Helena's Birthday Party

We had a family party for Helena's first birthday last Saturday. I decided to go with lady bugs for a theme. It's Mommy's choice when you are too young to have an opinion, and I'm taking advantage of this stage while it lasts. :)

Here's the cake. At one point I would have thrown it in the trash and ordered one from the grocery store, but it was too late for that. Overall, it turned out fine.

Helena is not too sure about fire. Daddy blew it out before she decided to touch the flame.

Here she is sort of enjoying her cupcake. Our girls, for what ever reason, have not really eaten the cake at their birthday parties.

Time to open presents. It's a good thing she has an older sister to show her how to open presents by opening most of them for her.

We had a great time and Helena got lots of nice things. Hannah can hardly wait for her birthday to roll around!

Happy 1st Birthday Helena

You are such a sweet and precious girl. We love your smile and laugh. It has been a great first year and look forward to what next year brings. Happy Birthday!

Sunshine in the Morning

After a long day with the cow and calf, and a long night with the heifer and calf I didn't sleep well. I was worried about this calf all night because I wasn't ready to lose her after losing her mother. I was greeted with this (albeit out of focus) sunshiny face in the morning. I was so thankful.
We got her some colostrum and got her into an outside pen...the dog kennel for the time being.

Gus our nurturing cow dog spent a tremendous amount of time licking her yesterday. I thought it was just the poop on her that he liked but I think it was more than that. He knew she needed some love.

I was a little worried about her yesterday. She was a bit lethargic and was beginning to develop diarrhea. I was so encouraged this morning. She jumped up to greet me and quickly consumed all of her breakfast. As long as we can keep her healthy we should have it made. Who knows "sunshine" might just make it into her registered name. Her happy face is just what I needed when I woke up.

Not All Peaches & Cream

I don't want this blog to be a place where I post depressing stories or unhappy pictures. I do however feel like you are getting a glimpse of our life through rose colored glasses and that's not quite right either. So here goes...a reality check.

The calf that I posted about earlier today never did nurse. We finally put the cow in the squeeze chute after dinner, milked her and got the calf a bottle. For what ever reason he had an aversion to the udder. He has since been convinced that good stuff comes from the udder and that it's his friend. When I checked tonight all was well with the pair.

In the meantime the cow's older daughter (a bred heifer) went into labor. I didn't see her and think maybe I was so preoccupied with getting the calf to nurse that I missed it. About 10:30 pm I went out to check the cows and when I found her my heart sank for the second time today. She had prolapsed and was a mess. I called Ben and had him get dressed so we could go out and asses the situation. This heifer was uncomfortable and doing poorly. I wanted to put her down because she was in so much pain, but Ben suggested we try to put her back together. If you have never seen a prolapse you can click here. I have purposely spared you the pictures.

I gathered some supplies and we worked to push her uterus back into place. Amazingly we put a relatively clean uterus back into the heifer and it stayed. Only one thing was missing...a calf. I had scoured the pasture before coming upon the heifer and didn't see a calf. We decided to look some more and then come back to check on the heifer. We found the calf, which had gotten through the fence and was in another pasture. I scooped her up and threw her in the back of the pickup. We went back to check on the heifer and in less than five minutes she had died. I was disappointed I hadn't gotten to her earlier in the day. We have been working to build a purebred herd of cattle and this gal would have been a nice addition.

Right now her calf is resting in the mud room in the house. Thankfully I was able to teach her to take a bottle in a relatively short amount of time and she seems to be doing well. There's work to be done tomorrow. Colostrum to be hunted down, a place for the calf to set up, and dead heifer to be taken care of. Some people envy farm/ranch life, but it's not for everyone. Some years it seems like things are smooth sailing. And then some years is feels like the bovines hand you every trick in the book. But it seems there's always a bright spot in everything if you just look for it. I think the girls will absolutely love bottle feeding a calf. I hope I can learn to love it as much as they will. :) I'm off to bed to rest up from today's excitement and prepare for tomorrow's.

