad who cut him loose.
The goat milk tasted just like goats smell. The meat also tasted like goats smell and I still do not like goat cheese. It, too, tastes like goats smell. So much for goats. They taste a little like venison, but stinkier. (more…)
INDIANA – An Indiana resident armed with a handgun fended off five masked intruders during a home invasion Saturday evening.
