Thankful Thursday ~ Easter Photos

Nothing too heavy on this week's Thankful Thursday post.

I decided I'd just go back through my photos from the lovely Easter weekend we had, and then I kept going through some of my more recent photos from this week. So, this post is inspired by photos, but I also noticed as I went through my photos that there was a theme. Maybe it's something about Easter, or babies, or animals, or springtime, but the definite theme of the photos and the week is gentleness.

Take a look through and see what you think.

Who remembers Benjamin? His leg is healing up nicely!

 Josh, Katie and Brandon (my nephew) were here over the weekend. Brandon was introduced to cows by his Grandpa Tom, with Uncle Jeff and the rest of us nearby. Brandon even got to pet a new calf! (Below)

I always enjoy walking among the herd. This was a cool morning and the mamas were all eating hay we had rolled out in the pasture for them. The calves romped around on the hillside. Sweetgrass Hills in the background.

Can you see the bunny that Harvey is stalking? 

We did have a snow shower or two in the past week. I got a really lovely image of snow on a lilac bud. Springtime in Montana!

Harvey and I took a walk one morning and I coaxed him into holding still for a few moments while I snapped his portrait. Not easy to get a vizsla to sit still for photos when he's on his morning walk! He sat still but he was determined NOT to look at me! ha!

Gentleness is also the Virtue of the Week with the kids I work with at school this week. We discussed how to be gentle both with our actions and our words. Then we did an activity where we blew bubbles in soapy, dyed water and used the bubbles to make a "print" on our papers. We were gentle with our breath when blowing the bubbles, gentle with our words (using manners words to share supplies), and gentle with our hands when we laid the papers on top of the bubbles. Gentleness was a great word for the younger kids especially because it was one they could easily understand and demonstrate.

"Gentleness- being gentle, not being ruf, being kind in words."

"Gentleness- to be gentle with there words, don't be mean."

So what does Gentleness have to do with Thankfulness? Well, we can certainly be thankful for the ability of ourselves and others to be gentle. I appreciate when others speak to me with gentle words and kindness.  According to the book I use at school, "People are very sensitive beings. Many things are delicate and fragile, but feelings are the most fragile of all." Gentleness is being kind and considerate, in addition to moving and acting carefully.

Gentleness is--

• holding a baby
• being around and touching animals
• not shaking snow off of a branch
• blowing bubbles
• teaching children
• being kind in words and actions
• respecting and appreciating others and ourselves

I am thankful for everything on that very short list! 

Do you think Gentleness and Thankfulness can go together?
What are you thankful for this week?

Calving 2015 Update

I feel like I've barely been home lately between going to Chico for the MFU Women's Conference and then on to Wichita for the NFU Convention. This past weekend I was ACTUALLY HOME. Aside from heading to town Saturday morning for track practice, I didn't leave the farm. It was nice to spend some time with my husband, get some housework done, and spend some time with the cows and calves. Today's post is going to be pretty photo oriented, with lots of images of cute animals, including Harvey the vizsla, and lots of cows and calves. I hope you can handle this!

Benjamin!

Let's start with this guy and just get him right out there. He's a gorgeous, throwback Simmental calf- splotchy red and white. He's actually pretty big for being only a few days old, too. Now's the test to see how observant you are. It's hard to see, but he actually has a cast on his back left leg. In the first day of his life, he accidentally got stepped on by a cow and his lower leg broke. Tom took him to the vet in Havre where they gave him a cast. Then, to keep it waterproof, Tom and Jeff improvised by covering it with a plastic grocery sack and securing it into place with electrical tape.

While at the vet, the vet assistant thought the calf was pretty darn cute, which he is, and decided that his name should be Benjamin. Needless to say, it stuck. He's already pretty used to people and loves to be scratched on his neck. He's our pal. He's doing great and we expect that his broken leg will heal quickly. He already hops around pretty well, just like a normal, healthy calf.

Here's a cute, healthy little guy!

With the weather as nice as it has been pretty much all throughout calving, the process has been going very well. Everyone is staying healthy, and cows and calves are all happy. They are really loving basking in the warm sunshine! 