Happy St. Patrick's Day and a Day on the Farm

This morning started out great. I was fueling my Irish blood by putting corned beef and cabbage in the crock pot and listening to bag pipes on the TV. The misty fog was adding to the mood. I was running around the house doing laundry and dishes, making an occasional glance out the window at the cows. I had dreams of listening to bag pipes all day and getting lots of work done around the house.



At one point I made more than a glance and realized one of the cows definitely had something hanging out of her rear end. In my haste working around the house I had forgotten to load up and take a drive through the cows...oops.
We checked on the cow and a calf seemed to be eminent, but she wasn't working at it. At this point though, Helena needed a nap and I was working hard to fight my gut feeling that she needed help, and tried to talk myself into giving her more time. I got Helena down for the count and I couldn't stand it anymore. I had to bring her in. This was the best cow on the place bred by artificial insemination to a great bull. I WAS GOING TO SAVE THIS CALF!

I got her into the corrals and waited. The Manager of the Hay Procurement Department (aka Ben) said she needed more time. The Cattle Manage (aka me) said she needed help now. I would argue that having actually been in labor myself I might have had and advantage, but was swayed and gave her some time. I got some bread going in the bread machine. "This could turn out to be a long day," I thought. And then I busied myself getting the supplies and tools ready just in case I had to pull this calf. Later Ben went out and checked her, and he too thought she had given up on this whole having a baby thing.

This might be a great cow but she's a jumper. She has tried to jump out of every alley that she's ever been in. Today was no different. I got her contained. Ben was at her head trying to keep her from jumping out of the alley. The girls were in the pickup laughing and eating graham crackers. I got her rear end cleaned up and tail tied back. I dove in bare-hand first, right through the calf's exit door. It was really a stretch to reach down and find the calf. Once I did my heart sank. The calf was laying in there belly up. Calves don't come out that way so it was no wonder she had quit trying.

My next step was to call the vet. Thankfully he came right down. We got a halter on her and got her tied in the corner. He reached in and found a calf sitting in the perfect position for birth. Oh what a bunch of fighting and jumping around will do to help a calf get in the right position. With a some work on the vet's part and me on the end of her tail (holding it out of the way) we had a live calf. I think it's a bull but don't hold me to that. I haven't inspected too closely yet. The cow has been a great mama.

The calf is up and trying to nurse. I couldn't be more thankful or feel more blessed.

Now I'm looking forward to that Corned Beef and Cabbage and fresh bread. Have a Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Hannah Speaks in February

Ben wasn't home one evening at dinner time and I was getting the girls set at the table to eat dinner. I got Hannah's meal to the table and she got up to eat. She apparently didn't want to wait and said, "I'll just pray." Some of the things I overheard were, "Thank you God for this day. Thank you God for this food. Thank you God for Daddy...." I finally had to help her finish because I don't think she's got that part down yet.

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On one of the roads that we travel often there's a herd of cattle composed of several breeds. This year they have had quite a few Charolais calves, which are all white. For two years now we have been driving by this herd and when Hannah sees the calves she says, "Look Mom, sheep. Baaa." I have tried to convince her that they are calves but she can't be persuaded. I guess she thinks cattle are black or red.

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One of Hannah's favorite things to pretend to play is "Sunday School." She is of course the teacher, and Helena is the student. They go into Helena's room and Hannah pounds out on the piano and sings "Jesus Loves Me". Then she gets out one of their little Bibles and she "reads" Bible stories to Helena. She gets kind of frustrated if Helena leaves before Sunday School is over.

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Papa Lee was quizzing Hannah with several questions. She came to one that she didn't know the answer to and she whimpered and said, "I thought I could answer that."

Hannah's Favorite Author

I never dreamed that my almost 3 year old would have a favorite author, but she does. So far she LOVES every book that we have checked out by Lois Lenski. Lois has authored a number of books where Mr. Small plays different roles. Most of these books were copyright in the 1930s, 40s, 50s, and as a result they provide the adult with a little bit of entertainment reading about how things were different in that era. We have currently checked out the following books:



The Little Fire Engine. Hannah is working on memorizing this one and she's pretty close to getting it done. Fireman Small arrives on the scene of a house fire where he permits the family to go into the burning house and remove some of their treasured belongings. I guess while carrying the sofa out they neglect to remember a little girl upstairs. Fireman Small ends up having to save her, but what good is a story with out hero? After the fire has been put out, Fireman Small encourages the family to move right back in. Never mind the smoke and water damage, along with the gaping hole in the roof! I'll have to be sure to teach Hannah proper house fire etiquette.




