Working the Cows

My husband corralled the cows yesterday so he can "work" them this morning. Working the cows means giving them the shots required by the state in order to sell them and putting tags on them so we can keep track of them. Some will be hauled off to market this morning, as well. That is how it goes on a farm.

I took these shots last night when we stopped by to make sure the animals had plenty of water. I was using my "car camera," which is a Nikon Coolpix S3200 that I picked up for about $50 on a Black Friday sale several years ago. It's a tiny little camera but very handy for having something to take pictures with when my good cameras are at home.

Cow Daze

Let Me Out!

When Words Fail . . .

Post pictures of cows.

Cows in Snow

Newborn

I looked out the front door Friday night just at dusk and saw we had a new baby calf.

The pictures didn't turn out well because it was so dark and I was shooting from a good distance away with a zoom. None of my cameras work well in that kind of light.

 

I didn't get closer because I did not want to disturb the momma cow while she was cleaning up the little one and working to get it on its feet. It took a few tries but it finally managed to stand up and find her milk.

 

She hid the calf until today; I saw it with the herd not long ago. Very small baby.

Bovinely Autumn

Sunset

We had this beautiful sunset Saturday evening after a day of rain. The sky suddenly burst open with color; I understand there was a rainbow behind me that I couldn't see through the trees.

On Sunday we had a bit of excitement here. My husband and I were in Rocky Mount trying to spend some time together and relax. His cell phone rang and it was a neighbor telling us the cows were out.

We raced home in record time and arrived to find two deputy cars here and several neighbors wandering around trying to round up wayward animals. People were excited and waving their arms. A woman I did not know kept talking about seeing a cow wander through her backyard (there are a number of small homes bordering the farm).

My husband, who was a little aggravated and frustrated by this whole scenario, sent me down the road to open one of the big gates, which I did. I then walked across a field and told a neighbor who had corralled a cow that we could get her through that gate, but he wanted me to open a smaller gate at the loading pen so he could try to put her in there. I opened the small gate and stepped back so he could shoo the cow on into the pen.



Older picture of a cow with a newborn.

The cow did not like that and she turned and charged at me. I shrieked and jumped up and tried to scare her to stop her and get out of the way at the same time. Such shenanigans in an old overweight lady are not to be, and my feet went out from under me in the damp grass. I hit the ground hard but since there was a 1,600 pound cow coming at me I climbed back up on my feet immediately, cursing as I did.

The cow swerved and headed for the road. I made a small effort to limp along after her but it was useless and I did not get far.

This animal was not going to be taken easily, and ultimately one of the neighbors on a utility vehicle and a policeman in his vehicle managed to get her through the gate. I certainly wasn't up to chasing after her.

I ended up with a sprained wrist, a big bruise on my lower leg, and another on my hip. It could have been worse, I suppose.

Ultimately we learned that the report was of two cows out, but we only found the one. My husband counted the cows and said they were all in the field. Perhaps one of them found her way back through the fence without help. In any event, he patrolled the fence and patched the hole he thought the cows went through, and that was the end of that.

It Takes a Lickin'

The momma cow decided her little new baby needed a bath.

 

She licked ...

 

 

 

 

 

Baby rebelled. "I don't want no stinkin' bath!" the calf cried, and went after its half sibling.

 

 

Mom followed. "Now, Baby, you know you need to be clean," she said.

 

 

She licked some more.

 

 

And then a little more . . .

 

 

Finally she declared Baby clean and they moved on.

Cows

Ain't She Purty

This is the neighbor's cow. She struck a dainty pose for me the other day while I was outside with the camera.

Noise on the Farm

Yesterday morning it was a little noisy outside. Foggy too!

Have a listen ...

Cows in Snow

Last weekend we had a little skiff of snow that brought us about an inch or so of the white stuff. The air was very cold.

When I woke, I saw that the momma cows had huddled over here in the sheltered glen in front of the house instead of by the barns. Maybe it was less windy here?

  Their babies were not in sight.

The cows had snow on their backs.

Not long after I took this picture, my husband went outside and started his pickup truck so the ice could melt off the windshield. The cows all stood up in unison, and the mothers went into the cedars to fetch their little ones. Not long after I watched them all, mothers and babies, move in single file toward the area where my husband feeds them hay.

The Christmas Calf

As daylight broke Christmas Eve, my husband walked around the house (in the rain) with his muzzleloader. He is still hunting deer.

But instead of a deer, he found one of the cows had just recently given birth. He left to go get the tractor so he could take care of her, and I took these shots from the front porch before he came back.

You can still see the afterbirth. Sorry, not every picture from Mother Nature is clean and lovely.