The calves are particularly curious and really can't figure out what to make of Harvey. They love to get close to him and try to see what he's all about. Harvey, for his part, is cautious around the larger animals but feels safer around calves, for the most part. Here, you can see him close to Carol, with another calf getting close to check him out. 

Harvey sticks close to Carol, while she takes a photo. 

This is a photo Carol took of the calf coming up to get a look at Harv. 

 Harvey definitely feels safer when he's near a human...

Another calf comes up to check out Harvey, while a cow looks on from behind Carol.

Here, Harvey is anchored to my knee.

 As of this morning, we had 67 calves born and about thirty cows yet to calve. At this point, they'll continue to sort of taper off. Today and tomorrow the weather is supposed to be cooler and rainy, so we'll see if the pressure change causes more cows to go into labor, as sometimes happens.

Here's Jeff and Harvey kneeling down to let some calves approach.

More calves! The little one curled up on the left side of the image was so content to lay in the sunshine! 

 When we had walked out to check out the cows and calves, we noticed right away that one cow was in the beginning stages of labor. We left her alone for a little while, and when we checked back later, it looked like she was struggling. Sometimes the hips of the calf sort of get stuck inside and the mama needs a little assistance. At this point, if the calf is still encased in fluid, he can actually suffocate. Jeff watched pretty close and at one point helped pull the calf just a little bit with his bare hands. The mama took a short rest and then gave one last push and the calf was freed. Just in time. But, Jeff was prepared with the pulling straps, if they were needed.

It's pretty cool to watch the miracle of birth. I know that it may not be for everyone, but I think it's pretty neat. Carol actually took video of the whole thing, but we agreed that it may be too graphic to post on the blog. What do you think, readers? Is that a video you'd like to see, or would it be too much?

We left the new pair alone for a while more so they could bond and the mama could clean her calf.  Below was the scene a little while later:

Cows bond initially with their calves by licking and cleaning them. 

I know I've said this before, but it's so great to live and work on a family ranch. Jeff and I are so lucky to contribute to agriculture in this way and to carry on a family tradition. There's nothing like calving time to feel the rewards of hard work.

Thanks to Carol for the photo!

 I've always wanted to do a sort of tongue-in-cheek Farm Girl Fashion post on the blog. It would be modeled after a high fashion post that fashion divas do on their fashion blogs, only it'd be about what we farm girls wear to be practical when working outside. I think my outfit above embodies that spirit! haha! You just have to love the Carhartt Jacket, old jeans, and mucky overshoes look!

Photo by Carol.

 And now a short infographic on beef, thanks to Ryan Goodman at Agriculture Proud.  He has a pretty well-written blog and an interesting point of view on agriculture and particularly on ranching. If you like ag blogs, definitely stop by. He actually had this image posted on his Agriculture Proud FB page the other day. He and I are both members of Team Beef Montana (although we've never run in the same race. Montana is a big state), which is a group of ranchers and beef producers who also run and race as a way to stay in shape. As a Team Beef member, I am enthusiastic that lean beef is a quality energy source that helps fuel my run and recovery. When Ryan posted this graphic, I wanted to share it with my readers.

On our ranch, we sell our calves in the fall and they are typically finished on grain. The animals that we keep to finish for ourselves are also finished on grain. There is a growing market for grass fed and I would be interested in pursuing this. I'd also love to pursue more direct marketing of our beef, or selling directly to consumers. Lots to think about for the future on that topic. 

Regardless, our animals are treated very well and we really do love our cows and calves. They have unlimited pasture to graze on and always have access to clean, fresh running water. I'm proud of the work we do with our small herd of cattle. 

I'm also proud of our dog, and he is quite pleased to be himself, as you can see below...

Harvey is guarding the porch! You may not cross unless you pet him first!

I hope you enjoyed the photos! Have a great week, everyone!

Thankful Thursday ~ New Life

The best thing about this time of year living on a ranch is the new calves. They are so happy and bouncy and playful; it is impossible not to smile when watching them!

