Cow Cats and such

I wish I had a photo, or even better video.  But maybe I'll capture some this weekend.  Picture this if you can!


Three and four week old calves, and barn cats.  Playing together!  Cats pretending that the calves are not there as they are sneaking up on them.  Then the very large calf nose touched the small cat, leaving a wet smudge on their heads.  Cats ball up, hiss and dash off - about four steps.  Calves shake their heads, like big cattle.  The game is on, again.

These are just a few of the things that we see here on our little ranch.

We tagged calves today and that was an adventure.  Catching them was Earl's job, mine was doing the tags.  Luke helped too.  Everyone has nice orange tags, and we are waiting for the other babies to arrive.  Will we have an Easter calf or just a Palm Sunday baby this year?

I wrote about Good Friday over on Strawberry Roan today, and will be doing a longer post here tomorrow.  I'll be sharing the legend of the Donkey and how it got the cross on it's back.  My own version of the famous tale.

Bright blessings!

Number Four

She is calf number four, a sweet blue black heifer, who could have had a much more tragic entry into the world than she did.  Check out part of her story at Strawberry Roan...

We had a much different day planned than what we started with this past Sunday.  Thankfully God was leading the way or instead of ending in joy it could have been tragic.

We have Highland Cows which can sometimes drive my loving husband to fits!  Mostly because they look much alike - either shaggy black or shaggy red.  I think they are all unique with their horns, faces and the like but him not so much.

But to step back a few paces - it was a later than I would have liked start to the day.  Our dear neighbor (bless him!) came to put out some hay bales.  He almost didn't see her!  She was tucked into the bedding pile. Alone.  Not one other cow around.  Not even in sight.  No one.  Was she alive? Yes!

When he came to the house I was so surprised...a calf.  By herself.  That was unlike my cows, but with heifers having their first babies it isn't unheard of.

So...no breakfast, no devotionals, no coffee...the duty of a steward comes first.  We bundled up and dashed out.  Sure enough she was okay.  Very new.  Very small. So lovely.

I covered her up from the chill wind, and the snow pellets flew around us.  Earl took our cattle dog Feathers to walk out and bring the cows up.  We had to find her mama!  


Waiting in the wind with a shivering calf and a very pregnant mama cat who strangely wanted to mother this baby had me thinking, praying and wondering about this life we live!  Mi vida loca...indeed!


Through the trees I see cows coming and I wonder - who is the heifer's mama?  Which one?  No one looked that close the day before but cows can fool you!  I see them coming up, walking slowly, and I foolishly think we are almost done out here!


It took almost another hour and the the help of our dogs, many prayers and finally a little moo of recognition from this hours old baby.   She knew her Mama, even if her Mama wasn't sure about knowing her.  So now that we've got them matched up, can she suck?


Not wanting to gamble I run in to mix up some first milk, colostrum, for her, and dash back out.  I catch her and try to get her to suck on this fake rubber nipple.  She wanted NOTHING TO DO WITH IT!  That is a good sign for us cattle folks!  It means she has sucked, and now to get her Mama to let her do that again.

In the usual butt up and head down, calf between my legs position, holding a bottle urging this baby to please give me a break.  I feel a soft snuffly breath on my cheek.  Slowly, S-L-O-W-L-Y I looked up.  Horns, hair and a concerned mooo...and the calf replies.  I let go and stand up, slowly.  She teeters over, gets a little lick on the face and finds her true and proper meal.  Her tail wags and her Mama nuzzles her.

Prayers of thanks go up as cow's milk drops down into the calf's stomach.  Prayers of thanks go up as the snow pellets fall down in a grey spring sky.  Prayers of thanks go up.

Over coffee, and whilst spying from the house with binoculars, I'm amazed at how this heifer has become so mothering so fast.  Instinct is amazing, it is a miracle.  So is Rio.

Raine's Story

This is baby Raine, she is a tiny little heifer born in the pouring rain.  Her mama's first calf.  She was born around noon, and when we checked her later after the rain she was tucked in to a little hollow on the ridge.  She was laying so still I thought she was sick so I went to her, slowly, quietly talking.  I gently touched her little wet head...and...

...she jumped up and RAN!  Right through one barbed wire fence, then through another, fell through the snow and sank into a soft, wet drift (the only one left I'm sure for miles!).  I dash to the fence, curse and fret at the gate (bless me that man of mine makes gates tight to open and close sometimes!)...and got cut...then I ran.  

Finally caught up to her and thought, "Phew now I can carry her back!"...or NOT!

She ran, AGAIN!, back through the fences (all three) but not before taking a nice swampy detour through the mud, muck and melted poop from the winter.  She slipped through the rails on the corral and lay down. So very tired.  I wanted to lay down too!  I knelt down and softly called her name, and mooed a little.   And I PRAYED!  Prayed that she wouldn't dash away again. Prayed that she wouldn't get hurt. Prayed that her Mama would finally come get her...and Praise the Lord if that calf didn't just get up and walk to me.

