I have had no college education and I am what you would call a plain "farmers wife." But I also have one of the greatest privileges a woman can have. That privilege comes to me as I work side by side with my husband in his amazing world of wonder....helping him bring life and save life during our calving season.
In this post I want to take you along with us for a couple "nights". Notice I said nights. In our world that seems to be when life begins!!! Out under that night sky, the half moon for your light, millions of stars above, and every neighbors house dark and asleep. So here we go. I hope you will like it as much as I do.
"I need to go back out in a hour," he said. "There's a heifer with its calf's feet just coming and a silly old cow way up on the hillside about to have hers. There's no way they will make it unless I get them in the barn."
"How are you ever going to do that? There are already two momma's in there?" she asked. "You said that one momma always wants to run you up the fence. How are you going to move her and baby without getting stomped to death? And in the dark?"
"If I carry a stick, she knows who's boss."
"Oh I'm sure she is going to notice that stick in your hand in the dark....I'm going with you!!"
"Right now I'm going to bed for an hour...coming?"
It is 12:52 am. His side of the bed is empty. She hears him out in the utility room, crawls out of bed and goes out to see him. There he stands all dressed in coveralls, cap with ear flaps pulled down, gloves, boots...his hand on the door knob.
"Do I come with you?" she asks standing there, her arms wrapped around her and her eyes half closed.
"There's no sense until I ride out to check."
"Ok." She turned to go. "I'm not going to sleep though."
She settles down and listens for the four wheeler. Sure enough, she checks the clock....1:23. She gets up, puts the two corn bags in the microwave to warm up for when she hears him returning home.
Grabbing her phone she props up on her pillows and settles back to check facebook. Goodness what a surprise of the amount of people who are awake this time of night.....woops, I mean morning.
Good grief a half hour has gone and still no hubby. What could be taking so long? Oh yes...he would need to put them out of the barn....Oh no!!!! That stupid old grumpy cow!!! I wonder if he's ok...he could be laying there knocked out. I must check!!!
She jumps out of bed and hurries to the back door. She opens it just a crack and listens. Pure silence....not a sound anywhere!!! Only that cold north wind blowing in around her. He must be in trouble.....if not she would hear the four wheeler, or see his lights. She never thinks that he is just a cell phone call away, but then he would probably never put forth the effort to dig down through all his layers of clothing to answer with the old mother cow butting at his back. So she continues to think the worst.
"Oh why didn't I go sooner she thinks as she hurries to the bathroom for her clothes. Good grief...it's going to take an eternity to put all this stuff on. On goes the socks, then long johns, then two shirts.....oh I hope he's ok....then the jeans. Out she goes to the utility room. Still no noise of the four wheeler. She grabs her sweatshirt, then coveralls, then coat....wait! She hears him. Her heart slows down a few beats.
Glasses fogged, wiping his cold nose with his gloved hand, he pushes open the utility room door.
"What happened? I was worried!!!" she said.
"Well, you need to come... we need to get them both in. One calf will need to come to the house."
"What about that dumb old cow?" she ask as she finishes putting on her hat and coat.
"Oh, I got her where I want her. No problem."
Aww, how beautiful out here!!! Clear sky, moon hanging over in the west, millions and millions of stars. Cold, cold and more cold!!!
The four wheeler sets there hooked to a small wagon. He hops on first and then stand up while she grabs on to him and pulls herself up and over.....her boot gets caught between his and the four wheeler. She gives it a yank and thinks under her breath....these boots are way to big!!! Off they go. Him holding an old feed sack in front of his face to block the bitter cold wind and she is crouched down behind him.
Into the cow pasture...all is quiet except the motor as they make their way among the cows. Some lying there, chewing their cud, some standing, steam coming out of their noises. Every once in a while you hear a soft baul from a momma, assuring her baby that all is well.
"There's the heifer," he points. She stands there, her birth sac hanging down to the ground, a baby calf wobbling beside her. She looks at us, then at her baby, and back at us. We park the four wheeler and hubby gets off and quietly walks toward them. She walks this way and that, watching hubby and nosing her baby. Hubby grabs the baby and starts to push him along, momma following, butting at my husband once in a while. On they go.... disappearing into the darkness.
I hop off the four wheeler and follow. Ouch!!! I wish there weren't so many frozen "cow piles" out here!!
"Get that gate!!" he calls so that the momma cow will not run out into the pasture.
She runs in the dark and somehow loosens the wire holding it open, pushes it shut, just as the momma cow comes by her. The momma cow runs up the lane full speed ahead, forgetting that he has her calf up by the barn. Momma is just mixed up big time.
