Homestead mailing list

["Marie McHarry" <mmcharry AT gmail.com>]

On 12/20/06, sanrico AT highdesert.com <sanrico AT highdesert.com> wrote:
> I've seen some really good ideas on gardening, accessibility, etc. come from 
> this
> thread this evening (regarding provisions for aging), but have not seen - 
> unless
> I missed a post - any thoughts on the care of / ability to keep livestock,
> chickens, etc. It seems as though, without help, there is no way to continue 
> with
> this aspect of...independence?
I once upon a time had a couple of cousins -- actually they were my
grandfather's first cousins, so they weren't young -- who until they
keeled over and died had a nice milk cow and a bunch of chickens. They
didn't have a proper hen house, so they had to do a search every day
to find the eggs. They also didn't have anything like milking
facilities for the cow -- she just showed up at the gate and stood
while one of them milked her. She was a very sweet cow, probably a
Jersey, which I say because she was small even to my 12-year-old eyes
(OTOH, we had a big Brown Swiss at home).

I say that they keeled over and died because each of them literally
did that. They soldiered on with their cow and chickens and corn patch
until they dropped dead in action. The sad part was that one died
first, and the other was lost without her.

Marie