Fred's Cows

Our son called this morning and said he was coming up here over night. We were delighted. I put some cloths on and went into town to get some supplies. Even when the kids are grown they like special  comfort foods. So I made a list and off I drove.
It rained all night and there were lots of downed branches on the road but nothing that I couldn't drive over or around. The storm was subsiding and it looked like I would make it down our country road to the highway without having to call The Prospector to come to my aid with his chain saw.
I went to the post office and then to the store. Then I headed back home.
As I past our neighbor's house near the highway I saw a new addition to the herd of cows that stay in the pasture across the road. I just had to stop and take some pictures. Look at this cutie with its mama.

I don't know much about cows so I don't know when this one was born but it's the newest and I hadn't seen it before.
Isn't it beautiful? Look at those sweet little legs.

A few years ago, when I was working at my last (and final) paid position, I came home and drove past my neighbor, his son, grandson, his wife and one of the local Ranchers all surrounding a young cow having her first calf. It seemed that the cow was having a hard time with the birth.
I stopped and asked if I could help. They all looked at me, in my work clothes, and then looked at each other and smiled. That did it.
I got out of the car, rolled up my sweater sleeves and said,  "What can I do?"
I guess they took this to be a serious question. They said I could help and showed me what to do. I got to pull the baby out with the help of the other woman and a come-a- long. The mom was too young and was having a difficult time of it. She kept wanting to sit down. This could not happen because the baby was halfway out and it would have broken the calf's legs. So the men kept her up, supporting her with boards and straps, and the other lady and I pulled on the calf. I never worked so hard in all my life. Finally the calf slipped out and landed on the ground. I was suppose to catch the calf so it didn't get hurt. I tried, but it was hard to hold on to a living thing that was bloody and slick as... you know the expression. I, more or less, got underneath the calf so it landed on my arms as it came out. Fred's wife was on the other side doing the same. What an experience it was. We finally got the calf on the ground without being harmed.
The heifer didn't want anything to do with the calf and so we had to "put them together", as Fred called it. Finally she got the message and within a few minutes the calf was up and feeding.
I've never been so excited in my life. You'd think I had given birth to the calf myself.
I drove on home that afternoon in a state of euphoria. When the Prospector saw me he thought I had an accident. I related the story and told him I wanted some cattle. He laughed.
Then, I went in and took a shower. I never wore that sweater again. What a gift it is to see an animal born. I will never forget this experience.
So this morning I stopped to take a few photos of the new addition to the herd and that memory came back.
I still recall the excitement. It was quite a wonderful thing and I knew then, that I would have made a good rancher. I know this could have ended differently. The calf could have died. That happens. I had watched a calf born dead in that same corral. It was very sad. But, the ones that survive make it all worth the effort.
I was standing at the fence thinking about all of this when one of the young black bulls came up to me. They usually walk away when I get that close, but they were all looking at me like I had brought lunch.

Then one of the cows came over to the fence.

He was making eye contact with me. He was very interested in what I was doing.

I thought he was going to smile. He was wet from the rain, dirty and  looking at me with such sincere attention that I started talking to him. " Hi, fella. Can I take your picture?" He was giving me the ol' sweet eye.
That's when he tried to eat my camera...

You've got to love this. These animals have the biggest tongues I have very seen.
He almost reached me. But, I surprised him first. I reached out and touched his nose.
Well, he didn't care for that.
He gave me a rather annoyed look.

As if to say, "You mean you don't have any food?" I was going to apologize but he turned away and that was the end of our close encounter.

Fred.... It's time to feed your cows.

Looking at parts... of me.

