Day 1 Forecast......RAIN
9:00........All is good in the cows, so I am having another cup of my morning brew and doing a bit of office work.
12:00......I have lunch ready, however my Farmer arrives and informs me he has a meeting, and no time for lunch. That's what I get for fixing it before I see the whites of his eyes. In the fridge it goes. Guess we have lunch for tomorrow. With my Farmer gone, I am solo at afternoon calf watching duty. (that's ok....he was solo all morning)
12:30......It is pouring down rain, so I decide to wait a bit to see if it lets up.
1:00........Still pouring.
1:30.......Decide I have to buck up and go check the cows. Dang.
1:45.......Found 4 new babies, 3 had eaten, 1 just getting up, and 1 cow that was starting to calve.
2:30.......Decide to go visit my mother-in-law for a bit to get out of the rain.
3:00......Time to check on things again. As I get on my ATV, I think to myself, (well I may have said it out loud, with a few more added words) Dummy, you should have parked in the garage! As I am now sitting on a very wet seat. Dang it! New baby has eaten. Yay! Cow that was calving has feet sticking out. Good, I think. Best drive up close and make sure they are pointing in the right direction. As I approach the cow, my first thought is oh my. On my 5th or 6th drive by, I finally admit that the feet are pointed wrong....this baby is coming backwards. It will not be born alive without help. I make a frantic call to my Farmer. "Where are you?" He is 30 minutes away. Dang it again! I tell him to drive fast. I get the calf puller and open the necessary gates that I can so everything's ready when my Farmer arrives. By the time my Farmer arrives to my aide, (which seems like hours!) he proceeds past me to open the only gate I have not opened, because ALL the other cows are standing in front of it, and he yells to me to "bring her". Bring her?!?!?! Are you kidding me? By myself??? Ok....I have bonded with her for the last 2+ hours...I can do this. And guess what? I did!! WooHOO!! Yay for me!! In the pen she goes, and my Farmer hooks up the calf puller and out comes the calf......ALIVE! Thanks to me. 😊 I know, my Farmer pulled him, but I caught that there was trouble, which sometimes is the key. By now it is time to feed, and doctor all the other new calves.
7:00.......Finally to the house for a bite to eat, and warm up. Oh, by the way.....did I mention it was raining!! And had been the whole time! I was wet, wet, wet. My Farmer asks me how long it had been raining. SINCE HE LEFT!!!!
8:00........Back out to check on things. Our backwards calf has eaten and is doing great! They are both let back out into the pasture.
9:00.......Back home and my Farmer heads to bed.
10:30......I go back out just to check and make sure all is good. All is good so I too call it a night.
Day 2 Forecast.......WIND
9:00....... I feel like being nice so I fix my Farmer breakfast. (He was out for early check)
10:00......The wind is blowing really hard, and I do not want to go out, but my Farmer needs my help. All my clothes are still wet from yesterday, so I have to find some other gear to wear. As I am driving over to the pasture, I watch a tree fall across the county road. Yep, my friend was right, we are having hurricane force winds. Crap. Today is not going to be fun. We start moving the cows that have calved to another pasture. We are in the middle of herding, have the cows and calves almost to the gate when it starts hailing.....hard. Dang! We can't turn and head for shelter, we have to keep pushing the cows through the gate. Holy moly that hail stings, especially when it is coming in sideways! I am really starting to wonder about this life. This is not fun.
1:30.......Head to the house for lunch....which is fast, cuz it's yesterdays lunch!
2:30.......Back out to the cows. The wind is still blowing really hard. I hate the wind. Especially when it is mixed with sleet and hail. All day is spent in the cows. Making sure the new babies get up and eat, then get doctored.
The wind blew one of our wheel lines almost into the road. This is just crazy weather! I am starting to wish I had an office job.
8:30.......Head home for dinner and call it a night. Its warmer tonight, and all seemed quiet, so no late night check tonight. Thank goodness!!!
Day 3 Forecast.......SNOW
8:00.......My Farmer reports we had 2 new babies over night and both are doing fine.
9:00.......Sitting in my office, wanting to do paperwork and not work outside.
9:30.......OK, fine. I bundle up and head out to the field. The winds not blowing, its not raining, however snow is predicted. And sure enough, as soon as I crawl on my ATV and head out to the pasture, the snow starts. Really?!?! I have had enough of this stupid weather. And the weatherman is predicting snow for the next 5 days. Oh ya, of course! That's what happens during calving season.
I am sooooo not liking this life right now.
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