I've Gone Country A blog about a city girl learning a whole new world

It is always an exciting time when the girls start having their calves. This is Carl, he was born last Sunday.

He is beautiful, strong and happy.

I never tire of entering the pasture and seeing a brand spanking new baby.

It warms my heart when Mama is taking care of her baby and everything is going along as it should.

I felt a little sorry for Carol, Carl’s older sister.

She kept checking Carl out and hanging around.  Every now and then her Mama (Toot) would nudge her to go on.  She looked as if she was trying to figure out why her Mama was giving so much attention to this little guy that showed up out of nowhere.

Toot brings Carl out into the pasture in the mornings and in the cool of the evenings.  The other day all the big cows were at the creek.  Mama quickly got out of the water when I pulled up.  Carol joined her.  They stood as if they were at attention.   She faced the back field and just stared.  Little did she know that I figured out that was where Carl must be hidden.

Sure enough after I hung out at the creek I made my way down to check the brush for Carl.  I try not to bother the animals but I do keep my eye on them.  The temperatures are really high this week and the baby can dehydrate quickly if Mama doesn’t tend to his needs often.

It is hard to find those little guys.  Here he is hidden in some brush across the little creek from where I was.

Mama’s sure do know how to nestle them in good.

Just by me seeing him like this I can tell that he is alright.  His head is up, he was alert and was in the shade.  The position of his body lets me know that he is just resting and not in distress.

That lets me know that I can go on about my other chores and not worry,  Mama and baby are fine.

Each day she lets him join the herd a little more.

And each day you can see changes like his wobbly legs are stronger and he is becoming more inquisitive.  He walks up to the other girls as if he is getting to know them.  Sometimes they nudge him to move and other times they just don’t pay him any attention.

Eventually he makes his way back to Mama….

and just like that he plops down in the grass and practically disappears.

I actually walked up on him the other day when I approached the blackberry bushes to do a little picking.  I had no idea he was hiding there.

By the look of his eyes it appears he was startled to see me too.

He jumped up and scooted past me, deciding he better go find Mama.

Little stinker….he sure is cute.

The next day I happened on seeing the two of them together by the creek.

Congratulations to Toot she sure has a good looking little calf.

Welcome to the farm Carl 😉

We will be having baby calves before long so I am doing what I always do, checking in on all the girls.  This time of year it is hot in the pasture.  The flies like to swarm and when you are hot and expecting that can just be miserable.   Billy sprayed them for flies just the other day.  They don’t like it at first, but once they get a few sprays on them it is as if they realize that it really does help and they stop moving away.   I suppose we all have our moments in life like that.  We can be miserable, be it things that we have gotten ourselves into or just the things in life that happen to bug us.  We can go towards help and get relief or run away from the help and let things keep bothering us.

As I entered the pasture I noticed all of the cows were enjoying the shade by the pond.  Oh, there were still a few flies here and there, especially for the cows who didn’t want to be sprayed, but for the most part they were able to sit and enjoy their surroundings.

They know the sound of my 4 wheeler and most of the time they just look at me while I pull up closer.  They were so content in fact that I just turned the engine off and stared at them for a while.  There was a nice gentle breeze blowing every now and then.  I certainly could understand why they were just lying there seemingly without a care in the world.

Margaret, our little calf that we bottle fed last year likes to see me.  She usually makes her way up to me.  But, on this day she too was so content she just looked up at me and chewed her cud.   I always greet the girls by name as I walk around them and check progress with their pregnancies.

Margaret watched as I surveyed everyone.  I called her by name and rubbed her back and across her brow.  She leaned her head toward me as if to thank me.

I decided to just sit down with them, right beside Margaret.

All the girls are nice and don’t mind if I am around.  They know me, I have helped many of them with birthing their babies.  They welcome the help when it is needed, but they keep a safe distance from me otherwise.  If I had reached in to pet one of these cows, they would have instantly gotten up and moved away.  They know I have never hurt them, I provide feed for them and care for their needs, but they still don’t trust me completely.  They were older when they joined our farm, they trust only to a point.  Many of them will let me touch their heads when they want to be touched, but it has to be on their terms.  I still continue however to show them daily that they can indeed trust me, I so enjoy them and want to be close to them.

Margaret on the other hand, really, really knows me.  Billy and I fed her daily, by hand.  We have petted her and consoled her when she was rejected by her mother.  Her daily needs were met by us and she welcomed our love.  Billy and I even picked her up from an icy bed of water in the pasture this winter and warmed her by the wood stove at the house.  Nursing her back to health and hand feeding her once again until she could recover enough to feed herself, she allowed us to meet her needs.

I think Margaret knows she can fully trust Billy and I.   We have shown her that we love her, not just by words, but by actions from the very beginning of her life.

As I squatted down beside Margaret I smiled as she welcomed me.  Instead of jumping to her feet she turned her head towards me……

And laid it in my lap.

I can’t even begin to describe that feeling.

I thought of my walk with the Lord.  When I was small I easily enjoyed God.  I noticed him in the everyday things around me and welcomed the things he provided for me.   As I grew into my young adult years I took those things for granted. I acknowledged His presence, but kept a distance from Him.  I didn’t want to get too close.  I can only imagine how it made Him feel, longing for me to put my guard down and draw closer to Him so I could really get to know Him.

Now many years have passed and I must say that I feel I am more like Margaret.  I began to trust God more and more in the little things.  He showed me He would provided for my needs and take care of me.  I had to give on my part though. I had to step out in trust and let Him love me.  I had to put down the barrier, and when I did, I finally quit moving away from Him and started moving toward Him.

I now enjoy sitting at the feet of Jesus. I trust Him, I WANT to be in His company and I am so thankful that He wants to spend time with me.  The love and peace that I feel is once again ….. indescribable.

I am blessed.