Onbei
a farm
-And o
hazar
Joyce B
Though it has never been offi
cially confirmed in any way,
we’ve long suspected that the ani
mals on this place are taking (have
taken) over.
Consider that we fit our whole
lifestyle around cows. We set the
alarm for their early morning
milking, juggle meals around the
demands of their daily routine and
drop anything we’re doing at any
ume to rush to their emergency
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We fetch grain in and haul man
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and hand deliver it via chains,
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cows probably eat a more
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But it isn’t just the cows that
have taken over.
Our few remaining chickens
and the five guineas have no pro
duction responsibilities, like lay
ing eggs. Their purpose in life is
to I’m not sure they have one,
except to chase bugs in the mea
dow, roll in the sun-warmed dust
and crow about it to the world.
The cats are supposed to patrol
the bams for mice. Mostly they
lounge around in soft straw and
wait for their morning and even
ing rations of milk and food. On
occasion, one might snag a mouse.
Usually after I’ve moved a bale,
spotted a mouse and rounded up
the nearest snoozing cat.
Monk, the house cat is even
worse. She’ll chase a mouse but
has no idea that her claws she uses
to shred the stairway wallpaper
have any other purpose. Lately
she’s taken to hiding upstairs just
before bedtime, then sneaking
onto the bed after we’re sound
asleep. Or, she’ll scratch and
whine at the door when her accu
rate inner clock senses that our
morning wakeup and her food
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dish restocking are imminent.
And the two bunnies (yes, now
we have TWO) do absolutey
nothing but eat and sleep - and
escape to hop around the yard at
every opportunity. Given the
reputation of rabbits, it’s probably
best if Ben (a female?) and Nor
man (with camouflage coloration)
stick to eating, sleeping and an
occasional game of hide-n-seek
under the hosta leaves.
Pound for pound, though, no
animal rules the roost around here
any more than Solomon. Just
another family member, equipped
with four legs instead of two Solo
mon is the farm’s self-appointed
guardian, early warning ground
hop alert system, visitor greeter,
cow chaser, tomcat-fight referee,
meadow patrolman, rides shotgun
on the pickup and is a loving com
panion to all of us.
This pooch has his own toys,
his own food and dishes, his own
brush, his own skin allergy medi
cations, his own pocket of health
records rivaling those of the kids
when they were little. And, now
he gets mail.
The dog gets mail.
On a recent day, the mailman
left a neatly-packaged container
that at first glance looked like a
shipment of blank checks. Until I
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SONS EQUIPMENT
Ivyland, PA Avondale, PA
215-675-1610 215-268-2181
R.S. HOLLINGER &
SON, INC.
Mountvllle, PA
717-285-4538
ECKROTH BROS.
FARM EQUIPMENT
New Ringgold, PA
717-943-2131
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 8, 1991-Btl
spotted the addressee: Solomon
Bupp. Complete with proper
address and accurate ZIP code.
He’s even been assigned a com
puter number - 005704903 391 S.
Is that a driver’s license (he does
love vehicles)? He already had his
own official, up-to-date dog
license number and that’s diffe
rent. Social Security number?
Nah, wrong groupings of num
bers, spaces and no dashes.
And what does the “S” stand
for? Sweetheart? He is one. Sec
urity guard? He takes that job very
seriously. Or maybe "smelly” -
which he definitely is after run
ning through damp grass and then
wanting to snuggle close. Phew!
Turned out the container had a
sample of a “premium” dog food -
to which the dog turns up his nose
-, a questionnaire which doesn’t
have enough room in the check
off boxes for even a chihuahua
size paw print and a dollar-off
coupon that he couldn’t possibly
redeem because supermarkets
don’t allow dogs inside.
Delivering an occasional piece
of mail for the dog is apparently
all pan of a day’s work for our rur
al mail carrier.
But 1 wonder. As the animals
take over, is junk mail for cows
the next step?
JJr
Dozer blade
clears a
46 path
Snow thrower
with cab
clears a
47" path
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Plpersvllle, PA
215-766-0414
Sweepster rM brush
cleans a
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LAMBS FARM
MACHINERY
Thorndale, PA
215-269-2676
N.H. FLICKER &
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Maxatawney, PA
215-683-7252
NESLEY
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Pottslown, PA
215-469-6391