Calving season

My family, and friends that I grew up with, know that even though I was raised on a farm...I'm not truly a farm girl. Oh, I can drive a tractor (sort of...it's been a while), I can get out of bed to help pull a calf in the middle of the night (well, I did it once), and can comfortably settle into a comfy chair warmed by the wood burning stove. My mom is a city girl, and my dad is a farm boy. I guess you could say I'm somewhere in the middle.

All that to say, my dad and brother are in the middle of calving season. Just picture, if you will, the weather we have been having. Now, imagine that your livelihood is sitting out in the barnyard waiting to be fed. Like we don't have a choice about feeding our children, they don't have a choice about feeding the cattle. So, out they go, freezing or not to do "chores." And, by some queer joke God has played on Kansas cattle farmers, calving season hits in the middle of winter. These little calves are popped out (some easier than others...some requiring a little help) with no regard to Ben and dad's time. Imagine that!

Occasionally, a little one doesn't do well. When that happens, they end up in front of the wood burning stove (one of the most wonderful contraptions ever!) When my brother found this guy, he said he thought it was dead. He brought it in by the fire, dried it off, and waited. We started to see some signs of life later that morning. Leah pulled up some milk in a syringe and was able to get the calf to drink some. Ben brought a bottle/tube contraption that works to shove milk directly into the calf's stomach. The calf didn't do much but lay there. Later, Ben decided the calf should go into the "hot box." A box designed to keep the calves warm. At this point I don't even know if the calf made it through the day. I'll keep you posted.

While I may not be much of a farm girl...this sight is absolutely normal for me. A calf laying in the middle of the living room floor just doesn't surprise me at all!

Val