Barefoot Memories of a Hillbilly - The Caleb Road (Free Access)

It’s Spring…There's a couple newborn calves in the barn. Mom says the cows found them behind the big rocks sitting atop the cow pasture hill under the huge ole oak trees. Me and Brother have checked behind the rocks but we didn't find any calves, so the cows must know when to look. Anyway, the new calves a funny and cute. When they are excited they jump around like they got springs on their heels. Pap is putting up fencing in the corner of the cow pasture to make a calf pen where they can be kept separate from their moms but still be close enough they can see their moms.
The calf pen is just below the big rock where we dig out the good clay we use for modeling toys and things to play with. It's about halfway between the barn and the hickory nut tree where late October will find us gathering the soft shell hickory nuts for eating, and for putting in fudge or Mom's oatmeal cake with brown sugar icing.
Past the barn, near the newly built calf pens is an old dirt and rock road that was used at one time by Mr Caleb to check the back of his property and for him to do some logging back there. At one time Mr. Caleb's sons Don and Lonnie as well as several people from over that way and even Blooming Frove, used the old road as a thruway to travel to Annville on foot. Some even walking to the church school. The road is pretty rocky and has several potholes big enough to bury a November-sized hog. At one time Mr. Caleb's father-in-law owned part of Pap and Mom's farm, but they sold out and moved over toward Grey Hawk way.
Sometimes when Mom is looking for a job to keep us busy after school hours in the Spring or days off during the summer, she puts us working on the road. It reduces the amount of time we’d be fussing or messing with each other. She has us out gathering rocks to fill in the drop-offs and potholes. It helps build a better pathway for Pap's tractor to get better traction when he's hauling hay or baccer to the barn, or dropping off or picking up the different implements he needs for his farmer work. It sure makes for a fun ride when we get to ride the farm wagon, cause even when he drives slow the wagon still bucks and bounces.
When Pap is logging in his woods, or when he needs to haul coffins to the cemetery for families, he follows the dirt road to the hickory nut tree, then follows a trail he cut thru the woods that comes out back of the cemetery. Without this option, the coffin would have to be carried straight up a steep hill. He says families have a difficult enough time dealing with death, and shouldn't have to worry about getting the coffin to the grave.
Them calves sure are lucky, they will be close to their moms, close to the barn, in the shade of some trees, and where we can go visit them easily. We can pet them, rub their heads, and even feed bottle feed them…but Mom says not to get too attached, cause...well they are farm animals first and could be someone’s Sunday dinner after that..