It's spring time at the farm...

Well, as a wonderful birthday surprise, we had our first calf of the year born today. I was thinking back to everything that contributed to making this event possible. You see, the mother of this mother, so the grandmother, (whose name was Gigi) was very ill while pregnant with her calf, now the "new" mother (named Pia). Gigi had contracted a hoof infection that lamed her badly due to the negligence of a neighbour who was pasturing her for the summer. However, her former owner, who was now retired, offered to try to nurse her back to health, though we were advised by the vet that she would not live, would probably abort the calf she carried and would be a all around bad gamble. "Cut your losses!" we were told. However, Stuart, her former owner loved her like a child and cared for her by going out to check her every 2 hours, fed her by hand, removed her refuse every time she messed and treated her like a queen. Do we care for others in our lives like that? As God cares for us? Well, she made it. She limped badly, but was able to give birth to a beautiful calf, who was Pia.

Fast forward to Pia's fiirst birthing experience: She was a nervous mother and did not want to allow her calf to nurse. I was ready to grab the 22, I was so angry at the way she was treating her baby, since she'd kick it anytime it got close. I also knew that if the baby didn't get sustenance in the first "golden hour", it wouldn't do very well, and might even die. So as I waited for my husband to get home from work, so we could chase her into the squeeze and milk her to bottle feed the calf, God gave us more evidence of His love. He sent another, more experienced mother over to her side. Bambi had given birth a few times, and was a gentle soul with a strong maternal instinct. She came alongside Pia and gently knickered and somehow, through moo-speak, a language in which I'm not fluent, made it clear to Pia what was to be done. It was beautiful, since moments later, the calf latched on and it was smooth sailing from there.

So tonight Pia gave birth to her third calf. It's cold out and there's snow everywhere, but we found her baby heifer curled up right beside the hay feeder where the excess hay had fallen to the ground to provide a soft bed, not too different from where my Saviour was born. When we arrived there was a cow nearby, though it didn't seem like the mother, since a mother will never step over her own calf, as this cow did. It was Pia's Aunt Klenora, babysitting. However, as my husband knelt down to give the baby its' boosters, we heard bellowing as Pia came running to ensure that we were doing no harm. Content to see that we were not a danger, she knickered as we worked, then as we backed away, positioned herself as if to say, "this is my baby---mess with her, your mess with me first". Isn't there a Bible verse similar to that. Where God promises that everything that reaches us has to go through Him first? I'll have to check the reference for that.

Truly, for me, farming is a holy experience. I'm no enviromentalist...I let the van run if there's a hockey game on :), but I feel God's presence here on the farm stronger than anywhere else in my life.

Ouch!

So, about 6 years ago, I had a rather energetic day. I not only cut up 14 quart jars of beans to can bean salad, (using the scissors...duh) but I also built a platform as the start of a tree house! Then I was in pain. Major tendonitits!

So, now, whenever I overdue things with my right hand, I'm back in a brace, popping Advil. Lovely. That's what I get for knitting up a pair of slippers in a couple hours. Ouch.

Picasa Web Albums - Kenneth & Heather - Knitting projects for Ravelry

Picasa Web Albums - Kenneth & Heather - Knitting projects for Ravelry