Visited the brother and sister in law yesterdayand the wind was darned near blowing this chicken away! Thanks for a great time guys!
Up with which I have to put.....including kids and stubborn cows
Exhibit A) One of them (kid, not cow) practicing calling coyotes while using MY computer...IN THE DINING ROOM. If you have not heard a predator call go here.
After suffering through that, bear in mind that my personal distressed rabbit uses no call, but sounds much more like an actual rabbit than the guy in the video. I thought turkey calls were bad but....
Exhibit B) Large people playing catch with a seventeen-pound bag of dog food...in the kitchen.
Okay it didn't break, but it could have. What was up with that anyhow?
Exhibit C) Cows that won't have their calves and get it over with. I did both last-at-night and first-in-the morning checks and dang, my eyes feel like a sandbar. And no babies yet. Broadway looks as uncomfortable as heck and seems a little off, but she is eating and getting up and down fine...and NOT having that baby despite being more than ten days overdue. Now Magic is bagged up and about ready, Cider is getting there and Armada is going on the night check list...all I can say is ARGGGHHHH,,,
And last night I was just falling asleep when a bunch of coyotes tuned up, really close...close enough to be heard inside our room, which has a lot of plastic on the windows, and over the din from the Thruway, which offers a never-ending counterpoint of humming, roaring and rumbling. The boss jumped out of bed and went out on the landing to see if he could see them, but despite a small moon and a scattering of stars he couldn't see anything but darkness. I suspect they were on the creek between the house and barn. It serves as a highway for everything from the fisher to beavers to foxes and those pesky brush wolves. It was a while before I fell back to sleep....
At least this morning is dawning clear and pretty with the eastern sky peaches and fire against the deep, dark blue of the zenith. The early barn check offered a river of crystal stars pouring across the sky like liquid diamonds.... and no snow or mud to trudge through, just frozen bare dirt. It has been so cold and windy for so long that five degrees felt warm.
I may whine about all this cow and kid stuff, but putting up with it all is always worth it.
I rest my case.....
Never a dull moment! ;)
ReplyDeleteYeah....you're going about it all wrong. Here's what you do, fill a big hanky with black pepper and when you get to the barn you hold it behind your back. Your cow being naturally curious is gonna come up with her head all stretched out thinking you got a treat, well when she gets good'n close you grab her around the neck and stuff that hanky full of pepper over her nose. She may fuss a little so hang on tight, oh yeah, have then big people who like to play catch standing by 'cause pretty soon bossy's gonna sneeze and the wait'n on that there calf will be over.
ReplyDeleteDani, true dat
ReplyDeleteaka, For some reason I have never tried that...but maybe the kids that were throwing the dog food around could be the catchers...hmmmmmm......
We have a cow that I have to keep checking on for 4 days now maybe I should get the pepper out also. Hope she spits it out before the colder nights come. Good luck with yours!
ReplyDeleteThe expectant mothers or the kid practicing coyote calls in the dining room are the cause of the coyotes prowling. Dead space is what you have that can't be covered by the radar, direct observation and fire -- in the military we mine it, cover it with on call artillery or send out an outpost to alert everyone to repel and attack... don't know but you could send out the dogfood tossers to that area to cover it in the darkness. Or live and let live.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right! It all is so worth it.
ReplyDeleteLinda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com/
Your house sounds like a fun place to be.....as long as the bag doesn't break;)
ReplyDeleteSounds like you've got more entertainment than you want except in the barn! lol
ReplyDeleteAny barn cats missing this AM? Time was that'd be cause for the coyote chorous if none of the ornery springers hadn't been so foul as to drop a calf in the barnyard...
ReplyDeleteThe Milk Maid, it gets old doesn't it? We have several others getting close and joining the check list, but I sure with that shorty would just get on with it!
ReplyDeleteEarl, those darned coyotes were right down in the barn yard at the end of milking last night. The boys went out after them but never saw a hair. They don't call them wily for nothing. The mamas are all safe in the barn at least, but the kitties are another story....
Linda, most of the time, I truly believe that too. lol
Linda P, I was shuddering I'll tell you...envisioning half a ton (well, 17 pounds) of dog food all over the kitchen floor right at milking time. Thankfully everyone was a good catcher and no harm was done. lol
Joated, oh, yes, never dull for a minute...even in the barn. The things they do...blow up milking gloves until they are the size of the ball in Times Square etc....I could go on and on
Wil, no cats missing yesterday. haven't counted yet this morning. The coyotes..and the fisher...are Hell on them though. We used to have quite a population of cats. Now there is a handful alive..the ones that are smart enough to stay in the buildings at night. the mamas are all indoors, although we do have a could of cows out at night. all big tough girls who would sneer at the little brush wolves though. They were back last night, howling right behind the buildings at about 8 pm. the boys went out after them but they were gone by the time they got out there.
You write so beautifully - and . . .
ReplyDeleteI may have to borrow this line:
"my eyes feel like a sandbar"
:-)
Cathy, thanks, you are so kind!
ReplyDelete