She stood there and let me carry her out to her Mama and aunties.  Aunty Brindle thought she should take charge of the baby and she moved her to where her mama was waiting.

My first barbed wire cut of the year! I guess you could say I got that out of the way! Now we can keep on calving and I'll remember to have my hands on the babies more firmly when they are playing possum!  No more muddy dashes for me to catch calves if I can help it!  Luke was a super helper and we were wise enough to have left the dogs in the house - they would have NOT helped.

Raine and her cousins Hank and Monica are playing in the sunshine.  They run, they sleep and they are growing fast.  Their Mama's are happy for the snow going away and I am too.

Calving is never boring around here...

Hello Spring!

Little Hank and his Mama Blackie.

His second full day, and what a sweet woolly boy he is. 

It's a cow parade...

Spring, she comes on frost feathered wings.

Spring, she whispers through the winter's fog.

She promises grass, flowers and leaves.

She sings the birds back home again.

Spring, she moves across the snow warmly.

Spring, she sends the snow fleeing.

She promises renewal after a winter's sleep.

She sings, paints and warms us to dream.

Spring, she teases us with warm and cold kisses.

Spring, she dances through the slowly waking trees.

She conducts the frog choirs and raven chorus.

She tickles the horses into bucking and running.

Spring, our shy girl, she comes softly and slowly.

Spring, our dancing girl, she lightens our hearts.

She brings us more sunshine, gentle rains.

She brings us storms and birthing trials.

Spring! She comes! She comes!

original poem, March 18,2011 Shanyn Silinski copyright

Photos by Shanyn Silinski, 2011

Warm Sunshine, Almost Spring?

I bundled up this morning - the usual for winter oriented people and the it hit me.  The sun is warmer now! What a wonderful thing to stand there, bucket of bird seed in one hand and scoop in the other, turning my face to the sun and just feeling it!  Warmth! The promise of spring!

I dared to say it!  The forecasters can do their best to deter me but I believe that spring is coming.  "Cold and wet spring ahead" they warn us.  Floods, more snow, storms and the like but all I can hear are birds singing and all I can see is snow melting and I can hear the joy in my little boy's voice!


We played in the lightly falling snow last night.  It was warm for us and we had a wonderful time.  It wasn't quite spring but we are getting closer.

Waiting for spring to wake up is hard to do!  We touch the trees, and imagine we hear them starting to rouse from their winter slumber.  We watch the cows and horses run and play, wishing for grass instead of hay.  The birds sing of trees, bugs, flowers and nests instead of dry old seeds and dog water. 

We sort our winter gear and get ready to trade it for spring coats and boots.

I KNOW we may have more winter yet and I'm sure spring will be the shy girl we expect her to be and that's okay.  Just knowing she is on her way is enough to lighten my heart!  It is enough to get my fingers itching for soil and my eyes are drawn to the tin bowl full of seed packets.  Waiting for spring.

How do you wait for spring?

Blog Hop 2nd Date

Blog Hop Redux

Blog Hop List

We gone and done it again, got out the fancy dresses and heels and Meg has put on a great blog hop!  Thank you for stopping by...it's great to see you!

I've got a few blogs and while they have not been at the top of my life's to do list lately I'm confident that I'll be back better than before.  Please feel free to click around, visit my blogs and enjoy the scenery.

There are some winter nights where the colors

bleed away to blue and black.

Bruised snow under the moonlight,

Stark branches casting patterns on the snow.

The evening colors fade to black, 

the wolves howl as we turn to the fire.

I have to tell you, the last blog hop was amazing!  The visits, the comments and the encouragement was just amazing.  

I think as writers we need to remember the power of positive words and within our community of writers we need to show that solidarity and support.  It can mean so much and you may never know how that one comment, that one shared link can mean.  There have been days when the words didn't come and the research notes were put away to gather dust because I felt no love for my own words.  I felt I was writing into a void and that in those moments of writing in the dark it felt like racing on a rocking horse.

Encourage each other! Keep writing!  Share the words, the phrases that move you.  You may never know how much your words weigh.  I've written and raised a ruckus.  I've written and poured out my heart.  I write for me but I also write for those who honour me with their time which is given to reading my words.

Welcome to the hop, I hope you are able to visit lots of our blogs and I'll see you around soon!

Shanyn

Feeling scrappy

Tonight is our monthly crop hosted by the wonderful gals at Scrapbook Cottage in Steinbach.  You ought to check it out...and see Sharon's blog too!!  I've been doing some pages lately, catching up on old photos (some really old and some a few years old).  Not quite as fun as the new ones but it's got to be done.  I was asked to help with some digital scrapbooking for a group of 4H'ers who are taking it for their club.  That will be exciting to plan for them, I did that last year and we had a great time with it.

I've got a folder on my computer for sayings, quotes and verses that I promise myself I'll make into word art one day...well lucky you!  Today is one of those days.  I love this quote, often attributed to Carl Jung it actually goes back further to Spartan times.  It is truly timeless.  If you need one in color let me know and I can do one up for you.

Enjoy and get that scrappy feeling going...it feels good to scrap no matter which style or medium you use!