This week has been a challenging week for me and my family members. My cousin Megan and her husband lost one of their daughters on Sunday night to a bacterial meningitis infection. You can read quite a bit in detail on their family blog, which they started when their twin daughters were born back in September: http://twins.marcusjburke.com/.  If you go back, you can read all about how Sophia got sick, and read up to this point.

It is so hard to think about and accept that a young infant could perish, and in such a random, unpreventable way. I have experienced quite a range of emotions just thinking about it, and I'm not the one who lost my own daughter! I can't even imagine what my cousin is feeling right now.

I find that my strongest response is an urge to live life in spite of the bad things that happen. I feel a sort of defiance, like if I live life as boldly as I can, it will somehow counteract what is not going well. Every life and every act of life boldy lived is precious.

When I look at the calves this week, I am especially thankful for their bounciness. I know they're not humans, they can't replace any human babies and I would never assert that they could, but they are new life. They are small, sprightly beings that can fill a person with joy.

Don't believe me? Check out these videos Jeff took of our calves!
White Tail Simmental Calf

Jumping Calf Gets Tired

If you're not smiling, watch the videos again! :)

This Thankful Thursday blog post is dedicated to my cousin Megan and her family. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. Live life boldly today, let your laughter lift someone's spirit and light up a room, in honor of Sophia. If you are feeling called, as I did, to make a contribution to the Sophia Valentine Burke Memorial Fund, you may do so by clicking the link at the bottom of this post on the Burke family blog. Donations are being handled through PayPal.

What are you thankful for this week? 

Back to Reality

If you've been reading my blog this week, you know that I've been completely enamored with my experience at the MFU Women's Conference last weekend. I'm still riding the high and trying to keep it flying, while taking all of the positive vibes and transferring them into my everyday life. It's easy to feel like you're on an isolated island of fun while you're at such a conference like that but reality hits as soon as you drive away from the conference venue and you're faced with the challenge, immediately, of putting what you've learned into action.

Adria and I drove down together and met Stephanie at the conference. You might remember Stennie from this past summer and early fall when she was here to help us out around harvest time. Here are a few posts relating to her from that time:
Meet Stephanie
Goodbye, Girl Friday

Stephanie is here for another visit, so after experiencing the conference with us, she followed me and Adria back up north to the Hi Line, and then on home with me. We dropped our bags off and went directly to the farm, where we found Jeff, said our hellos, and then went with him to check the cows and calves. We are now full swing into calving and more and more calves are born every day.

Sunday evening, walking through the herd, we only found one new calf and it had been born dead. Talk about a reality check. This was the first test to all the positive energy from the weekend. Immediately, the three of us were faced with the task of bringing in the dead calf to the shop so he could be skinned: his cape would be used on another calf to hopefully graft the new calf onto the dead calf's mama. A bit gruesome, but necessary.

I wrestled a bit in my mind with reconciling that this animal was no longer a cute, baby cow. In fact, he never was alive. Now, his skin, his body, his spirit, would be put to use in order to give another calf a better chance, and to keep the mama productive and happy. We had some discussion, the three of us, as we did this, about how our society "cute-ifies" animals maybe too much at times, and about the disconnect people have between seeing a live farm animal vs. seeing a package of hamburger in their grocery store. People need to eat. Food comes from farms. Meat was once a live creature. That's how it goes.

Jeff had called around and found another calf from a nearby farm, and made arrangements to pick it up the next morning while I was at school. He and Stennie attached the new coat from the dead calf onto the new calf and worked throughout the day at trying to make a pair. Mama cows and their calves normally attach and bond to one another with aid of the calf nursing from its mama, just like people. The new calf wears the skin of the dead calf because the mama recognizes the smell of its own baby, and in this way we can trick the mama into accepting the new calf. Typically, once the new calf nurses a few times and the milk makes it all the way through its system, the mama will eventually take it on as its own. Sometimes this process happens quickly, other times it is tedious and takes some time.

