The Letter B tells my life

Beef: Two years ago the family dairy that had been operating in our family for 4 generations closed. My dad was ready for the closure since he turned 70 that year. He was tired of dealing with the government crap that they forced on him. A few years ago they sited him for not having a lagoon for the wastewater from the milk barn. He had to dig a large hole for the water to collect in. The water collected there anyway. It’s a shame how government has put most all of the small dairy farms out of business. Government is for the large conglomerates. Dad was also tired of dealing with the hired hands that milked the cows. Sometimes they would fall asleep with cows in the barn. A cow is one of the few animals on a farm that will eat itself to death. Sounds like some humans too! These cows would stand in the stall way too long and several died because of that. They couldn’t fire the milk hand because then they would have to milk the cows themselves. Now the farm has beef cattle. They are so glad they don’t have the work that they had with the dairy. The amount of maintenance is half of what they did before. During the winter they put out hay for them and make sure all babies are born okay. That’s about it. Now Mom and Dad can go to more 42-domino tournaments!

Beets: I love to grow beets in the garden. You just can’t beat fresh beets. Their taste is so much stronger than the grocery store ones. Once boiled with a little coarse ground pepper, the meat is tender yet firm and sweet. They are sweeter than a turnip but not as sweet as a sweet potato. They are so easy to grow also. Even the green tops are good in salads. They also have a caution to them. Don’t eat them several days in a row. You will think you have colon cancer and panic.

Bull: Goes along with the beef. When I went to college and the city girls would ask me questions about the farm. The most asked question was do only bulls have horns. They also asked what’s the difference between a heifer and a cow. I had lots of fun with them. I told one girl at school that we lived so far out in the country that our zip code was E-I-E-I-O. She thought about it for almost a minute before she realized that it couldn’t be. I still laugh about that one.

Butter: When I was very young, my grandmother would give me a Mason jar of fresh cow’s milk and tell me to shake it until she said to stop. So I shook and shook and shook that jar. I thought my wrists were going to fall off. I learned to slide it and spin it along on the carpet. Finally she would take it and it would be almost solid. I had turned that milk into butter! She added a little salt to it and formed it into a nice oblong shape on a saucer then put it in the fridge. I couldn’t wait for the hot, homemade bread so I could melt that fresh butter on it. Oh, it was so creamy and sweet. There just isn’t any like it now.

Birds: During the winter, I keep the bird feeders full so that the big fat cardinals will eat in our backyard. They are so bright red and regal. I feel a little guilty because at least a cat or two will hunch down on the back porch and watch the birds. If one of the cats looks like it’s prowling toward one of the birds, I’ll knock on the window to alert the birds. The cat will glare back at me with a look saying, “Hey, this is our game!”

Bicycle: I don’t own one now but I have most all of my life. Growing up I had a bike with this great psychedelic colored banana seat and a high bar on the back. The handles were tall and curved. I loved that bike. I don’t remember when I was finally too big for it. Matter of fact, I probably didn’t grow out of it. My height hasn’t changed much since then. Once I started driving it probably sat around the yard, leaned up against the house for so long that dad took it to the dump. When my husband and I got married we bought bikes to ride around the lake. We would ride for 16 miles on Saturday and Sunday mornings. We would start out early when the sun hadn’t cleared the trees yet. The morning dew was still on the grass and the air smelled sweet with newness. I still love that first morning air. When we moved back to the farm I decided to sell my bike. It had those skinny racing tires and I knew those wouldn’t work on the gravel road. Now my favorite mode of outside exercise is walking. There is so much to see, hear and smell while walking. Many times I have walked upon tools that must have fallen from one of the pick-ups. My dad or husband always tries to claim that it’s theirs. One day I picked up a clump of coarse hair hanging from a mesquite tree limb. I wonder if it hurt that cow when the mesquite thorn ripped a chunk of its tail out. Then again a cow’s brain is probably too small to realize what had just happened. The solemn mooing of a distance cow is very relaxing. If you moo back, sometimes they will moo back to you. Bruiser, our Boxer, loves to go on the walks with me. He has to pee every few feet. I take him so he can be my protector. The road that I take has an area that has thick trees and vines. Each time I walk past it I am certain that something is in there following me. I walk very fast past this area. By this time, Bruiser has run way ahead of me. I’ll call to him and tell him he’s not being a good protector. Sometimes he’ll look back at me if the trail he’s sniffing isn’t all that interesting, other times he just ignores me. I doubt I’ll ever buy another bicycle. When I need a good ride, I turn on the TV and ride the stationary one.