Latte

I got a calf for my birthday this year. She was the first thing I saw this morning, and what a beautiful gift.

The first calf was born way back on May 16, right under our noses, although none of us saw the actual birth. In the middle of a handweeding marathon, Patrick noticed something orange by the cows - Lukey had been born. By the end of the day Lukey was all cleaned up and the brightest white I have ever seen on a cow, with a jet-black nose and ears.

Ever since Lukey was born, we've been moving the cows from the pasture by the river into a smaller area at night, safe from coyote access, since she is more vulnerable than a 700-pound cow. I was on animal duty last week, and, minus my first attempt, had successfully moved the cows all week, somthing I was entirely proud of. (My first go at moving them had ended up as the only time I have ever seen Don run on the farm when I've told him about a mistake I've made. I hadn't anticipated all the possible routes the cows would take when I opened their gate in the morning, and they happily wandered into the tall grass directly adjacent to all the black plastic he had just spent an entire Sunday afternoon laying down with the tractor. Not something you want cows walking on.) I was on chore duty this weekend, and last night had left me nearly in tears trying to get the cows into the 'safe area' for the night. All of them were acting really strangely, and I could not for the life of me get them where they were supposed to go. After almost an hour of begging and cursing, I enlisted Don's help, and as we guided them to the safe area, he noticed that Lassie looked entirely close to giving birth: bulging udder and sunken back bones. This would explain why all the cows had been acting so strangely - if they sensed that she was close to giving birth, they would have supported her decision to stay close to the river. (Cows like to be near water when they have their calves.)

Lassie gave birth to the most adorable calf last night. Completely chocolate brown. When I saw her little fuzzy head peeking out of the grass this morning, I stood for a few minutes and watched all the cows sitting around this new wonder before going in to tell everyone the news.

We've named her Latte, appropriately enough. But I like to call her Brownie for short.