"Can you crawl under that gate and get up around her and bring her back?" he asks
"Sure why not!!" Ouch....another one of those frozen cow piles right where she rolled under. Well thank goodness it was frozen!! Off she runs....gets behind her and heads her back. It is interesting to run in the dark with heavy boots and many layers of clothes. She discovers lots of new objects!!!
Anyway, they get her in the barn and close the door. Now, back to the four wheeler and to find the old cow.
There she stands, right out on the hillside and her baby lays there flat on his side. He picks him up and half drags him to the wagon attached to the four wheeler and lays him there, momma right behind him.
"Is he alive?" she asks.
"Yes, but he will need to go to the house. Just start driving toward the barn and I'm sure the momma will follow. We'll get her in and then take this calf to the house. I'll ride back here."
No problem, momma had her head right in hubby's lap all the way, mooing softly to her ice cold baby.
Hubby carried the baby into the utility room, she grabbed a rug and he flops the calf down on it. They grab old towels and start rubbing and rubbing. She runs for the hair dryer and gently blows warm air all up and down that little body. Its temp is 86 and it should be 102!! So cold!!
On we work, desperately trying to save this little life. The sun starts to light the eastern sky. Corn bags are forgotten there in the microwave. The little fellow is starting to shake now. His little body is starting the long warming up process. He looks up at her and smiles and says, "You know, I heard a vet say that the fastest way to warm a calf is put it in some warm water."
"Hey.....I love you and I love your calves, but I don't think I am willing to share my bath tub with them exactly!!!" she answered.
Its amazing how fast they can come around with a little loving care. In three hours, that little fellow was all cleaned up, little ears purked up, and making itself at home there in the utility room. All ready for momma.
Night number 2
She must have drifted off to sleep because all of a sudden he was shaking her gently awake. There he stood in coveralls and his ear muff cap. "Honey get dressed, we need to get a cow in and help her. I'm going to hook up the light in the barn and be back for you." With that he was gone.
She stretches, slowly throws back the covers, and heads once again for her clothes, half asleep. Out to the utility room. On with all the coveralls, coat, gloves and boots. He's not here yet....I'll just sit here and wake up a bit more. Oh forget it. Out she goes.
The cold air in her lungs soon brought her wide awake. They jump on the good old four wheeler once again. This time there was no little wagon, This was different...this time she would experience her most beautiful experience in her world of cattle. She would help a calf come into the world.
Down the road they drove, past the neighbors dark house, across the cattle guard and out among the cows once again. He moved the flashlight this way and that...no momma.
"She is always moving." he said
Right then she saw her "There she is up on that hill"
She stood there among a few other cows, just standing there in misery, switching her tail this way and that. You could see the front feet of that little fellow sticking out. It was high time for him to come into this cold dark world!!
He jumps off the four wheeler and headed her down the hill, talking softly. "You turn it off and follow behind" he told her.
Off we went, old momma cow, my hubby and me. The half moon was giving a soft light, but not enough to help you see those 'cow pies'!!
Momma cow seemed to know just where to go as she walked right into the barn. I really think after you have been trying for that long and nothing happens, you are willing for a little help.
Her head was caught and a soft light glowed from a single light bulb.
"Oh shoot, my long plastic gloves are up in the farrowing shed" he said. "Could you get them? They are on about the second shelf and in the middle somewhere!"
Up she runs The light switch doesn't work, so on goes the flash light that was slowly fading away. He said the second shelf somewhere in the middle. Oh sure....boxes of this and that, containers of this and that...,but absolutely no box of plastic gloves!! Oh wait!! She saw a sack of them, grabbed it and ran.
"There was no box, but I found these."
"I'll use them but there is a box somewhere there on the second shelf in the middle."
"Ok," she said under her breath with a chuckle.
Off comes the coat and coveralls. On goes the plastic glove. It didn't take long to find those little front feet. He tied a small chain around them and we both pull. Momma helps us and all of a sudden laying at our feet, all wet and shiny black is a brand new baby. It just lays there for a minute.
"Oh is it alive?" she asks....looking down at it wide eyed. "I hope we didn't wait to long>"
"I think we are ok...I'll just tickle its noise with some straw."
Sure enough, its little eyes opened, it kind of sneezed and started to move a little bit. He gently picked it up and moved it to the corner. He let mommy loose and she hurried over to it and quietly mooed and started to lick her brand new baby.
Outside the closed door she stood....just for a little while. The half moon cast its silver light all around. All was very still, you could hear a pin drop. Off in the distance a coyote calls.
She stands there just on the other side of that old barn door. Her heart is happy, another baby calf has just come into the world. She loves that man who 42 years ago took her hand and brought her into his wonderful world of wonder.
