I am of an age when cigarettes were called "butts" and clinching a butt was the act of pinching the business end to put it out. So when I saw this sign--which is old, and not a new one that was "distressed"-- I thought it was a vintage prevent forest fires sign. However someone else who saw it did not have the same frame of reference and their mind wandered in other directions resulting in a state of puzzlement...

It has a row of nail holes in back. Perhaps it was nailed to a tree? In a forest? What's your interpretation of this unique sign?

Bovina earmarks

Bovina is a tiny village in the Catskills, lovely and rural. There used to be many family dairy farms; now very few. I wanted to buy a house there just so I could say I live in Bovina. So much more etymologically interesting than Andes or Margaretville. (There is also a nearby town called Delhi. Pronounced "Del-hi".)

Speaking of etymology, thanks to Bovina Town Historian Ray LaFever, I now know that earmarks aren't just Congressional pet projects--they are identification marks on an animal. Bovina farmers used them to identify their sheep. Mr. LaFever found, in the town records, a book of earmarks dating from 1820 to 1836. Next to each farmer's name is a description of the earmark and some drawings. You can read more on Mr. LaFever's blog, and I must give credit to the Watershed Post where I first read about it. Now, isn't that interesting?

Photo via Wikimedia Commons