In this case, this mama wanted nothing to do with the new baby at first. Jeff tried locking the two of them (safely) in the barn together, and eventually had to resort to putting the mama in the squeeze chute to get her to hold still long enough so the calf could nurse. Several days passed, progress slowly ensued. Mama eventually allowed the new calf to get nearer and nearer without freaking out and the calf was able to suck and cycle the milk through its system.

The mama is in the squeeze chute and the baby is trying to suck.
His cape is lying on the ground, if you can see through the shadow. 

I've been taking the first-thing-in-the-morning shift to walk through the cows and check on everyone. I'm up early to get ready for school anyway, so it's easy for me to get up, get dressed, walk through, and still have plenty of time to get ready for my day, while allowing Jeff and Tom to sleep in a little extra. Thursday morning, I went out for my walk through and was greeted right away by the new little calf we had been trying to graft. She hopped right over to me to say hello. The adoptive mama immediately stood up from her resting spot in the straw, gave me a wary look and a snort- protective instincts. When I went inside, I told Jeff that I think they successfully had made a pair out of the two.

We lost one calf (so far) on our ranch this calving season, but were successfully able to graft another one on to the mama, so still net 100%. That's the cycle of life. That's reality. Sometimes are great, sometimes are no fun, and sometimes are just so-so. Sometimes we are lucky enough to have days, entire weekends, or only short moments of brilliance that make a positive impact on our lives. It's up to us to recognize the good around us and harness that energy to sustain in the times that aren't that great.

As I walk through the calving pens in the early morning, the sun just beginning to rise, I feel lucky that I get to start my day by looking at and caring for animals. It's a great feeling to see a little black calf, an orphan calf, adopted by a big red mama cow, hop up to me and say hello.

Weekend Activities and Our First Calf of 2015!

It was another busy weekend this past weekend here on the farm!

Tom and Carol left for their Hawaii vacation last week, so Jeff and I got busy doing the final prep for calving. Our official due date is March 1, but the calves can and do come early every year! It was time to get our rears in gear and get the cows sorted and organized.

Even with no calves born yet, it began to feel like calving already on Saturday evening. Jeff and I walked through the herd that afternoon and noticed several that were looking like they were pretty close to calving. The weather had taken a nosedive from our sunny 50 degree temps and was down to single digits, with overnight lows projected to be below zero and with some wind. Sometimes pressure changes induces labor in animals that are close to calving anyway, so with that in mind, we decided we had better start staying over at Tom and Carol's and checking the cows a few times in the night beginning Saturday night.

Sunday we got up and began working in earnest on feeding and sorting the cows into their respective pens right away. Right now, our entire herd is sorted into five groups. The feeder calves are in one pen. Bulls are in a pen of their own. First and second-time calvers are in their own pen. Cows that look like they'll be in the second cycle of calving, or late-calvers as we call them, had their own space. Everyone else was in a big pen of their own.

Some of our bulls. We have four. 

It took some time to get the animals fed and sorted into their proper home for the next several weeks, plus a few more chores and organizational tasks thrown in here and there throughout the day. We also laid down some straw in our two busiest calving pens. The cows will munch on it a bit, but mostly we put the straw down to give them a warm and dry place to lay down. Sunday night's overnight lows were pretty brisk again, and we still thought we had some animals who could calve at any time.

My favorite cow: Z-35. So pretty. She'll have her second calf this year, so she's in the "Young Cows" pen.

We got all our work done on Sunday evening, watched the Oscars, and went to bed. Jeff went out twice in the night to check the herd. The next morning, Monday, in between his morning 6:00 a.m. check and when he came out later to do chores, he found this little guy--

First calf is a little bull. His mama is Y-14. 

His mama had clearly had him quickly and all on her own. Our first calf of the year! Hard to tell in this photo-- he was so young that his mama hadn't completely cleaned him yet-- but he is all red with a white stripe down the center of his face. A little bull calf. Pretty cute little guy! Only about 99 calves to go...

How did you spend your weekend?

Harvey and Abby had a GREAT weekend playing and rolling around in the straw!