Although I knew that Princess was going to calve
yesterday, the weather was so wonderfully warm that I left her down in the
tree-filled lower pasture. As was her habit, she privately and handily delivered
yet another bull-calf!
At first, all seemed well, but then we saw that
his front tendons were contracted, so he could barely stand and was too
unsteady to nurse. We put him in the back of the Ranger—thank heaven for that
handy little vehicle which goes anywhere and doesn’t get stuck—and Princess
anxiously followed our precious cargo to the barn.
Like many cows, especially Angus, Princess is of
the opinion that mothering calves is strictly the job of their mothers. She
tolerates our interference—she knows he can’t nurse without our aching bodies
surrounding her calf, holding him up underneath her—but she’s quite stressed by
the entire business, as are we.
On two different occasions, once in the pasture
and once in the barn, I had this thought: Name
him Shadow. I resisted because “shadow” doesn’t sound very fun and cheery,
and besides, it reminded me of a dog a friend had when I was a kid. But then I
was led to these two beautiful scriptures (italics mine):
“…In the shadow of Your wings will I take refuge
and be confident until calamities and destructive storms are passed.” –PSALM 57:1
“He who dwells in the
secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty….” –PSALM 91:1
Later, after a late night feeding, I opened a
book and found myself reading about staying so close to Jesus that our shadow
is one with His. So, Shadow it is!
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