Thursday, September 15, 2011
Changing Weather
It doesn’t matter what species you are, when the seasons change there is a time where everyone gets sick. It starts with a runny nose, then escalates to a temperature and by the time you realize you are sick it’s too late. A few days in bed, without treatment will assist the cold into knocking you out for a few days but add in some cold medicine, decrease the symptoms and your body gets the rest it needs to recover in a timely manner. The same goes for cattle, they enjoy the colder months, I mean they are built with a thick hair coat and ability to thrive on forage. But they get colds and they need the same treatment that we (humans) need, so her we are giving a calf some antibiotics due to its runny nose and temperature late last night. As a farmer the animals schedule and needs trump ours every time, it didn’t matter that it was late, supper was waiting to go into the oven at my house or that we had hay to mow. The only thing that mattered was making sure the calf started to feel better. My daughter, 12 months old, being used to the barn sat in her stroller watching us doctor the calf. She didn’t fuss at all and maybe they were talking to each other because as soon as we got home her nose started to run and her temperature went up. So my daughter and her calf both received attention last night. We had pizza for supper and after an 18 hour day I headed for bed. When I went to bed I felt good knowing that we had helped an animal that it and that its body was getting the much needed rest it needed for recovery. The truth is we haven’t even headed full on into the season change so I am sure this wont be the last time I get extra barn time this Fall.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
New beginnings
I am exhausted all the time, Fall is my favorite season but the time leading up to Fall can downright knock the wind outta ya. With to much rain here in Ohio we have been fighting to get that much needed third cutting of hay. The orchardgrass is almost to mature so the fight is on to harvest before that happens. To make matters worse the country seems to be in a mess of Natural distasters, wildfires and drought so any hay harvested will be like gold.
Fairs are ending for us, this has been the second week in a row of visiting two county fairs. I love the fair, some people we only see at the fair so this is a very important time. Our heifer, shown above, has been a great girl this season and has turned many heads. I am glad my husband has a keen eye for genetics but it bothers me that once the sale calves are broke to lead and tame we sell them to kids for 4-H projects. I like having the calves around they are always so playful and happy in the fields and just waiting for me to come and pet them. But the time is around the corner for the kids to come pick up their stock and enjoy them the way I have for the last seven months.
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