The Winter That Stayed

You haven't seen much of me--nobody has.  I've been either in the pasture, the barn or sleeping.  Not always enough sleeping.  lol   This isn't the kind of weather I like to have baby calves in.  In fact we are calving a week later than last year, hoping to avoid cold weather.  It has been a very, very long two weeks of snow and wind and colder than average temperatures.  There has been a lot of hands on calving help needed to keep everyone dry and healthy.

Snow is not an ideal place to have a newborn.  When it does happen,  it's up to the rancher to swoop the baby up and take it to a warmer dryer place.  Sometimes Mom follows--sometimes she needs to be persuaded.

The calves that are a week old do better in the snow.  You can tell a healthy calf by his looks.   They have their ears up and usually enjoy morning play time--even in the snow.

It takes a lot of straw and shelter to keep all the older ones warm and dry too.  It's a busy job when the weather is crappy.  There are emergency trips to the vet with little ones that need extra help.  I tell DH: "we can't sleep with them too".  

More later...........................