I never cease to be amazed at Barbara Kingsolver's writing. I am a big fan and I don't read a lot of books. That's a confession that I hate to admit but it's true. I have so many things to fit into my life before I leave this wonderful gift of a world and I can't sit and read when the OWL might come back to the porch and my camera calls me from the shelf. My mind is filled with ideas that will last long beyond my time here... so reading is just another thing on my list that I need or want to do.
But, this morning I was looking at Amazon.com... for fun.
I coughed all night. Took some cough meds about 3:00 a.m. and woke up drowsy. I may be coming down with something.  Then, after two cups of coffee I felt better, so I went to Amazon books to see what I could see.
If you know what I'm talking about, when you bring up this site, Amazon gives you ideas and "recommendations" all around the edges of what you're looking at. This is to make you buy something that you really wouldn't have though of if they hadn't put the notion in your head with little "windows" of opportunity.
*More items to consider... *Related to items you've viewed... *Shop the best books of 2011 store and so on. Knitting, photography, felting, nature, animals,  Dean Koontz ( I love his twisted stories.), Michael Pollan and The Big Ass Book of Crafts by, (OMG), a guy named Mark Montano. Now that's cool. A dude that does crafts... and writes a book about it. Almost doesn't sound real.
So, I was trying to stay focused. I went back and clicked on Barbara Kingsolver-Small Wonders-essays.
They give you a "look inside" the book to tickle you interest.
I read the forward and the first essay. This first story alone told me that I must read this book. It is now winging its way to me. She wrote most of the essays right after 9/11.  for a magazine. It speaks to moving away from the "vast, unbearable pain" of any horrible tragedy in your life. How looking at the parts of a terrible thing, and the little sub stories which come of it, can help you control your pain and begin to heal on a smaller level and make the tragedy a little more manageable.
The first essay is about a family in the Lori tribe in the western province of Lerestan in Iran. They come home from working in the fields to find one of their children missing.
As I'm so easily upset by stories like this, I sometimes don't continue reading. My mind doesn't let go of things. I accumulate. But, something inside of me said, "Read it." Something saw the correlation  to 9/11 and so I continued. I also trust Barbara Kingslover to tell a story with such reason and humanity that I always know I would be less for not reading it.
I would recommend this book if the only written pages in it were the first essay. Please consider this. I sound like the "recommendations" on Amazon.com. but please take a look at the "read inside" on this book and let me know what you think.
I Googled a newspaper article on this real life story and I leave it here as a testament to how far we have pulled ourselves away from Nature and how we think that we are different... but, how very much we are the same.

Iranian toddler found safe in bear's den after 3 days By Reuters, 10/02/01 TEHRAN, Iran -- A mother bear appears to have cared for a missing 16-month-old Iranian toddler who was found safe and sound three days later in the animal's den, the Kayhan newspaper said Tuesday. The child's parents, from a nomadic tribe in western Lorestan province, returned to their tent after working in the fields to find him missing, Kayhan said. Three days later, a search party found the toddler, who it said had probably been breast-fed by a mother bear, in a den about 6 miles from the nomadic settlement. A medical examination showed the toddler was in good health, the daily said.

Happy New Year to my family and friends.

Non sequitur

Can you see this? You are looking up through the skylight in my kitchen. Annabel got up on the roof again and won't come down. She has been there for 2 days. I guess she gets some warmth from the window up there. Carl doesn't like it. When he sees her in the window he has a barking fit.
She looks so pathetic up there but, as you will notice, she has gone to sleep in the middle photo. She will cry and act like she wants down but she won't come down on her own. We ALWAYS have to go up and get her. I don't know why she does this. It drives us crazy...

Murphy has been dancing again. I caught him the other day trying to show the other goats how good he is. Actually , part of this dance is to find another goat partner and play the MOUNTAIN GOAT STOMP. They rear up and charge each other and then they push each other back and forth until one of them gives up. It's a big game. But Murphy does the "rearing" the best. He's a pro...

This is the strangest thing. That chewed up old dog bone is standing almost strait up on that rug. I came in the front door last night and practically fell over it. I think the dogs have too much time on their hands.
Maybe it's a secret dog trick. Gary Larson could have done a great cartoon on this. It would have been two dogs sitting under the table watching a human fall over the upright bone and the dogs would be rolling on their backs laughing hysterically. It's kind of spooky to see a bone standing straight up on the floor in front of you. The Prospector and I were talking about this at dinner . Could it be that the dogs don't have anything better to do? We have decided that Maggie probably didn't initiate this little game. She's so old. She can hardly move anymore and she can't see very well. Carl, on the other hand, is always causing trouble and chewing on things..., so we're pretty sure that this was his idea. We gave him TWO walks yesterday. He had no reason for this little act of domestic mischief.
Neither of them are talking..., and Maggie threw up on the living room rug this morning. Poor thing..., she's getting too old for all of this drama.
The Prospector got the ladder and the cat has been saved from another night of roof sitting and cold overhangs.
Murph' is not dancing today. The fog returned this morning and the sun has disappeared for the day so he and the other goats are standing near their house looking like something awful is going to happen.
The dogs are asleep, but I'm keeping an eye on them....