Woo Hoo - Sixty Two!!!!

Happy Birthday Speedy!!! And Many More!!



Well, first things first this morning (early) -- Today is Speedy's Birthday. Some people know him by Speedhitch, or Speed or Speedy. Some people call him Joe. He is also known as Dad and Papa to his children and grandchildren. Sherri calls him "Hey Dear" and he answers "Yes Dear". For a long time I thought their last name was Dear.



Speedy is celebrating his 62nd birthday today and I wanted to be one of the very first to wish him a very Happy Birthday. From what I hear sixty two is a big milestone but it will take me years and years to reach that one.

And now that we have all toasted Speedy's birthday here is a little milking story for you.

My first experience with cows must have been when I was about four or five. We had a jersey cow which we called "Old Jerz". My grandmother did all the milking. My first job went we went to milk was holding the cow's tail to keep her tail from hitting my grandmother in the head.

One day we bought a box of oatmeal which had a little dipper in it. Actually it was a 2 cup measuring cup with a handle, but that became my milk bucket. I wanted to learn to milk so my grandfather made me a little stool and gave me that dipper. My grandmother sat on her stool on one side of the cow and I sat on the other side of the cow on my stool. She taught me how to milk, I would milk my dipper full and pour it into her bucket. I could quit when I had milked two dippers full.

For a four or five year old thats quite a long time to sit still. You had to sit still because if you moved around or pulled too hard the cow would kick and you certainly didn't want to end up with her foot in your milk bucket.

My grandmother had a stroke in December of 1955, milking was never the same after that.

And a little country lore for you.

When the sun goes down red you can go ahead. When the sun comes up red you can go back to bed."
"Dew in the morning means no rain all day. No dew in the morning and it will rain by night."
"When the wind blows over the oats stubbles fall is near."
"Plant your flowers and garden plants after the full moon in May because of the danger of frost."
"If you don't have frost by the full moon in September you probably won't have frost until the full moon in October."
"When the wind blows from the east, you'll have bad weather in a day or two."
"If the leaves of the trees turn inside out, a storm is usually coming."
"Thunder and lightning in the winter means coal weather is coming."
When you plant corn or sow oats, then it rains hard and washes the top soil away, "It takes the life out of the soil and the heart out of the man."
"Never plant on Sunday, you will have a bad crop."
"When the yellow jackets go into the ground, fall is near."
"We get old too fast and smart too slow."

In the words of my Father, "That's it for Today".