I’ve been spending a lot of time with the Jersey cow and her preemie calf. When viewed from the side, Rosie looks pretty good. At this angle, she still looks very pregnant. Or very fat. Whatever you call it, she’s still huge. I worried about bloat. I dreamed one night that by some freak chance she had another calf in there, still growing and biding its time until it could emerge like some alien space creature with big teeth and a raging, carnivore appetite.

When the snow covers the ground in a deep blanket of white, my world narrows.   The occasional traffic on our narrow gravel road dwindles to none.  An entire day passes without a single set of wheel tracks disturbing the snow.

I could be snowbound here, trapped by the snow and the icy layer of frozen sleet [...]

I’ve never wanted a bottle calf. In my experience, four-legged bottle babies are pushy, demanding pests. A few years ago I got a scary-looking hickey from a bottle calf that thought my thumb made a good pacifier. I’ve been bumped, shoved, and slobbered silly by half-grown calves that think humans are just part of the herd. And then along came Cocoa.

Cocoa came into our lives on a bitterly cold morning when the wind gusted  through the trees and chilled every living creature to the bone.  Weeks premature, she seemed barely alive when I found her.  She’s stronger now, and I finally feel safe in sharing her with you.   Here are some pictures to get you [...]

Homemade cranberry-orange relish — I’m completely hooked on this stuff.   The taste is incredible, and anybody who can operate a measuring cup and a blender can make it in minutes.
I don’t know who in my family started making Cranberry-Orange Relish or where the recipe originated.   As far back as I can remember noticing such things, a dish [...]

Alone, but apparently not lonely, our young Jersey cow Rosalie spends her days in the back 40, munching on grass.  Her only responsibility is to eat enough to maintain her ever rounding figure.  She’s doing very well at that.
Rosie’s also doing very well at being alone, which isn’t always the case with herd animals.  Rosie spent most of [...]