Sep 02 06
September Fool’s Day
Yesterday morning started out well. The first order of the day was to get the raccoon out of the trap. I’ve learned to do that before I let the dogs out. The dogs aren’t happy about it, but it makes my life easier. Later in the morning, I was wishing that I had my camera in my pocket.
There were two Sandhill Cranes in the hayfield that wouldn’t have needed a zoom lens to capture. One was dancing, hopping and popping. The link has better photos than I could have taken, and you can listen to them, too.
In the afternoon, I started walking to the mailbox, when I noticed a snake in the driveway. Once again, I lamented that my camera was in the house - for about two seconds. No time for a Kodak moment. . .
This was not the snake in my driveway, I don’t know if they were related (they did meet the same fate).
The adrenaline was pumping. I needed to get the dogs in the house now. For reasons known only to them, all three went in when I told them to. I grabbed my shovel from the Mule.
Then I looked down. Oh no, that won’t do. . .
These lovely feet aren’t mine, the image is from Sue’s Sparkler.
I ran into the house and put my boots on my bare feet and over my jeans. Not as stylish, but safer. I contemplated my pistol, but thought better of it. The snake had moved a bit further in and was not happy to see me. I was happy that it had not gone into the tall grass a few inches away. A few minutes later I let the dogs back out.
In the early evening I went through the heifers with Lucky on the Mule. A few days ago I pointed out a heifer to Lynn. She was very heavy with calf. I put the bulls in on the 20th of May. She apparently was bred before we weaned last November. Uh-oh. . . I left the pasture and dropped Lucky back at the house and called Lynn. Who probably wished that he hadn’t answered the phone.
“Lynn - it’s Karen - the heifer- she’s starting to calve - I’m gonna need help - I had to drop the dog back at the house - I don’t know how long she’s been at it - she doesn’t seem to be trying - I’m on my way back down there - she’s got one foot out - I’ll get her in the corral - or the barn - see you there.”
I was born in NY - not only can I talk fast - I’m pretty good with run-on sentences.
I had the cattle moved when Lynn arrived. I think that the bulls had been bugging her in the pasture. We got her in the barn without any problem. She laid down and looked like she was going to give it a go. We left her alone while we went to irrigate. When we returned to the barn she was a changed heifer. No, she didn’t have her calf - she simply decided that she wanted to beat the snot out of us. After a few hairy moments we got her in the maternity pen. We got straps on the calf’s feet and Lynn started pulling. Then we started pulling. Mama pushed a little. The calf was huge - and very much alive. As soon as we got its head out it let us know that it wasn’t thrilled with any of us. The calf came easily to about its shoulders. That was it. I got the calf puller off the wall and fumbled with it. Lynn pulled, Mama pushed, I pulled, we ratcheted, the feet slipped out of the straps, we started over. Finally - it’s a girl! We brought the calf to a pen and released Mama, who still wanted to run us over. She went in with the calf, and we left them alone. Sitting on the Mule, dirty and tired, I said to Lynn, ” I hope none of the other heifers are that pregnant”.
I filled a bucket with oats and went to the barn. I gave Mama some water and hay. I saw that she hadn’t licked the calf, so I poured oats on it. A couple hours later I went back and saw that the oats were gone and the calf was now lying beside her. I gave her more water and went home to bed. When I checked in the morning the calf was nursing.
