When I was 13, my parents bought a 150-acre farm out in the country. A little reluctant to enter the farming world, my sister, brother, and myself were eased into the lifestyle a little at a time. My first few memories of farming are hauling hay (ugh!), corralling cattle (arg!), and bottle-feeding Elmo (yay!). Elmo was a little Hereford (red, white-faced) mommy-less calf. If you have ever encountered farm life, you know sometimes the cow doesn't always make it through the child-birthing process. I know, it is a horrible, sad realization, but it happens. Anyway, Elmo quickly gained his place in our daily routine, getting a bottle in the morning before school, another as soon as we got off the bus, and then another for his night-time meal. What was a job for an adult turned out to be a joy for 3 children. Elmo was like a darn dog! If we let him out in the front yard, he kept up with you. Either nuzzling your leg, marking it with slobber and slime, or catching your heel with a not-so-babyish hoof. Eventually, Elmo was hauled to the sale barn...but not without our tearful goodbyes. Then, when I was a Senior in high school, Milly was born. Milly was a Charlois (white) mommy-less calf. I was the only child living at home, so Milly was mine! As with Elmo, Milly became an everyday part of my life and was also hauled to the sale after tearful goodbyes. Farm life at its highest and lowest all at once.
The Thursday before we left for Tennessee, my dad called me. "Kassy, I need you to go get a bottle and some milk replacer and bring it to the farm." :'0( My heart sank. Another mommy-less baby. Another mommy-less baby...an Angus mix this time. I was saddened for the loss of an asset on my parents' farm, but kinda happy that Andee would encounter the same fond situation I had encountered a few times growing up. Gunny, as my Daddy named him, is an ornery little thing, 'bull'-headed to say the least. Once we got the bottle mixed and going, it didn't take him long to figure out that we were gonna be good friends and he calmed a little. Andee thoroughly enjoyed meeting Gunny and getting to pet a cow for the first time, but she was not interested in touching the bottle. Little Gunny has eased his way into my parents' life and will be hauled to the sale come time. As for now, they are toting three (or more) bottles a day to him and he is growing closer to his new parents. :0)
*******************
Little Gunny with his first bottle...
No comments:
Post a Comment