My dear Grandchildren,
It has been some time now since I have wrote you a letter. Grandpa just left to cut trees out of a pasture over south, and I just walked by the 8 x 10 pictures of your little faces, and my heart became homesick. So I decided to set down and write to you.
This morning I want to tell you about a really important lesson Grandpa has taught me in our forty three years of farming side by side. I love your Grandpa very much. I'm sure you have heard me say "I love you" to him many times. I'm sure you know that he means the world to me, but I'm not sure you really know why, so I want to tell you a story to explain "why".
Your Grandpa is one of the gentlest men that I know. Not only was he gentle with your mommy and daddy and me, but he is gentle with you kids and he is gentle with his animals. It was by watching him deal with his cows and pigs for years that has taught me the worthwhileness of overcoming my rough human nature and becoming "gentle" when I deal with man or beast.
Do you know what I saw him doing just the other day? We have some barn cats and they are on the wild side of life. Grandpa loves to feed them. Just the other day I saw him bent over just inside the barn door, stroking the mommy cat. He had calmly talked to them while feeding them and now the mother lets him stroke her.
As you know Grandpa and I have had a cow/calf operation for forty three years. He has always told me "honey if we treat them gentle they will do the same to us."
Just this morning we took twenty buckets of grain out to 110 big cows. Grandpa has lined up ten bunks out in the pasture. We load the twenty buckets of grain in the back of the pickup and while I drive from one bunk to the other, Grandpa carries two buckets to each bunk and dumps the grain in.
It's not that simple really, because sometimes all you can see of Grandpa is his head as he makes his way out of a herd of 110 cows, swarming around him, eager to get the grain. But not once have they hurt him! It is like they respect him. They are calm and just easily work around him. These cows weren't born that way, they learned they could trust Grandpa. He has become their friend. This is how it happened.
In our "minds eye" we are out in the pasture, A catch pen has been set up. It is fall and time to round up the cattle and separate their babies from them. Grandpa and I don't have horses. We have four wheelers. Grandpa will not use the four wheelers for this job. Instead he loads the back of the pickup full of fresh alfalfa, and as I drive we head out south until we spot them. Grandpa gets into the back and leans on the pitch fork while I honk the horn and he calls to the cows.
When they all get to the pickup, Grandpa starts to throw little piles of that fresh alfalfa on the ground and boy do those cows eat it up! Grandpa tells me to turn around and drive slow back past them so he can count them to make sure they are all there. When he is satisfied he gets up in the cab and we go slowly home.
The second and third day, we do the same thing, but this time we honk and Grandpa calls to them until we have them up and in the corral. Most of the momma's go in where they are suppose to, but there is always a few who think they should stay outside the pen. Most of the calves are outside also. So Grandpa climbs into the drives side and I slide over. Slowly we make our way around the pen and slowly those cows and calves make their way inside. On the third day we close the gates and they are caught!
One year I remember every cow and calf came into the pen but one calf. He just wouldn't come. Boy was I ever upset with him. Around and around the pen we would go but he would take off away from the opening. Finally Grandpa said "We'll just have to leave him and get the rest."
"Well just leave him out here and don't fed him. Maybe he'll get hungry enough to come in" I said to Grandpa. My "human nature" was boiling! We loaded all those cows up except one.
"Why are you leaving her?" I asked
"I'm going to put her back out with that calf."
"What? Are you crazy?" I asked him. "We won't ever see them again."
"No I'm not crazy. You'll see." Grandpa said in his quiet easy way.
Off ran the cow and calf. "Well they'll be in here all winter I guess." I said throwing up my hands and stomping off to the pickup.
For three days I watched Grandpa take fresh green alfalfa out into the pasture. He would go until he found that cow and calf. Right there, he would throw out a large amount of that green alfalfa and then leave them.
With my type of human thinking, I wondered why he treated them so good when they were so stubborn! But Grandpa would go out there everyday, quietly, gently, spoiling them...I would call it.
One day I saw him take the stock trailer out there. He had gently coaxed that cow and calf into the catch pen and now he was going after them!
Unknown to Grandpa, I had stood by the picture window watching him through the whole business. He never mentioned it to me. Not once. But I saw as example. I watched as he overcame his desire to do what human nature may cause you to do, instead choosing to love them, to treat them like a queen. I saw by example that kindness and gentleness leads to respect. Because of this "example" and many others, my heart was softened. I learned that kindness can accomplish more and go places that may seem impossible at the time.
So little ones, remember to be gentle, be kind to everyone. It is very unlikely you will have a farm or a need to show kindness to animals like Grandpa and I but you will always have an opportunity to show this to men and women...boys and girls. I hope that you always see a need to show respect to all people. I hope its not hard for you to show kindness and understanding.
But most of all, I hope you don't just hear my words when I tell Grandpa "I love you". I hope you see by my "example" that Grandpa's gentleness has rubbed off on me. I love that saying "I'd rather see an example anytime than to hear a sermon."
Happy 43rd Anniversary Honey!
