I am so stink'n lucky to have good neighbors!

[Kathie in Thorp]

It never fails . . . hubby gets away for a few days of R&R, and SOMETHING is going to happen! Opened a gate to let the cattle mow down a small pasture, and when I counted noses, one was missing. Found her (3 yr. old) out laying in the shade under some willows at the opposite side of the property, and when she got up, she was not putting any weight on her right front foot, and there was some swelling above the hoof. Daaaaam! Know that I push the panic button pretty fast: Snake bite? Something busted? And I weigh 125 lbs. soak'n wet, 62 yrs. old, and tend to be the Nervous Nellie type. So, I call the next-door neighbor, who's busy shoeing some horses and can come out "later," and our nearest vet who is almost impossible to get ahold of and of course, could not reach her -- "Mail box is full." Then called another neighbor a couple miles up the road who's also very cattle saavy, who offered to try his "super secrect number" for the local vet . . . and he couldn't reach her either, so he said he and his son would come down. I hate to bother that neighbor, as they are always busy and don't want to be bothered! In the meantime, I started moving that cow up towards the barn and the chute and got her in a pen just about the time both sets of neighbors showed up. Into the chute she went, and got her squeezed in good -- she wasn't being a very good girl. Concensus was: a case of foot rot, so the shoer neighbor got her foot lifted up with a rope and did some clean-out and dumped iodine on it. Other neighbor said, "go into town tomorrow, get LA-300 and sulfa boluses, and we'll come back." And they did an hour or so ago. Cow was much better behaved in the chute today, but still awful gimpy. Got 6 sulpha boluses down her plus 30 ccs of LA-300. Will keep her up close and dry and just watch her now for a few days, until she's feeling good enough to turn back out.

We have friends that are always willing to help when we schedule running the cattle through the chute for one thing or another, and we are blessed to have those folks. But the ones that come when you make the "911 call" with something unexpected or a rough calving, those are priceless. All of them, I can never thank enough. Here and there I get them a gift certificate for dinner, or movie tickets, or run across some little thing I think they might enjoy. But I feel we always get the best end of it.

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

Tell you what will make the as happy as anything you can do. Just treat them the same way. That's what neighbor means.

 

[cow pollinater]

Neighbors can make you or break you. ;-) Here I'm blessed with fantastic neighbors but part of that blessing is putting in as much or more than I take out. One of the things I've always loved about cow culture is the understanding that we all work for them and we're all in it together. I've had a lot of help that would not except more than a thank you and I've helped where I could when a thank you was more than I needed to feel like my time was well spent.

 

[branguscowgirl]

I sure agree that good neighbors are priceless! Grew up living on the back of a lane. As the houses began to spring up, some became extended family to us when we were kids. There was always a neighborhood "wake" for a deceased pet, always a place to go play, and emergency help when you needed it. Especially when a vet and then later the sherif moved in across the creek.
My "family home" is still there with one sister in the old house, another sister living next door, and a few of the original neighbors also. Still helping out each other.

It sure does change things when you get a crappy neighbor! I think that we all know that guy.

 

[cow pollinater]

It sure does change things when you get a crappy neighbor! I think that we all know that guy.

I'm six hours south of you and I've been in this state longer than you have... sheesh! :mrgreen:

 

[dun]

Being a good neighbor in most cases is what makes others good neighbors. After a few years they may even become good friends

 

[branguscowgirl]

It sure does change things when you get a crappy neighbor! I think that we all know that guy.

I'm six hours south of you and I've been in this state longer than you have... sheesh! :mrgreen:

:lol: :lol:

BTW I am much older than you, so I think that you are wrong about "been in this state longer than you"!
I was only in OR for about 4-5 years. I was born and raised right here in CA. You do the math, I think I have you beat. ;-)

AND I wish that you were closer because I need some help getting cows bred!!

 

[John SD]

I sure agree that good neighbors are priceless! Grew up living on the back of a lane. As the houses began to spring up, some became extended family to us when we were kids.

