Howdy ,
It was Harvest Festival in Frankfurt again last weekend. As usual, I went to have a peek (1), especially at the animals.
That was the good thing about living on the farm - working with animals.
Although we had over one hundred cows that we milked twice every day (for most of the year), we got to know them as individuals. We didn't call them things like 'Maggie', or 'Rose' because we probably would have run out of names. We called them by their number - the number on their ear tag.
I enjoyed feeding the calves, but training them to drink from a bucket was messy work. We had several calves in each pen (2) and when you were trying to teach one what to do, others who already knew would try and drink the milk themselves, or start sucking your trousers or hat 😬.
Mum had goats that we milked. I prefer goats to sheep, because goats are curious (sticky beaks!) and show their character more. And the babies (called 'kids') are so cute!!
There were horses, too. Not to help with the farm work, they were just for our enjoyment. We rode them a lot in the summer holidays, but not so much the rest of the year.
As part of my job in the school science laboratories, I sometimes looked after animals. Well, we usually had goldfish. But at times over the years I also had chicks (3) and mice.
So you would probably expect me to have had pets of my own when I left home and had my own flat.
The idea is good. I thought about getting a dog 🐶. The work of caring for it would definitely have been balanced out by the companionship (4) I would have received.
Or, to have a house with a large garden and get chickens so I could have fresh eggs. Maybe even a goat that I could milk.
But I decided against it. Having animals is a big committment - caring for them is a serious responsiblity.
Are you a person who likes animals, . I know that not everyone is. If you are, write and tell me about the pets you have had - or the ones you've dreamed of having.
See ya 'round,
Andrea
(1) peek - look at something for a short time
(2) pen - a (very) small, fenced area for animals. The sheep at the Harvest Festival were in pens.
(3) chicks - baby chickens
(4) companionship - the connection between people (or in this case, a dog and a person) that are companions - that spend time together.
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