One Hundreds

A lot of Nebraska farmers calve in January and February. It can be bitterly cold then, but farmers are usually busy with fieldwork in April and May. So they calve early, to have it over with before they disappear into a tractor cab for six months.

John and I are thankful to have excellent on-site, 24-7 help with the calving, even when John is busy in the fields. So we don't calve in the very teeth of winter, planning instead for our cows to give birth into the gentle zephyrs and soft green warmth of spring.

So why are these girls so muddy?


















Because we have no gentle zephyrs and soft green warmth. Instead, another calf has taken its first breath eye level to a world of cold mud slobber. The girls have hauled 100 pounds of slimy newborn for about 100 yards, out of the slop and into the barn, with its mama splashing through mud puddles and bellowing at the trot behind them.

This is the third calf in the last week that has needed extra attention: rubdowns, heaters, help nursing or standing.

The girls are getting pretty good at this routine. Their homeschool grade in bovine care: 100%.