Some Memories Of My Grandfather & A Special Sight On My Daily Commute

Color Photography

Out of all the jobs I’ve worked I think “Rancher’s Assistant” was my favorite. My Grandfather McClung made it seem easy. As a pre teen my responsibility was to count the cattle a couple of times a day and check the fencing for any slack in the barbed wire. Even though I haven’t been involved with cattle for many years I still have an urge to take a head count anytime I see cows.

I miss the long walks out to repair a hole in the fence line. It was the conversations and time with my Grandfather that made it special to share work. And then there was O’l Count. My grandfather’s cattle dog. When it was time to rotate the pastures (moving the cattle from one paddock to the next) we would open up a gate and tell O’l Count to bring the cattle. Without fail he would gather the herd and drive them through.

Occasionally a mother cow or the bull would resist but the dog was way to quick and agile for what seemed like a slow motion attack. He would dodge to the side and circle back around to nip at their heels. Most of the time this wasn’t a requirement. We always fed the cows something special when we moved them and when they saw the gate open they would come running like pets.

The cattle my Grandfather raised didn’t look like the one in the feature image. They looked like the one below. They were Hereford cattle.

I believe that it’s a Lakenvelder bull in the feature image. The Lakenvelder is a dairy cow and it seem that the milk would be perfect for dipping Oreo cookies. 😉

Needless to say that when I pass by this herd on my way to my day job I have a nostalgic reaction to seeing them even though they’re not the breed I’m used to. Believe or not this breed is an endangered species. According to Wikipedia there are less than 300 of these cows in the United States and less than 1000 worldwide. Which of course makes it an extra special sight in the Appalachian Mountains.

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16 thoughts on “Some Memories Of My Grandfather & A Special Sight On My Daily Commute”

  2. I grew up “in the city,” so we didn’t see many animals outside of the zoo, but now we live in a semi-rural area and see cows, donkeys, goats, llamas, alpacas, horses, and even ostrich (!) as we drive to and fro. The animals and large fields (of things always growing) make for peaceful journeys.

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      1. I know many people don’t like the idea of zoos, but one of the beautiful things about them is that they do work to preserve species. I’ll be sure to look for the Hereford on our next zoo visit! 🙂

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      1. Just so you know, I will continue reading the remainder of the posts I haven’t read yet tomorrow as right now I’m quite exhausted. But I’m looking forward to the rest of your always wonderful posts tomorrow. ❤️

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      2. Thank you Sophia ❤ I'm about a week behind on reading posts myself. I just came back from a 3 day art show and wasn't able to even check emails between customers.
        I would never expect anyone to lose sleep etc just so they could catch up in one day.

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