In this post I want to take you along with us for a couple "nights". Notice I said nights. In our world that seems to be when life begins!!! Out under that night sky, the half moon for your light, millions of stars above, and every neighbors house dark and asleep. So here we go. I hope you will like it as much as I do.
"I need to go back out in a hour," he said. "There's a heifer with its calf's feet just coming and a silly old cow way up on the hillside about to have hers. There's no way they will make it unless I get them in the barn."
"How are you ever going to do that? There are already two momma's in there?" she asked. "You said that one momma always wants to run you up the fence. How are you going to move her and baby without getting stomped to death? And in the dark?"
"If I carry a stick, she knows who's boss."
"Oh I'm sure she is going to notice that stick in your hand in the dark....I'm going with you!!"
"Right now I'm going to bed for an hour...coming?"
It is 12:52 am. His side of the bed is empty. She hears him out in the utility room, crawls out of bed and goes out to see him. There he stands all dressed in coveralls, cap with ear flaps pulled down, gloves, boots...his hand on the door knob.
"Do I come with you?" she asks standing there, her arms wrapped around her and her eyes half closed.
"There's no sense until I ride out to check."
"Ok." She turned to go. "I'm not going to sleep though."
She settles down and listens for the four wheeler. Sure enough, she checks the clock....1:23. She gets up, puts the two corn bags in the microwave to warm up for when she hears him returning home.
Grabbing her phone she props up on her pillows and settles back to check facebook. Goodness what a surprise of the amount of people who are awake this time of night.....woops, I mean morning.
Good grief a half hour has gone and still no hubby. What could be taking so long? Oh yes...he would need to put them out of the barn....Oh no!!!! That stupid old grumpy cow!!! I wonder if he's ok...he could be laying there knocked out. I must check!!!
She jumps out of bed and hurries to the back door. She opens it just a crack and listens. Pure silence....not a sound anywhere!!! Only that cold north wind blowing in around her. He must be in trouble.....if not she would hear the four wheeler, or see his lights. She never thinks that he is just a cell phone call away, but then he would probably never put forth the effort to dig down through all his layers of clothing to answer with the old mother cow butting at his back. So she continues to think the worst.
"Oh why didn't I go sooner she thinks as she hurries to the bathroom for her clothes. Good grief...it's going to take an eternity to put all this stuff on. On goes the socks, then long johns, then two shirts.....oh I hope he's ok....then the jeans. Out she goes to the utility room. Still no noise of the four wheeler. She grabs her sweatshirt, then coveralls, then coat....wait! She hears him. Her heart slows down a few beats.
Glasses fogged, wiping his cold nose with his gloved hand, he pushes open the utility room door.
"What happened? I was worried!!!" she said.
"Well, you need to come... we need to get them both in. One calf will need to come to the house."
"What about that dumb old cow?" she ask as she finishes putting on her hat and coat.
"Oh, I got her where I want her. No problem."
Aww, how beautiful out here!!! Clear sky, moon hanging over in the west, millions and millions of stars. Cold, cold and more cold!!!
The four wheeler sets there hooked to a small wagon. He hops on first and then stand up while she grabs on to him and pulls herself up and over.....her boot gets caught between his and the four wheeler. She gives it a yank and thinks under her breath....these boots are way to big!!! Off they go. Him holding an old feed sack in front of his face to block the bitter cold wind and she is crouched down behind him.
Into the cow pasture...all is quiet except the motor as they make their way among the cows. Some lying there, chewing their cud, some standing, steam coming out of their noises. Every once in a while you hear a soft baul from a momma, assuring her baby that all is well.
"There's the heifer," he points. She stands there, her birth sac hanging down to the ground, a baby calf wobbling beside her. She looks at us, then at her baby, and back at us. We park the four wheeler and hubby gets off and quietly walks toward them. She walks this way and that, watching hubby and nosing her baby. Hubby grabs the baby and starts to push him along, momma following, butting at my husband once in a while. On they go.... disappearing into the darkness.
I hop off the four wheeler and follow. Ouch!!! I wish there weren't so many frozen "cow piles" out here!!
"Get that gate!!" he calls so that the momma cow will not run out into the pasture.
She runs in the dark and somehow loosens the wire holding it open, pushes it shut, just as the momma cow comes by her. The momma cow runs up the lane full speed ahead, forgetting that he has her calf up by the barn. Momma is just mixed up big time.
"Can you crawl under that gate and get up around her and bring her back?" he asks
"Sure why not!!" Ouch....another one of those frozen cow piles right where she rolled under. Well thank goodness it was frozen!! Off she runs....gets behind her and heads her back. It is interesting to run in the dark with heavy boots and many layers of clothes. She discovers lots of new objects!!!
