Rattlesnake Tales..
One of the constant things in Northern Montana where I was raised was snakes. Rattlesnakes. They are the Pits. We had a whole jelly jar full of Rattles we cut off the snakes when we killed them. A trophy jar so to speak. My mom always killed them with a sharp shovel, cutting their heads off. She said my Grandpa Light killed them with a whip snapping their heads off, he did the same with chickens. No gun ever for Grandpa. My sister tells about shooting one near the wooden garage when babysitting me and my cousin Bobby G. The story got more telling as the years went along and people were...
read moreUnique Good Montana Folk
My Aunt Achsah was there when I was born at home. She was my mom’s closest neighbor and between the two of them they had more than a passel of kids. So I suppose she was the midwife at my delivery. We lived just north of my Aunt Achsah and my Uncle Fred’s house at that time in a little grey house. They could holler at each other in the yards, we were that close. My mom’s first husband Hollis was my Uncle Fred’s brother so technically they weren’t my Aunt and Uncle but my sisters. This made no difference to me growing up they were my Aunt and Uncle. My Dad, Bill...
read moreThe Headless Chicken
My first memory as a child was when my folks were butchering chickens. It was late fall or early winter as there was snow on the ground. I can remember the old piece of black railroad tie lying against the white snow. The hatchet used to cut the chickens heads off was stuck in the black wooden RR tie. The first order of business when you butcher chickens for those of you gentle souls who have never witnessed this is to kill the chicken. I’m sure there are thousands of ways to do this, from wringing their necks to shooting their heads off, etc, etc. My folks cut their heads off with a...
read moreHogs and Chickens
Being raised 16 miles from the nearest town and with both of my parents being in their 40’s when I was born I learned from an older generation which I’m very grateful for. Two of my sisters were there when I was young, but since my parents worked all the time on our little farm/ranch and my sisters had their own things to do I learned from an early age to entertain myself. My main playmates besides the dog and the outside cats were the pigs and the chickens. My favorite game with the pigs was this. I would hide behind a shed or a pig feeder and when the victims came along I...
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