Feeding "Baby"

While Jen was home she took over my feeding duties.  This is "Baby".  Her momma died.  Grass tetany was the diagnosis and the veterinary treated her.  Unfortunately a few days later she died.   We feed Baby two quarts of milk replacer morning and evening.   The only way Baby could be adopted is another cow's baby would die.  We did have a cow with a dead calf last week, but she nearly killed DH and I getting her in the barn to try an adoption for Baby.  We decided it was easier to feed Baby until a more friendly applicant becomes available.

She is such a sweetie.  She comes running to the fence for her bottle.   We keep a couple old cows and their calves in the pen with her, so she has company.  

Good to the last drop!

Calving is starting to wind down.  We have about 20 left to calve.  We spent last week farming too.  The wheat and oats are planted.  Corn planting will start next week.  It will be time to work cattle soon too.  It has been cooler than usual.  I haven't even started to think of planting anything in the garden.   The grass has really grown just the last few days.

Every day I'm thinking about my Raggedy Annie & Friends quilt.  As soon as time permits this will be my next project to complete.  I have all the squares embroidered.  I have a feeling it may be June before I get to it.  My main problem is the mess I have in my sewing area again.  I need to regroup and clean up.  I need to be willing to give up my napping for cleaning and sewing. 

The Quilter's Corner in Faulkton has moved to a larger building.  They are having a special event on Thursday night.  I'm crossing my fingers that I can get away to attend.  This is an awesome LQS and I'm so excited for them to have a larger space and more opportunities for quilting fun. 

The Official 1st Sign of Spring in SD

I know it's Spring when the mayflowers bloom on the native prairie.  Rocco and I took a little walk west of our place to check and see if Spring was here.

The pasque or wind flower in South Dakota dates back to a time long before Europeans settled in the area. The first flower to show its blossom in the spring was the subject of Plains Indian songs and legends. As the first blossom to show itself in the spring, the pasque flower lent itself to legend and an endearing place in the hearts of early settlers.


The history of the pasque flower, its abundance and its spring wake-up call made it a natural choice for the floral emblem of South Dakota.  The pasque flower is known by many names. The Lakota name for the flower is "hosi cekpa" meaning "child's navel." Others refer to this flower as anemone, wind flower, blue anemone, Hartshorne plant gosling plant American pulstilla, prairie crocus, blue tulip, wild crocus prairie smoke, sand flower, rock lily, headache plant, Coventry bells and the May Day flower.




 
As a child I was taught to call them May flowers.  They bloom the end of April or the first part of May.   This year they are very thick.  The moisture we had from that heavy snow helped to bring a bumper crop.  I love to walk on the prairie and think of the settler women who must have been pleased to see flowers blooming after the cold hard winter.  They are a lovely flower in their delicate beauty, but how hardy they really are to come back every year.
 
Things have not slowed down much, but I hope to be posting more often.  I miss sewing and reading my favorite blogs. 
 
We did attend Michelle's pinning ceremony in Pierre.  She is now a graduate from the University of South Dakota with a Degree in Nursing.  I was honored she chose me to "pin" her.  Jen flew in the day of graduation.  It was nice to have her here for a few days.  We enjoyed a Mother's Day supper together in Pierre too.  Jen flew home to Pensacola today. 

Michelle will be working at the hospital in Pierre.   She is busy studying for her licensing test in June.  We are very proud of her.  I know she will make a caring, compassionate nurse.

Hanging In There

Today was another cool, cloudy and rainy day.  The temperatures have warmed and the snow is all melted.  I'm not complaining about the rain or mud.  I know how precious moisture is and we have had years that were dry.  Dry is not good!  I know better than to complain about rain.   So far we have been doing well with keeping everyone healthy.  Tomorrow they promise sunshine and 70 degrees!!!  No one has been able to get in the fields to plant anything yet. 

I love these little guys with the white faces.  They are all needing some sunshine.

So far this one gets the "funny face" award for 2011.

I've gotten good use out of my mud boots.  Hopefully some drying will happen tomorrow.

More mud!

The llamas are such "easy keepers".  DH said he would buy some more if they were worth anything.  I have been keeping an eye on them.  We aren't sure if they are pregnant or not.  There were some "activities" back on May 30th, so there is a possibility of little llamas.  Wouldn't that be fun?  They don't really look any different, but how can you tell under all that fleece?

Here is Puss's favorite sleeping spot.  She can hardly wait for DH to lay down on the couch so she can snuggle down and snooze.  We are getting caught up on our sleep slowly. 

 Michelle is coming tomorrow to help for a day.  Her "big final" is Monday and then graduation Thursday evening--if she passes the final.  I've told her not to stress so, but she is.  I probably would too.  Don't tell anyone, but Jen is flying home for graduation and Mother's Day--can't wait.  She is surprising Michelle.  Dear BIL has agreed to cow sit, so we can all attend the graduation festivities.

Sorry,  I haven't been answering comments.  I've decided April is a no sew and no reply month.  I'm looking forward to the month of May!!

Conditions Improving

The birds were taking cover where ever they could find it last week.  I'm sure the poor things were wondering where Spring went.

Thank goodness for the trusty Rhino that can travel through all kinds of snow and mud.

The llamas don't seem to mind the weather.  They join in with everyone else for breakfast.

The ducks have no problem finding places to swim.  I can't imagine how cold their feet must be.

My feet are cold in my new mud boots too.

There is lots of mud now.

Rocco rides "shotgun" and stays high and dry.

Happy Easter

A quiet day here.  We usually have Easter, but there was not time to clean and cook this week.  Michelle is working, so we are having a quiet "just us" Easter and a NAP.  I am so thankful for the gift that God has given me! 

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. 

It's No Fun

It's not fun blogging without pictures.  I'm still without a camera AND we have started calving, so I'm missing those wonderful pictures of those sweet little faces.  I hope to get somewhere this week that sells cameras.  I would order on line, but I'm just not sure what I want and I'm more of a "hands on" shopper when it comes to this purchase.  I'm not sure about some of the "free clip art" sites and I'm copyright fearful, so no pictures today.

The first calf was born on April 1--right on schedule.  She was a healthy baby girl.  We had a warm and very, very windy week-end.  Michelle was home for the week-end and BIL Ron came to help do some physical preparations for the calving season. 

With the extra help available I was able to attend a bridal shower for my great niece, Jessica.   Baby sister and I were going to have a fun day together, but she called to cancel due to illness, so  I chauffeured a 92 year old great grandma to the shower.  We had a good visit to and from the shower.  We also were treated to a musical program at the Fine Arts center that another great niece participated in.  It was nice to get away for a day and also to know that DH had help.

We enjoyed having Michelle home for the week-end.  She has 1 month of school left.  She also has a job interview at the hospital tomorrow morning for a job in the Total Care Unit after graduation. 

I hope next time I post I will have a new camera!