Morpethroad

Image: Jonas Peterson

The folks living on Twin Tits were a funny mob.

On one side were the Howes, (to the left of the photo) and to the right lived the Wherefores.

The Howes were a multi-generational family having taken up residence during the colonial days. They farmed the land in pretty much traditional ways.

They grew crops on the lower land and used the higher pastures for grazing cattle.

The Wherefores had arrived some fifty years ago at a time when a rural recession had forced the Howes to give up part of their land in order to survive. The Howes were not happy to give up their land for as their great grandfather had said: “We have suckled on the Tits all these years and we are grateful for the nourishment and life they have provided us. We have always protected and honoured the very bosom of our existence.”

The Howes were very reluctant to admit another family to Twin Tits and watched aghast at times as the Wherefores brought with them strange and confusing habits.

The Wherefores had migrated from Europe and introduced a lot of what the Howes considered foreign stuff. They spoke another language, they dressed differently and they ate the weirdest of foods. On top of that their farming practices were at odds with what the Howes thought was the way to go.

They introduced new livestock, Llamas, for one, odd-looking beasts with long necks and shaggy coats. Where the Howes bred cattle, the Wherefores stocked their paddocks not only with Llamas but also goats.

The Howes were not impressed. They saw their rural community as being devalued and made their feelings known to the Wherefores who simply shrugged and said it was how they farmed in their homeland.

There developed a standoff, each family suspicious of the other. Old man Howe spread rumours about the Wherefores, said they were devil worshippers and that they tortured their children which in itself was a bit of a stretch considering most people had known for years that the Howes had a few unsavoury practices of their own involving children.

As time went on, Twin Tits became a place of conflict and mistrust. The two families created so many stories about the other that the truth and fiction blended into each other, and it was hard to tell what was true and what was not.

Each year though they would come together at the Twin Tits fair where they competed against each other. Each brought their finest produce and stock and stood side by side as the judges determined whose pumpkins and or cabbages would take out the blue ribbon.

Whatever the result, the families would shake hands and congratulate the winner but secretly cursing each other and vowing to better them the next year.

As I said, the folks of Twin Tits were a funny mob.

Written for: https://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2019/11/12/photo-challenge-289/