Sounds like your community was actually growing I've been blessed with good neighbors all my life, but time moves on and many have sold out and/or passed on Lots of places that used to have folks living there, but are now vacant. Many schools, churches,and country store/post offices have closed up in my lifetime. Won't be many neighbors left at the rate the countryside is depopulating here. :???:

 

[branguscowgirl]

I sure agree that good neighbors are priceless! Grew up living on the back of a lane. As the houses began to spring up, some became extended family to us when we were kids.

Sounds like your community was actually growing I've been blessed with good neighbors all my life, but time moves on and many have sold out and/or passed on Lots of places that used to have folks living there, but are now vacant. Many schools, churches,and country store/post offices have closed up in my lifetime. Won't be many neighbors left at the rate the countryside is depopulating here. :???:

John, unfortunately Cali has the opposite problem which can be hard also. Too much growth and too many people. The small town that I am in now is growing very slowly because people have to travel for much work. But much of the state is crazy, and I can't wait to get home after being out working.

 

[Kathie in Thorp]

I sure agree that good neighbors are priceless! Grew up living on the back of a lane. As the houses began to spring up, some became extended family to us when we were kids.

Sounds like your community was actually growing I've been blessed with good neighbors all my life, but time moves on and many have sold out and/or passed on Lots of places that used to have folks living there, but are now vacant. Many schools, churches,and country store/post offices have closed up in my lifetime. Won't be many neighbors left at the rate the countryside is depopulating here. :???:

John SD, as you know, I grew up in the Dakotas. Last time I made a visit there was almost 9 years ago, back to the old stomping grounds in the tiny towns I grew up in. Was sad to see the big old houses, sitting out alone and abandoned and falling apart in farm country that used to pretty much support a family on 50-100 acres, but now most of that ground is done thousands of acres at a time.

 

[John SD]

I sure agree that good neighbors are priceless! Grew up living on the back of a lane. As the houses began to spring up, some became extended family to us when we were kids.

Sounds like your community was actually growing I've been blessed with good neighbors all my life, but time moves on and many have sold out and/or passed on Lots of places that used to have folks living there, but are now vacant. Many schools, churches,and country store/post offices have closed up in my lifetime. Won't be many neighbors left at the rate the countryside is depopulating here. :???:

John, unfortunately Cali has the opposite problem which can be hard also. Too much growth and too many people. The small town that I am in now is growing very slowly because people have to travel for much work. But much of the state is crazy, and I can't wait to get home after being out working.

It's insane how many homes are being built up along the 50 mile stretch of I-90 corridor in the Black HIlls between Spearfish and Rapid City. Also seems like those who work on one end and live in the other, keeping interstate travel hot every day :roll:

My closest town (40 miles) has been losing population. I can remember not long ago when the sign at the city limits said population 650. Now it is down to about 400 and of course has lost a lot of the business community too. The sale barn and K-12 school is what keeps the town going.

 

[John SD]

John SD, as you know, I grew up in the Dakotas. Last time I made a visit there was almost 9 years ago, back to the old stomping grounds in the tiny towns I grew up in. Was sad to see the big old houses, sitting out alone and abandoned and falling apart in farm country that used to pretty much support a family on 50-100 acres, but now most of that ground is done thousands of acres at a time.

160 acres here really was hardly enough to support a family back in homestead days, and certainly not in the "Dirty '30s" I've heard it said and it seems to hold true that a family agricultural operation needs to double in size with every generation to remain viable :idea: Likely, mom teaches school or gets a town job to cash flow for groceries and insurance benefits.

 

[Kathie in Thorp]

John SD, as you know, I grew up in the Dakotas. Last time I made a visit there was almost 9 years ago, back to the old stomping grounds in the tiny towns I grew up in. Was sad to see the big old houses, sitting out alone and abandoned and falling apart in farm country that used to pretty much support a family on 50-100 acres, but now most of that ground is done thousands of acres at a time.

