Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along

[Ron Bequeath]

Sorry but I still enjoy the old box phones on the wall with the crank. Agnus knew every buddies business back then but gee, you say something to a friend now a days and an add comes up for you to buy something you just talked about. And who knows whose listening in.

 

[Devonviolet]

WOW!!! What a great story!!! I wasn’t aware so much was involved in learning how to show livestock animals. Way to go DS3!!!

 

[Latestarter]

It's nice that you have such wonderful memories to recall and relive. If only it were more realistic/feasible for folks to be able to raise families the way that you did. I think we'd be a lot better as a nation and people had we done so.

 

[Senile_Texas_Aggie]

Miss @Ridgetop,

Thanks so much for sharing. Reading stories like this is so nice, especially after the headlines can get so depressing.

Senile Texas Aggie

 

[greybeard]

A good showman can make a lesser animal look better, while a poor showman can make a champion pig look terrible.

Showmanship award notwithstanding, A good judge tho, will see right thru that 'intangible' and focus only on the traits the animal actually exhibits.
(Admittedly, I go to the fairs to see the animals, not so much the kids, just as I go to car shows to see the cars & not the scantily clad young women draped across the fenders and hoods)

 

[Latestarter]

Well gosh GB, I'd have thought all of that would go without saying... But then why not enjoy both? Like getting ice cream... you go for that, the toppings are a bonus.

 

[greybeard]

Well gosh GB, I'd have thought all of that would go without saying... But then why not enjoy both? Like getting ice cream... you go for that, the toppings are a bonus.

I don't put toppings on BlueBell. It's already perfect, but if they handed BB out at car shows or 4h judging, I go to a whole lot more of both. I ain't cheap, but I CAN be had.......

 

[Ridgetop]

We gave up a lot to raise our kids the way we did. No new cars, no vacations until we found a 4-H mom willing to become my milk tester for DHIR. Then we were able to camp at the beach for a week. That was the only time my kids got soda. Too expensive otherwise. When DH's parents came to visit they brought sugary brands of cereal to my kids as a "treat". Otherwise cereal was too expensive, they ate oatmeal, French toast (you could still get "day old" bread then and I had 3 freezers, chickens, and goat milk) and pancakes. At supper I made scratch biscuits to fill everyone up. At the old house we ate everything out of the garden, at the new one we raised our own meat. I had our shoes resoled, patched and sewed our clothes, etc. I was lucky to have been raised by my grandmother who instilled in me the depression mentality:

"Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without."

The kids had 1 pair of shoes (which actually made it easier to keep track of them, LOL) in the winter, and a pair of sandals in the summers. The only new clothes we routinely had to buy were white jeans and shirts for 4-H showmanship, and all the 4-H parents used to trade back and forth! My children never went to the mall, and they earned the prize money they won at Fairs - we didn't give allowances for chores. They had to work for their suppers! LOL By the time they were 12 they were already working at jobs, feeding livestock and cleaning pens for neighbors on vacation babysitting, etc. 1 week at 4-H summer camp and they earned scholarships and the money to pay for it. I never put them into any summer programs, summer was for relaxing for me - no driving to school! We had a huge Doughboy pool, horses, miles of trails, and their friends were always welcome at our house. Chores had to be done by 9am and then they had the day free until evening milking. Chores took 2 hours am and 2 hours pm daily.

We were strict parents, but our kids worked hard and learned a good work ethic. Most importantly, they say they had a wonderful childhood!

 

[Ridgetop]

This morning about to leave for Bridge club when got a call that a hiker had seen a loose mule running in our neighborhood, was it ours? Ran outside to count ears, but all were where they were supposed to be. Not sure whose mule it could have been since most of the mule people live southwest of the boulevard. Our friend, whose mule and 2 donkeys are at our house, got a call from her daughter in the afternoon with second tale of loose mule in different location "Cherokee Hill". Neither of us every heard of "Cherokee Hill" location. She told her daughter that no way could ours get out but called DS1 later and he reassured her all present and accounted for. No idea whose mule it could be, but depending on the whereabouts of the hiker, if they didn't know the area and didn't see our fences they might have thought our mule was out loose. On the other hand, the person reporting seeing the mule said it wouldn't let her approach which sort of rules out any of ours who love people. Nothing reported on the neighborhood website about loose animals either.

Needed to put fly mask on one of the donkeys today. He had a small cut and the flies were after it. I haltered him and tied him, cleaned it out and doctored it, then tried to get his fly mask on him over those enormous ears! No way did he want me to bend his ears to get them in the fly mask - it has donkey ears on the mask. Finally, I went and got Cammie's mask and cut the horse ears out of it. When I got back he had untied himself of course, and was waiting for me. After several tries, I finally was able to toss the mask up over those ears and have it catch on! I didn't play basketball in school for nothing! Cammie had a large head (16.2hh) and this donkey is much smaller (13.2-14.hh) so I thought her mask would be huge on him! I misjudged the size of a donkey's head relative to their body size! It barely fit! Anyway, at least it will keep the flies off the cut and let it heal. He had it when he came, but it had almost healed because she had been keeping his mask on him at the boarding stable. He was not wearing his mask when he arrived and must have rubbed it open again. My friend is out of town for another 2 weeks so I couldn't wait for her to do it. I am not familiar with her animals and am not too sure about the donkeys, and I know some mules and donkeys absolutely hate having their ears messed with. Josie TM loves having her ears rubbed but then she is Josie The Mule. Not prejudiced!

Happy Halloween everyone!

 

[Baymule]

I had a spotted jack that loved for me to make a fist and rub my knuckles inside his ears. It did a lot to tame him down and trust me. Donkeys and mules are notional, who knows what lurks in their mind? LOL

Love hearing your stories. You should compile them with pictures and present a book to each of your kids. You can do it on some of these picture storing sites like Shutterfly or Photobucket. Your kids could probably tell you a good site to use.