the cows were solely used for dairy, if a male was born he would most likely be turned into food. (my mother would recall how her brother (from memory it was the one living in Germany now) groomed his bull who won medals at competitions. bulls had lost their practical use ever since the property acquired a tractor, and naturally the competitions dried up). the pigs were used predominantly for food and soap. the chickens were mostly used for their eggs, and i don’t remember why so many chicks were left alive, but i assume that they all provided food (the ones that didn’t grow up into chickens and then back into eggs). dead birds hung by their necks above the pens and the large structure housing dried corn. my uncle said this was to deter other birds from picking, from stealing the dried currency. i remember them swaying in the wind. pragmatic. they were grey, and i think they were the ones that sang the goo-goo-goo, goo-goo-goo songs every morning. 

(...)

the muslim kids would try steal from us at night. (my uncles and aunts called them kids, they were older than me, or at least cut from different cloth, different village). they came down in the night armed and with dogs, intent on stealing. one morning, our quieter dog, the wrestler, adorned a fresh cut on his floppy ear. i remember thinking how bright the red of his blood was. later in life i learned that’s when blood is at its freshest. i also learned later that it resembles an engine leak when it dries on asphalt. my eyes thanked him for keeping us safe. i would pick raspberries sitting on the bush behind him (these didn't give me stomach aches). i thought we could give the muslims a watermelon and some tomatoes, maybe even some cheese from the basement. surely we could part with some of the food so they would stop their onslaught.