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Plowing with Mules


I was still a little girl when my daddy quit farming and got a job in town.  It has been more than fifty years, but I can still remember him plowing with mules.  I wish I had a picture of him with working with mules, but I don't.  This one that appeared on Facebook last week from an unknown photographer looks a lot like him, although Daddy never used more than two mules.

I remember opening the barnyard gate for Daddy and the team of mules to come in after the work was done. I remember the smell of sweat and dust and exhaustion on them as they waited to be fed.  A fine team of mules was something to be treasured then, although some people in the community had already been able to purchase a tractor.  Daddy loved his mules, and together, they grew a lot of food. 

The calendar pages kept turning and so did our world.  Buying and using a tiller is much more efficient and easier than housing and feeding work animals all year.  Still, it makes me a little sad that our grandchildren will not have memories like this.



Comments

  1. lil red henApril 12, 2013 at 12:02 PM

    Ah yes! Daddy traded his team of horses for a team of mules. What I remember most about them was the way they ran over the pasture, when he turned them loose after working them, kicking up their heels.

    I do wonder sometimes, what will today's children have as memories?

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownApril 12, 2013 at 11:17 PM

    When my grandaddy C. was asked why he didn't buy a tractor (back in the 50's when just about everyone had one) he said "you can't talk to a tractor". He died behind his mule breaking up a neighbor's garden plot. I always thought it was one of his most peaceful, happy times.

    ReplyDelete
  3. MichelleApril 16, 2013 at 1:47 PM

    I grew up in what I thought was the only mule capital of the world, Lathrop Mo. Then I heard that there is a mule capital in California as well as in Tennessee!

    ReplyDelete

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