Meet Number Nine!
Nine years ago this week, I brought my first Jersey cow home to the farm. Not long after, she gave...
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Tag: calf
Baby’s Here!
The week before Thanksgiving, Rosie the pregnant Jersey cow exhibited symptoms that made us worry about another premature birth. So we moved her to the barnyard where she could bask in the afternoon sunlight and spend her...
Read MoreA short strange cow tale
There I was, wandering around in the pasture, checking every tall stand of grass and cluster of brush for the day-old calf that was hiding somewhere out there in the pasture. And I saw this . . . Rosie apparently had a bad...
Read MoreThat calf’s not right
Several weeks ago we noticed something odd about Cocoa, the preemie calf. Take a look at that face. Look a little closer. Note the underbite and the exposed teeth. It’s not a huge underbite, but it definitely affects...
Read MoreAlien cattle
Somewhere there’s an alien cow barn missing a calf. Look, the alien calf’s big sister came to visit, too. It’s an alien cow family reunion. P.S. Don’t take your camera flash to the barn. Just...
Read MoreNew Year’s Eve Musings
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.
Bathroom confessions
Remember what I said a few days ago? That I brought a bovine into the bathroom? It’s true. Today I’ve included the proof in photos for those who can’t believe any sane woman would bring farm animals into the house. Hmm, let me rephrase that. Today I’ve included the proof in photos that I brought […]
Whose bottle is it?
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.
Meet 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,...
Read MoreOn sunny days . . .
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...
Read MoreCalf Adventures, Part Two
The calves got bored with the fenceline meet-and-greet routine pretty quickly. Or maybe they got tired of being licked. So they went exploring. Rosie behaved like a typical new mother, hovering close, keeping an eye on her...
Read MoreCalf Adventures, Part One
I was away for most of the day yesterday and left the calves and their mama in the barn where they couldn’t get into much trouble, and where not much trouble could find them. The coyotes have been too active lately, and a...
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