160 acres here really was hardly enough to support a family back in homestead days, and certainly not in the "Dirty '30s" I've heard it said and it seems to hold true that a family agricultural operation needs to double in size with every generation to remain viable :idea: Likely, mom teaches school or gets a town job to cash flow for groceries and insurance benefits.

True -- someone worked outside the home. But they had chickens for meat and eggs, cattle for beef and milk (not many -- a few), a huge garden, and then whatever they could grow for crops. This would have been late 50's, early 60's, in my childhood. I remember my mother buying milk and eggs. Pretty sure some of that was in trade at my Dad's small drug store in Selby, when cash was short for people. And Dad would help weekends, running farm equipment at local farms, which might have meant some beef or pork to us, in addition to his hunting for pheasant, deer, and antelope. And fishing in George's bass pond near Glenham, which was a family thing we did often with George's family on weekends. Movies cost a dime then -- I remember. That's what my weekly allowance was. Television shows were evenings: Mostly musical stuff, Lawrence Welk, Perry Como, Andy Williams. If one of those came on at 8:00 (our bed time), we went to bed an hour earlier, and then got back up to watch. Cartoons on Saturday morning. Otherwise, we didn't watch TV.

 

[John SD]

John SD, as you know, I grew up in the Dakotas. Last time I made a visit there was almost 9 years ago, back to the old stomping grounds in the tiny towns I grew up in. Was sad to see the big old houses, sitting out alone and abandoned and falling apart in farm country that used to pretty much support a family on 50-100 acres, but now most of that ground is done thousands of acres at a time.

160 acres here really was hardly enough to support a family back in homestead days, and certainly not in the "Dirty '30s" I've heard it said and it seems to hold true that a family agricultural operation needs to double in size with every generation to remain viable :idea: Likely, mom teaches school or gets a town job to cash flow for groceries and insurance benefits.

True -- someone worked outside the home. But they had chickens for meat and eggs, cattle for beef and milk (not many -- a few), a huge garden, and then whatever they could grow for crops. This would have been late 50's, early 60's, in my childhood. I remember my mother buying milk and eggs. Pretty sure some of that was in trade at my Dad's small drug store in Selby, when cash was short for people. And Dad would help weekends, running farm equipment at local farms, which might have meant some beef or pork to us, in addition to his hunting for pheasant, deer, and antelope. And fishing in George's bass pond near Glenham, which was a family thing we did often with George's family on weekends. Movies cost a dime then -- I remember. That's what my weekly allowance was. Television shows were evenings: Mostly musical stuff, Lawrence Welk, Perry Como, Andy Williams. If one of those came on at 8:00 (our bed time), we went to bed an hour earlier, and then got back up to watch. Cartoons on Saturday morning. Otherwise, we didn't watch TV.

When I was a kid in the late 60's-early 70's we milked 12 cows, seperated the milk and fed skim milk to the hogs and sold the cream in town. Had 500 laying hens, washed, candled and sold eggs to a grocery store in town. Raised next years pullets to take the place of the old hens. The old hens some went to neighbors, some went to Campbells soup. Fed hogs outdoors to butcher weight. Also kept a flock of 100 sheep. Did a little small grain. Put up hay for the cattle and sheep. Grew tons of pumpkins in the summer fallow strips between the strips of barley/oats/wheat. Sold the pumpkins to a different grocery store. Always had a large garden, especially potatoes. Potatoes and all the stuff Mom canned was stored in the root cellar. Canned stuff included not only vegetables from the garden, but also beef and pork. I guess that is what you call diversification

 

[Kathie in Thorp]

John SD, I think that was called survival. My happiest childhood memories are in the Dakotas. Not my parents' happiest as we were growing up or in their memories. It was a struggle for them -- little drug store in a town w/ no doctor or hospital. A doc came for awhile, but had to move where there was a facility. My mother was an RN, and she drove 30 miles or so to Herried, I as I recall, to work --which where that doc fled to. 7 kids in the family. It was not an easy time for them. Then a couple other small town pharmacies before the move to the west. But I was much older before I understood that -- understood that's what they had to do as I had felt my childhood was being torn apart.