Tell Me Where the Cows Are
by Kitty Boots
Long legs, tiny body, I held him and asked, "Where are my cows?" My mother looked at me and said, "Where the hell did you hear that?" (transplanted Yankee, my mom.)
I couldn't remember. Maybe at school. I talked about animals and things with my friend, Dorothy. She was a Mennonite and we skipped rope together. She lived on a farm and her family raised sheep. We used to follow her father and brothers through the pasture with buckets to catch the tails they cut off from spring lambs.
Maybe Mr. Tench told me. He let me help bottle-feed orphaned calves. Greedy, noisy, they sucked like there was no tomorrow and followed you around the pasture moaning for more.
Pholcidae...
Daddy Long-Legs
They gather in clusters on my porch this time of year, make their way into the house. I'm watched when I wash dishes, take a shower. There always seems to be one in a corner. If I don't want the company, I gently tap my foot. He moves in the other direction.
When I worked in the warehouse, Donna told me to put my tape gun in the drawer when I finished my shift, otherwise, "The Daddy Long-Legs all get over it and they get stuck."
So, I rescue them, ask them where the cows are, think of Dorothy in her dark purple dress, net cap, neat braids, and dusty lace-up boots in the playground.
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Author's Note
Agusta County, VA, 1965 and later.
Other stories by Kitty Boots
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Sweet memories recalled with vivid pictures and gentle humor.
Fine piece.
Thank you, Matt. The memories are based on an Appalachian myth I heard in my childhood. Always think of it when I see a Daddy Long-Legs!
Thank you, Gary. It was a fun piece to write. Amazing how some of the most mundane things evoke memories.
"She was a Mennonite and we skipped rope together. She lived on a farm and her family raised sheep. We used to follow her father and brothers through the pasture with buckets to catch the tails they cut off from spring lambs."
Astounding detail!
**
A fine, image-driven piece. I like this. Works well.
Love the gentleness of "Donna told me to put my tape gun in the drawer when I finished my shift, otherwise, "The Daddy Long-Legs all get over it and they get stuck." Resonate too to my own experience of "bottle-feed orphaned calves. Greedy, noisy, they sucked like there was no tomorrow and followed you around the pasture moaning for more."
I like the way this piece brings up the familial horrors for animals in farming. And I like the spry attention to telling details. *
Thank you, Sam.
Thank you, Ed.
Thank you, Ann.
Wonderful and something about the name, Dorothy.*
What Ann said.
Thank you, Tim.
Thank you, Dianne.
very good piece, Kitty
*
"He let me help bottle-feed orphaned calves. Greedy, noisy, they sucked like there was no tomorrow and followed you around the pasture moaning for more."
Fine writing. Kitty. ***
Thank you, Ray.
Thank you, Rachna.
Nature rules in my world...
*Beautifully done, Kitty. I remember it was always a special day when I came across a Daddy Long-legs.