OF ROCKING CHAIRS AND COWS

"Here he comes. RUN!"

Twenty years ago, as we were remodeling the farmhouse the first time, Hallie and I were running town errands one day when I noticed a rocking chair at a yard sale that reminded me of the old chairs on the back (kitchen) porch at the farm. I wanted it. We stopped. I bought it for $15. We put it in the back of the van and eventually carried it to the farm.

The kitchen porch is still the back porch to me even though today I must call it the kitchen porch to avoid confusion with the sun porch, which Mike refers to as the back porch. Anyway, in the old days, the family sat on the kitchen porch rather than the front porch for several reasons. Being on the north side of the house, it’s shaded and cooler on a warm summer day. And in the evenings, they enjoyed watching the northern sky. Well, things change. We don’t sit there much.

Anyway, Mike was not too impressed with my purchase of the old rocking chair. For years, we shuffled it back and forth between the front porch and the sun porch, and this spring as we moved back into the house, Mike discovered it was broken. He left it in the south yard, thinking to get rid of it. Actually, I thought it was picturesque out there. And then Mike happened to sit in it and found it comfortable. So, he repaired it.

Monday afternoon, I was upstairs sewing when Bess sounded the alarm on the south side of the house. Looking out the window, I saw Mike sitting in the rocking chair with his back to the south field. Behind him, a dozen cows had quietly crept up on him. I just imagined that the eight from the morning went home and gathered a few more. "You just have to see this guy!" they probably said. "He fancies himself a cowboy." They seemed to want to be friends, swishing their tails and all. I laughed at the sight, but Mike had no sense of humor about it. He flew to the 4-wheeler and once again drove the cows toward their pasture. Then he called Farmer Kyle who said he indeed did not want the cows eating his crop and would discuss with their owner.

The other side of the pond in June's field.

As we walked that afternoon, we noticed a cow and calf on the backside of Plank’s Place. Without binoculars or camera, we couldn’t determine its identity. It seemed too thick for a deer, not quite right for a cow (bovine). Mama was intent on her munching, while the baby played nearby, rolling in the growing wheat. Tuesday morning, Mike came close enough to see that they were elk. KW

[Chuck points out that I posted a photo of the chair on June 23. Sure enough! But apparently that's the only one, and when I tried to post it here, Blogger didn't want to. Well, I'll get more pictures of that photogenic chair.]