Country Gal by Vanita Blundell Feb. 13, 2007

It is official the Killdeers are here! Last week I saw our little feathered friends running around the stock tank. I bet they wished that they had waited a little while longer.
It is so cold out today that I am thinking about taking the dogs with me to feed the cows. I hate the thought of them outside in the cold wind. Taking Jake in the pickup is an experience since he would like to drive. And Josie does not travel well, she gets a little sick.
When I was little I went with my Granddad Cary to feed his cows. He had quite an array of animals that went with him. He had 2 or 3 cats and a dog- all of which thought that they were to ride next to him. One cat would sit on the top edge of the seat around Granddads neck, while the others would try to get as close as they could to Granddad. Granddad fed square bales and he would get in the back of the pick-up while it was in ‘granny’ gear and throw out the feed. He had a piece of rubber that was bolted to the floor of the pick up and a hook on the other end. He would turn the wheel so the truck would go in a large circle and he would pull the choke out just enough so the truck would not chug. When he had finished throwing out the feed he would jump off the back and catch up with the pick up and go to the next pasture.
Dad usually had a couple of dogs that went with him. Dad would do the same as Granddad except he did not have the rubber on the floor - we had baling wire. Dad would wire his steering wheel to the gear shift. Sometimes he would sit the dog in drivers’ seat and the dog would put her feet on the steering wheel and it looked like the dog was driving. Dad was such a clever man.