I was all set to begin a week of showing Willow advancing toward calving. I got her up yesterday to give her a shot because she was limping and saw she was bagging up and there were no other signs at all. That would include a discharge, a swollen vulva and possibly leaking milk but Mother Nature has her own timetable. I didn't really know for sure when she would calve; I never saw her in heat, but our new bull was in the pen with her once. I counted from that date.
Willow did it again...well, with the assistance of the new bull from Nixa, Mo.
DH went out at dark to check the live trap and came in to tell me (I was already in bed) that she had calved and all was well. We just let them be until this morning.
Of course she did like she always does with new babies, she leads them off away from the evil people who feed and milk her! I always get a rear view:
I finally caught baby with the zoom:
This means next week I will be milking again! This is the first year we haven't had an orphan baby to put on her so I am in the market for one. I don't want to milk twice a day.......
The last couple of days have been spent just doing routine gardening: watering, spraying the odd beetle infestation and harvesting.
I said I was though with the cucumbers but then I read about freezer cole slaw and sweet cucumber relish, so I think I will do one of each.
I also am beginning to pull the corn ears. They are past being ready. So much for the label's days to maturity!
I tied up the Ananas Noire/Black Pineapple tomatoes on the fence by the corn this morning. They are looking very promising with lots of nice-size tomatoes.
Oh the baby calf is so cute!!! Glad everything went well for both of them :) Have a great weekend Sweetie!
ReplyDeleteIs the new baby a male or female, I can't tell. A wonderful mahogany color - very pretty. Hope you find an orphan to help with the milk.
ReplyDeleteI picked my first 2 ripe tomatoes today: a Radiator Charlie mtg lifter and a Bush Goliath. There's BLT in my future! Looking forward to notes on your slaw and relish. Stay cool.
That's a nice looking calf. Hope you can find an orphan calf. Both the freezer slaw and the relish sound delicious.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations!!! What a cute calf.
ReplyDeleteThat's a beautiful baby! Willow is sure good at taking care of things. Sorry she's so standoffish, though. I've no experience with livestock. When I was a kid we adopted cats that people "dropped off" on the highway in front of our house. They almost always came to us about ready to have kits. We'd always feed them and that would make them more than happy to share their joy in giving birth with us. Cats are not stupid. They know when to be grateful. They'd meet us at the back door, suddenly skinny, and lead us to where the babies were. Such sweet memories....
ReplyDeleteCongrats!!! What a wonderful surprise!!
ReplyDeleteYou have a full plate Ms. Glenda! How is your hand feeling from that wasp sting? The calf looks very healthy, what a job taking care of a farm. How do you guys keep up? We are finally having a few tomatoes and peppers from our little garden. The gnat problem is solving itself with these hot dry days, they can't survive the heat I guess.
ReplyDeleteI love the walking away picture. That's so funny!
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