Anyway, they get her in the barn and close the door. Now, back to the four wheeler and to find the old cow.
There she stands, right out on the hillside and her baby lays there flat on his side. He picks him up and half drags him to the wagon attached to the four wheeler and lays him there, momma right behind him.
"Is he alive?" she asks.
"Yes, but he will need to go to the house. Just start driving toward the barn and I'm sure the momma will follow. We'll get her in and then take this calf to the house. I'll ride back here."
No problem, momma had her head right in hubby's lap all the way, mooing softly to her ice cold baby.
Hubby carried the baby into the utility room, she grabbed a rug and he flops the calf down on it. They grab old towels and start rubbing and rubbing. She runs for the hair dryer and gently blows warm air all up and down that little body. Its temp is 86 and it should be 102!! So cold!!
On we work, desperately trying to save this little life. The sun starts to light the eastern sky. Corn bags are forgotten there in the microwave. The little fellow is starting to shake now. His little body is starting the long warming up process. He looks up at her and smiles and says, "You know, I heard a vet say that the fastest way to warm a calf is put it in some warm water."
"Hey.....I love you and I love your calves, but I don't think I am willing to share my bath tub with them exactly!!!" she answered.
Its amazing how fast they can come around with a little loving care. In three hours, that little fellow was all cleaned up, little ears purked up, and making itself at home there in the utility room. All ready for momma.
Night number 2
She must have drifted off to sleep because all of a sudden he was shaking her gently awake. There he stood in coveralls and his ear muff cap. "Honey get dressed, we need to get a cow in and help her. I'm going to hook up the light in the barn and be back for you." With that he was gone.
She stretches, slowly throws back the covers, and heads once again for her clothes, half asleep. Out to the utility room. On with all the coveralls, coat, gloves and boots. He's not here yet....I'll just sit here and wake up a bit more. Oh forget it. Out she goes.
The cold air in her lungs soon brought her wide awake. They jump on the good old four wheeler once again. This time there was no little wagon, This was different...this time she would experience her most beautiful experience in her world of cattle. She would help a calf come into the world.
Down the road they drove, past the neighbors dark house, across the cattle guard and out among the cows once again. He moved the flashlight this way and that...no momma.
"She is always moving." he said
Right then she saw her "There she is up on that hill"
She stood there among a few other cows, just standing there in misery, switching her tail this way and that. You could see the front feet of that little fellow sticking out. It was high time for him to come into this cold dark world!!
He jumps off the four wheeler and headed her down the hill, talking softly. "You turn it off and follow behind" he told her.
Off we went, old momma cow, my hubby and me. The half moon was giving a soft light, but not enough to help you see those 'cow pies'!!
Momma cow seemed to know just where to go as she walked right into the barn. I really think after you have been trying for that long and nothing happens, you are willing for a little help.
Her head was caught and a soft light glowed from a single light bulb.
"Oh shoot, my long plastic gloves are up in the farrowing shed" he said. "Could you get them? They are on about the second shelf and in the middle somewhere!"
Up she runs The light switch doesn't work, so on goes the flash light that was slowly fading away. He said the second shelf somewhere in the middle. Oh sure....boxes of this and that, containers of this and that...,but absolutely no box of plastic gloves!! Oh wait!! She saw a sack of them, grabbed it and ran.
"There was no box, but I found these."
"I'll use them but there is a box somewhere there on the second shelf in the middle."
"Ok," she said under her breath with a chuckle.
Off comes the coat and coveralls. On goes the plastic glove. It didn't take long to find those little front feet. He tied a small chain around them and we both pull. Momma helps us and all of a sudden laying at our feet, all wet and shiny black is a brand new baby. It just lays there for a minute.
"Oh is it alive?" she asks....looking down at it wide eyed. "I hope we didn't wait to long>"
"I think we are ok...I'll just tickle its noise with some straw."
Sure enough, its little eyes opened, it kind of sneezed and started to move a little bit. He gently picked it up and moved it to the corner. He let mommy loose and she hurried over to it and quietly mooed and started to lick her brand new baby.
Outside the closed door she stood....just for a little while. The half moon cast its silver light all around. All was very still, you could hear a pin drop. Off in the distance a coyote calls.
She stands there just on the other side of that old barn door. Her heart is happy, another baby calf has just come into the world. She loves that man who 42 years ago took her hand and brought her into his wonderful world of wonder.
Smile!
ReplyDeleteWow! What a wonderful life!
ReplyDelete