The first show calf of the season gets her first bath and leading session with a trip to the house as a reward for getting kind of cold and wet. Don't worry, she was warm and fluffy in just a few minutes.
This is redneck graduation present calf, November
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11 comments:
I'm looking forward to meeting that calf at the Altamont Fair!
What a great gift; that's how it works around here too. Gifts with meaning and purpose, and you don't have to plug them in or turn them on!
Teri
Nice calf, and the perfect graduation gift. She's giving you the look though...
What the heck, 3C??????
You make your critters carry a bbq grill on their head the whole way?????
That's just plain mean.
My initiation into my husband's family, formerly Staffordshire Farms, Peru, NY, just prior to our wedding and the Clinton County Fair was a similar task. They tied two cows to haywagon, attached to old jeep and made me give them leading practice, driving around and around the driveway, never getting out of 1st gear. They figured the city kid would back out, but I doggedly gave the girls their practice, without yanking their vertebrae loose. My 16 year old brother-in-law thought the whole thing was the funniest thing he had ever seen. I didn't know much about bovines, but I was good at driving a stick shift!
Hadn't thought about that in years, till I saw you photos.
Caroline in South Dakota
Teri, I hope we get to see you there! There is beginning to be some doubt over whether Liz will show there though. Depends on how bad fuel prices end up being. It is quite a drive for her every day. She is getting the calves ready anyhow. At least she will go to Fonda Fair, which is less than a mile from here.
Nita, thanks, she has turned out to be a nice baby. She wasn't too delighted with the whole bath thing though. Right after Liz got done a sharpish wind popped up and she was cold for a few minutes.
She sure looked nice last night at milking time though
Steve, dag nab it!~! You stumbled on our secret weapon! It isn't a barbecue though...it is a mind-altering machine. It causes the calves to concentrate mightily on winning their classes. As in I think I can..I think I can....We don't tell anybody about it as a rule, but I truly believe that it helps.
Carline in SD, Thanks for vising!
And for commenting too...
It takes a lot of patience to train them to lead, but it sure is worth it at show time. I remember watching our neighbors when I was a kid. They would tie half a dozen Herefords to the back of a hay wagon and drive them around every day. By fair time they lead very well too. Liz trains hers by sheer muscle power, which works better with some than with others. lol
She looks great :) I used to envy those kids at the fair showing their calves, staying for the entire week. Looked like such fun. Staying up late, eating fair food, sleeping in the cow barns. I'm not sure I would be so quick to sleep in the barn for a week anymore. (grin)
OK, TC, but why does it LOOK like a barbecue????
deb, I always envied the farm kids and the horse show kids too when I was younger. Nowadays most of the fairs here don't let them sleep in the barn due to security issues, although they do have camper parking. Sadly, our first fair of the year is near three cities and is actually a fairly dangerous place.
Steve, it is a SECRET weapon! So we have to disguise it somehow. No one thinks any thing of seeing a grill at the time of year.....and interestingly, that particular one doubles as an actual grill. We finally found a way to make everybody like pork chops by cooking them on it with zesty Italian dressing and seasonings. the only hard part is getting November to be still while we cook.
She's a keeper. Referring to both girls of course. :)
AMWD, yeah, I like having them both around. lol
She's my purtty girl.
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