Bovine Midwifery
Today I found a calf in my yard. It’s completely black, like its mother, and I’m not sure yet what gender it is. Its mother, Chloe, stood rather menacingly over it, not quite ready to permit a close inspection. It’s not her first calf, but it is mine.
Experiences like this make you think ranching is easy. A friend of ours delivered a bull last year. I came home from the office and the bull was in the pasture. A couple of months later, our friend retrieved his bull. I woke up this morning to find a calf. What could be easier?
I understand that the law of averages dictates that, sooner or later, I will be out in the pasture at 3 a.m. incompetently intervening in the birthing process of a 1300 lb. beast. Like Billy Crystal pulling a calf in “City Slickers,” that may be the cathartic event that turns me from a dilettante into a real rancher.
The other cow, Daphne (mugging for the camera below), is due any day now, and I’m hoping to remain a dilettante for at least another year.
[...] year, a rather young bull, Junior, spent some quality time with my cows with predictable results. Junior then resumed his duties with his rightful owner. Our pasture is graced this year with [...]
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