Y is for Yell

A good yell is one of the ancient arts, an invaluable tool for communicating in and around this farm.

A loud and drawn-out “Pigeee” brings a sounder of pigs stampeding through the woods to the dinner trough, a “Come on, come on” projected from the chest brings the cattle to hay, and a high-pitched “Yoo-hooo” from Cindy penetrates even the deepest reverie and brings me trotting to assist.

A midnight call from a hunter to his lost dog, a mother’s call to her scattered children at dinner, a persistent call for help that signals a neighbor trapped in his barn by a rogue steer … the yell turns out to be one of the most useful tools in our farm’s toolbox.

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Reading this weekend: Sustainability: a cultural history by Ulrich Grober. A book picked up at the wonderful Malaprop’s in Asheville, NC, a bookstore to be supported and cherished.