Monday

Daisy the Doodlebop, snug in her bed...survival blanket, check,
fuzzy Christmas blanket, check, three gallons of very hot water surrounding her, check.

Spent the weekend awed by the kindness of people I have not even met, but who have made our lives better in amazing ways.

Basking in visits by all of the kids and their significant others.... and both of those others are very significant in our world, believe me. 

Jade helped the boss feed hay yesterday morning, which was more wonderful than you can imagine. Sometimes stuffing the long, long hay that rolls out of those round bales into the stalls of the steers and calves is like pushing a marshmallow into a piggy bank full of stirred up gremlins...with a toothpick. The critters want their hay...so they grab and push. Push it right back out at you that is. Silly things.

Enjoying a couple of nights without barn checks. Bailey had a big, healthy bull calf, which Becky ended up delivering. She has made impressive strides in being a heck of a good farmer and I for one sure appreciate it. She did an evening check...we knew the calf was coming soon, but not when. Gave us a call that it was there to the head and had it delivered, breathing, snorting and shaking its head, and up in front of its mama by the time we got our boots back on and got over there.

Now it's back to the Monday grindstone, but I sure am a lot less tired than I was last week. No more calves for at least a couple of weeks. Yay!

****To the wonderful people who have helped with the Carolina wren survival marathon...for the past two mornings I have awakened to the roosters crowing and the wrens singing. There are at least three of them still around. All is good.