Two Calves so far - One more coming at the end of the month!

Sometimes I'll just walk out in the pasture.  I always have lists of projects that I need to get done, but there are occasions in which I'll just take an aimless stroll and just observe things around me, soaking it all in.  On this particular day Clarabelle, our little 5 month old Jersey heifer, was cat-napping just to the west of the chicken tractor.  As I approached her, I could see her ears twitching.  She knew I was there, but she stayed sitting, ignoring me, with her neck stretched out on the soft grass as the warm sun shined down on her.

Cat-napping

I sat down beside her and scratched her neck while talking to her.  She finally looked at me, groggy and sleepy-eyed.  Clarabelle has already put on a thick winter coat, ready for the cold months yet to come.  Unfortunately it was 77 degrees, but the heavy fur coat didn't seem to bother her much.  She looks a lot like her Momma, Rosie.  She seemed to enjoy my company and I wasn't in much of a rush to go anywhere, so I just kind of stretched out in the grass and enjoyed the day.

Clarabelle at 5 months old

I heard a rustling noise behind me and turned around to see little Luna creeping up on us.  While Clarabelle has been broken and is real tame and loving, Luna is still real skittish.  She's Daisy's little heifer and she is only a month old.  She looks so small beside Clarabelle.

A curious visitor

While timid, Luna is curious to see what was going on.  Or maybe it is just a curious sight to see a grown man lying in the grass in the middle of the pasture. She probably just wanted to check things out.  Anyway I called her name and her ears stood out alert.  She had been nursing on her Momma, Daisy, and was satisfied with a belly full of rich milk.

In the late afternoon we'll call the cows into the barn and we'll put both calves in separate stalls in the barn for the night.  That way both Daisy and Rosie make milk for us from 5 p.m. to 5 a.m.  We milk them first thing in the morning and then put the calves back on them all day.  It is a process that has worked out well for us. Soon, however, we'll wean Clarabelle, and that will mean morning and afternoon milking for Daisy.  Then later this month Amy will have her first calf and the cycle will continue.

I spoke nicely to Luna and she kept approaching me cautiously...

I stayed sprawled out on the grass.  I wish I would've gotten a better picture instead of one taken right into the sun.  Clarabelle is a reddish brown color - just like Rosie. Luna, on the other hand, is a golden, light brown color, sort of like honey.  She got closer and closer and I stretched out my hand to touch her nose...

And then all of a sudden her tail went straight up in the air and she took off faster than poop through a goose, running a big circle around us, and then she started jumping, hopping in a funny way.  Tricia says when they do that, it reminds her of popcorn!  All that activity made Clarabelle stop her slumbering and stand up. Like me, when awakened from a nap, she doesn't have much energy - not nearly the energy that Luna has.  

Time to get up

That ended the leisurely afternoon.  All good things must come to an end.  I stood up and headed in the general direction of the garden.  I had something on my list that needed to be done.  I'll show you that tomorrow.