Last and First

The first calf of 2013 has arrived! Not only was she 11 days early, but her mama, Flame, was on the bottom of our list for possible early calvers. From the looks of the ladies-in-waiting, my bet was on a trifecta consisting of Bubbles, Blossom, and Cupcake. A surprise like this was delightful but rather humbling.

Flame calved out in the pasture. When I checked her, the baby heffie had sucked and was up bucking (see photo), so I was going to leave the pair out there. But then suddenly they were discovered by a dozen other curious and playful heifers. I tried to lure the troublemakers away with hay in the back of the Ranger, but Flame decided to come too—at a run. When I saw two heifers running at the calf, shaking their heads, I jumped out, scooped up the 70 pound calf, and shoved her into the “cab” of the Ranger. Somehow I managed to keep her inside and drive at the same time.

Long story short: with the help of some helpful cow angels, I got the calf in the barn and the heifers in the corral. Since I had to run the gate and sort cows at the same time, it took a while to get Flame isolated and reunited with the calf. The latter is currently napping on a pile of hay. So far, so good!

Needless to say, I haven’t even started on laundry and breakfast dishes. But first I need a shower because I smell like newborn calf slime and urine.

“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” –MATTHEW 20:16