Best Laid Plans

The plan this year was to calve 10 days later than usual and miss out on all the cold and snowy weather in March.   It is just too much extra work for the old people that work on this ranch.  Mother Nature had other plans for this year.  We received 12 inches of snow last Thursday night and Friday morning.  The really heavy wet "good" kind of snow.  It's good for farmers, but not so good for ranchers right now.

 This kind of weather is very hard on animals.   The mix of warm enough, but cold enough to freeze makes for rain/snow mix that chills to the bone.  Our days have been from 6 am to 6 am with naps here and there.  As soon as a baby is born and we feel he has bonded a little with his mom the pair are whisked off to the warm dry calving barn to spend 24 hours in their own pen.  They have time to dry off well and get warm.  We had 15 babies on Sunday--crazy long day. 

 It's really amazing to me how tough these little guys are.  If they have had a good start they have so far been doing pretty well with surviving the weather.  This little one is a couple weeks old.  He was born on a 50 degree day and is wondering what happened to his world.

There was straw on the ground for everyone to lay on, but it quickly got covered up with snow.  The cows huddle together out of the wind together by the calving shed.  Thankfully the wind has not blown as hard as it did the first two days, so the wind chill has not been a killer.

A good mom finds a nice dry place for her baby.  We did have some that felt the need to deliver their calf in a snow bank.  These little "popsicles" are loaded up and taken to the shop to "cook" by the furnace.  We had 5 of those little ones, but everyone thawed well and returned to their mothers.  We keep those pairs in the old red barn so they have a chance to build up their immune systems again.  We give them extra nutrients and shots to prevent pneumonia.  They are also separate, so they are easy to check on if they need more help.

Just a quick post this morning while I have a quick break.  I really should be doing laundry and cleaning.  The maid hasn't show up at all for a week.  I'll have to have a severe talk with her--right after I get a nap someday.

There will be no sitting on the deck for a day or two.  It has snowed or rained every day for a week now. We had 6 more inches yesterday.  BIL Ron came and helped yesterday--awesome guy!  The weather man has promised sunshine this afternoon and we need it badly.  It will be the best medicine for everyone.  Of course, there will be alot of mud to deal with--warmer temperatures would be great for the little guys. 

I'll post again when time permits.  Miss you all.  I haven't had time to read blogs either.