The Little Farm is a favorite. Hannah has this one memorized to a "T." In this book Farmer Small goes about his chores around the farm. It even teaches the child about some of the different seasonal chores that might need to be done. One of the most dated portions talks about Farmer Small putting the milk into the milk cans and then into the cooler. Then he sets the cans on the milk stand to wait for the milk truck. Unpasteurized milk sitting out in the sun...I think I feel food borne illness coming on!

Cowboy Small was the very first book of this series that we checked out. It shows Cowboy Small caring for his horse and working on the Bar S Ranch. Not a whole lot has changed about traditional ranch life, but I would venture to guess that not as many cowboy sleep in a bedroll under the stars. One of the most entertaining things about this book was the hand written library card inside. One of Ben's friends had checked it out when he was two or three years old, and there were many other local "kids" that we know on the card too.

The small library we visit most often is wonderful. Many of their books are checked out "on your honor" and don't have to be returned at any particular time. These favorites are so old they are those type of books. Hannah seems to have them checked out perpetually. I finally broke down and looked for some copies of her own. Apparently other people love these books too because some of them are quite expensive, even used. Here are the titles in this series. Check them out at your library soon for a good chuckle and a reflection of the past.

Cowboy Small

The Little Airplane

The Little Auto

The Little Farm

The Little Fire Engine

The Little Sail Boat

The Little Train

Papa Small

Policeman Small

The Laborious Beginning

We started calving over a month ago when we came home from church "surprised" to see a new calf. I was only remotely surprised as I knew when I put the bull out, but didn't notice anyone being that close to calving. I guess it caught Ben off guard because I neglected to tell him the fun was about to start.

Saga #1

About a week later Ben went out in the morning to check the cows, and came back in to report that we had two new calves but he wasn't sure who one of the calves belonged to. I offered to go back out and see if I could figure out who the calf belonged to. I felt like a modern day, adult Nancy Drew. I drove around and checked all of the cows and heifers. We don't usually have a problem with a cow taking her calf so I though maybe it belonged to one of the heifers. I looked at everybody. I checked hind ends and hind quarters. I checked the milk factory and looked for afterbirth. I looked for matted hair and dirty bodies from an arduous labor on the ground. NOTHING! I could not for the life of me figure out who this calf belonged to.

Sure, the cow with the calf showed all the right signs but she had her calf. I retreated to the house for a little nourishment and contemplation. Ben suggested maybe she had twins. "Oh duh Erika," I thought. Leave it to the gal that spent four years in college studying Animal Science to miss that a cow had twins. Maybe the fact that I've had two babies of my own helped cloud my brain. As it turns out, the guy that claims to just be the "Hay Procurement Department" of the cattle operation solved the mystery.

I took the calf over to the cow, and they immediately took to each other. Here's a picture shortly after the reunion. A couple of heifers came over to investigate. I think they were trying to find out what they were getting themselves into. I guess it must have scared them because I'm still waiting on them to calve.

This was a good sign but it was dirty rotten cold outside and the cow was having a hard time managing the care of two new calves. We brought them into the corrals for several days and they are all doing well now.

The mama cow is a little unsure about going through this whole pregnancy thing again. She thinks that since she's doing twice the work of the other gals she should get next year off. We are still in negotiations but I'm sure she won't get off that easy, those bulls are hard to convince.

Saga #2

We had a couple of smooth sailing births and then about a week later came my next challenge. I took the girls out in the morning to check the cows. One cow was off by herself so I knew something was up. When I got close I could see one calf leg sticking out. Not good! A normal presentation would be both front or both back feet coming out together, with the calf being right side up. Picture that one with me! So, one foot is a bad sign and my gut feeling was that she needed help. I however couldn't tell if she had been laboring all night long and had given up on pushing, or if she had just started and her contractions weren't very close.