It has been some time now since I have wrote you a letter. Grandpa just left to cut trees out of a pasture over south, and I just walked by the 8 x 10 pictures of your little faces, and my heart became homesick. So I decided to set down and write to you.
This morning I want to tell you about a really important lesson Grandpa has taught me in our forty three years of farming side by side. I love your Grandpa very much. I'm sure you have heard me say "I love you" to him many times. I'm sure you know that he means the world to me, but I'm not sure you really know why, so I want to tell you a story to explain "why".
Your Grandpa is one of the gentlest men that I know. Not only was he gentle with your mommy and daddy and me, but he is gentle with you kids and he is gentle with his animals. It was by watching him deal with his cows and pigs for years that has taught me the worthwhileness of overcoming my rough human nature and becoming "gentle" when I deal with man or beast.
Do you know what I saw him doing just the other day? We have some barn cats and they are on the wild side of life. Grandpa loves to feed them. Just the other day I saw him bent over just inside the barn door, stroking the mommy cat. He had calmly talked to them while feeding them and now the mother lets him stroke her.
As you know Grandpa and I have had a cow/calf operation for forty three years. He has always told me "honey if we treat them gentle they will do the same to us."
Just this morning we took twenty buckets of grain out to 110 big cows. Grandpa has lined up ten bunks out in the pasture. We load the twenty buckets of grain in the back of the pickup and while I drive from one bunk to the other, Grandpa carries two buckets to each bunk and dumps the grain in.
It's not that simple really, because sometimes all you can see of Grandpa is his head as he makes his way out of a herd of 110 cows, swarming around him, eager to get the grain. But not once have they hurt him! It is like they respect him. They are calm and just easily work around him. These cows weren't born that way, they learned they could trust Grandpa. He has become their friend. This is how it happened.
In our "minds eye" we are out in the pasture, A catch pen has been set up. It is fall and time to round up the cattle and separate their babies from them. Grandpa and I don't have horses. We have four wheelers. Grandpa will not use the four wheelers for this job. Instead he loads the back of the pickup full of fresh alfalfa, and as I drive we head out south until we spot them. Grandpa gets into the back and leans on the pitch fork while I honk the horn and he calls to the cows.
When they all get to the pickup, Grandpa starts to throw little piles of that fresh alfalfa on the ground and boy do those cows eat it up! Grandpa tells me to turn around and drive slow back past them so he can count them to make sure they are all there. When he is satisfied he gets up in the cab and we go slowly home.
The second and third day, we do the same thing, but this time we honk and Grandpa calls to them until we have them up and in the corral. Most of the momma's go in where they are suppose to, but there is always a few who think they should stay outside the pen. Most of the calves are outside also. So Grandpa climbs into the drives side and I slide over. Slowly we make our way around the pen and slowly those cows and calves make their way inside. On the third day we close the gates and they are caught!
One year I remember every cow and calf came into the pen but one calf. He just wouldn't come. Boy was I ever upset with him. Around and around the pen we would go but he would take off away from the opening. Finally Grandpa said "We'll just have to leave him and get the rest."
"Well just leave him out here and don't fed him. Maybe he'll get hungry enough to come in" I said to Grandpa. My "human nature" was boiling! We loaded all those cows up except one.
"Why are you leaving her?" I asked
"I'm going to put her back out with that calf."
"What? Are you crazy?" I asked him. "We won't ever see them again."
"No I'm not crazy. You'll see." Grandpa said in his quiet easy way.
Off ran the cow and calf. "Well they'll be in here all winter I guess." I said throwing up my hands and stomping off to the pickup.
For three days I watched Grandpa take fresh green alfalfa out into the pasture. He would go until he found that cow and calf. Right there, he would throw out a large amount of that green alfalfa and then leave them.
With my type of human thinking, I wondered why he treated them so good when they were so stubborn! But Grandpa would go out there everyday, quietly, gently, spoiling them...I would call it.
One day I saw him take the stock trailer out there. He had gently coaxed that cow and calf into the catch pen and now he was going after them!
Unknown to Grandpa, I had stood by the picture window watching him through the whole business. He never mentioned it to me. Not once. But I saw as example. I watched as he overcame his desire to do what human nature may cause you to do, instead choosing to love them, to treat them like a queen. I saw by example that kindness and gentleness leads to respect. Because of this "example" and many others, my heart was softened. I learned that kindness can accomplish more and go places that may seem impossible at the time.
So little ones, remember to be gentle, be kind to everyone. It is very unlikely you will have a farm or a need to show kindness to animals like Grandpa and I but you will always have an opportunity to show this to men and women...boys and girls. I hope that you always see a need to show respect to all people. I hope its not hard for you to show kindness and understanding.
But most of all, I hope you don't just hear my words when I tell Grandpa "I love you". I hope you see by my "example" that Grandpa's gentleness has rubbed off on me. I love that saying "I'd rather see an example anytime than to hear a sermon."
Happy 43rd Anniversary Honey!
precious story dear cousin, a true Love Story for each other and your farm <3
ReplyDeleteBeautiful!
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