I called some friends for a little bit of advice, a grandma for a babysitting favor, and a guy to come help me pull. This would be the morning that Ben was swamped loading trucks. Everyone showed up plus the friend giving the advice. We made the executive decision to bring her in and pull the calf. She assured me it is better to assist the cow if you think she needs it rather than not assist when she really does need the help. I have heard the OSU Calving School talk twice and you would think I could make a decision on my own. Nope. I really was second guessing myself because we haven't had to pull a calf since 2003. I can count that up as a blessing!

We brought her in, pulled the calf, and the cow mothered right up to the calf. They got to go back out with the rest of the herd that day and are doing well now.

Saga #3

The next morning Ben went out the check on the cows and he came back in and told me that there was a calf wandering around out there trying to nurse off of the other cows, but didn't seem to be with its mom. So I put my Nancy Drew cap back on and went out there to see if I could figure it out. I picked the calf up and kind of waved it around in front of the herd. "Calf for sale, calf for sale! Do I have a taker? Can I get a bid?" Most of them looked at me like I was crazy, but there was one cow off by herself that raised her head. Ah, I've got a taker...sort of. I took the calf over to her and tried to get her to take it. No way! She head butted it and kick the crud out of it when it tried to nurse. Meet Erika fights Mother Nature! I was determined to make this cow love this calf it was the last thing I did. No one wants to have to bottle feed a calf because the mama doesn't want it.

I brought the cow and calf into the corrals. Thankfully this little calf was resilient. He had been alive for about 12 hours, had never eaten, and was giving me a run for my money as I tried to wrangle him. I put mama in the squeeze chute and let down the sides so the calf could nurse. She wouldn't let him nurse and he couldn't seem to figure it out. She would however let me milk her, so I got the calf some colostrum and fed it a bottle. There was alot of persuading the calf to nurse and the cow to let him. Finally the cow got tired and the calf got it figured out.

Here is a picture of the small success. I don't know if you can tell but that's a very dirty look on that cow's face.

It took another day of bringing her in and letting the calf nurse, before she decided to let him nurse and he decided that he wanted to nurse her. Thankfully they are both doing well too. Score: Erika-1 Mother Nature-0. She has a few battle wounds on her right front leg from being a pill in the squeeze chute but they are healing up nicely. Her calf must have been off basking in the sun or frolicking around with the other calves when I took this picture.

We have been enjoying a calving lull for the last couple of weeks. Now we are waiting on two commercial cows and two heifers plus all of the purebred animals. Nine down (10 babies) and eleven to go. I'm hoping all of the kinks were worked out in the beginning and it will be downhill from here.

A Good Dog is Worth His Weight in Gold

We have a pretty special dog to put up with what Hannah and Helena dish out. Gus is very tolerant of the girls and only protests when he is truly being hurt. Hannah has been working up to riding Gus on her own. Only lately has she been able to mount by herself.

I'm pretty sure that Gus puts up with this so he can be inside next to the fire, but whatever motivates him works for me. It looks like Hannah will be ready for something a little larger to ride in the not so distant future. I'm planning to hold out as long as I can. Dog food is cheap compared to a horse.

Hannah Speaks in January

I thought I would start making "Hannah Speaks" posts. I realize many of the things she says would be much more entertaining if you were here to hear them, but humor me while I record these for posterity sake.

Hannah was in the bath tub and she, Ben and I were discussing who's mommy was who's.

Ben: Grandma Bevie is my Mommy.
Hannah: No she's not, she doesn't have a pony tail like Mommy.
Ben: You have to have a pony tail to be a Mommy?
Hannah: Yes.

The other day she was singing songs and this is what she came up with.

Hannah: This is my commandment that ye love one another that your joy baby bull.

It should be may be full. I guess it's all about what you know.

Hannah gives us a good laugh on a daily basis but I think I'll leave it at that for this month.