Mud

There are reasons for 4 wheel drive around here--winter and spring (or springs in the road following wet winters!)

Looks a little mucky

Looks a lot mucky!

Hope mud baths are good for the Tahoe!

The area where I live is filled with springs--they are on the sides and tops of hills all over the place.  I think it will be a while until we can make hay properly this summer without rutting up our fields! 

Somehow that doesn't seem so bad to me--not being able to get things done because you are too lazy or even too busy--you can do something about that most of the time--not being able to do stuff because there is too much mud and water--well, can't help that, so might as well relax, do a little something else, and wait!

Guess we might not have too many pretty wild flowers growing this May Day!  Maybe people will need to make up mud pies to leave on their neighbor's doorsteps.

More Cows!

Wilde Rose Knitting, a set on Flickr.

I know, lots of cow photos lately, but that's where the excitement has been at our place for the most part! Just wait till you see the new one at the end--what a cutie!

Molly and Babies

Molly and Babies, a photo by wilderose on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Molly had her babies on Monday 4/18/2011. Four little ones--two girls and two boys. She had them on a tarp up in our haymow--I added a little hay underneath her and the kittens to keep it a little cosier!

A couple more gratuitous cattle photos

Ummm . . . we've got a problem . . .

We (well, I use the term 'we' rather loosely because it really was Dan) made a divider down the center of the feed bunk to keep the cows from laying down in the comfy hay, but . . . apparently . . . ummmm . . . it is a quite comfy calf bed now.

Now, remind me again--who says cattle don't have personality?

Hey, Mickey your so fine, your so fine you blow my mind--Hey Mickey, hey, hey, Hey Mickey

(or should I say, hay Mickey?--oh, I am so hilarious . . . or not)

Sorry, that song has been going through my head this week and I think that is the only part of that song I know . . .

Well, bye, bye!

Spring is in the air

Yesterday morning I woke up and I thought to myself, "It looks like spring."  Most of the snow is gone and the tulips are starting to poke through the soggy earth and the grass and a few other perennials are starting to green up.  Our home (well, not the home per se (is that how you would spell that? I don't know) so much as the cow yard) stinks to high heaven.

But most importantly . . .

We welcomed a new creature into our midst on Sunday!

Meet Mickey

Born in the wee hours of Sunday morning--here he is just hours old and a little shy

Mickey and his mother Gert in our cow yard that smells to high heaven!

He's got a little snowy white face and is quite clean compared to the rest of the springtime sludginess that abounds at this time of year.

Welcome to the world, Mickey!  You may not be our little calf, but you stay with us, and you let us scratch your ears, and we really think you're sweet!

Mickey had his first visitors on Sunday afternoon.  They included his owner, Tim and Tim's dad as well as my brother and his family (including my very excited 6 year old nephew--who will be sharing that he got to meet a baby cow over spring break at kindergarten this week).

Sunday was a busy day at our place and I needed that day yesterday to just decompress from all of it, I think.  We also were able to find a family for one of the precious little puppies that Dan found a few weeks ago.  I really wished we could have kept him, but it would have put a strain on our finances to have another dog as much as he was so sweet.  I had Dan convinced that if we weren't able to find a family for him in two weeks, we would keep him forever and ever, but just a day after Dan and I put up flyers for him, we got a call from a family (who had recently put their 11 year old lab down) that  were looking for a puppy.  They also live in the country with some acreage and were really missing having a dog to call their very own.  It was very bittersweet to have to let him go.  My parents will be taking the other puppy as soon as they have a dog kennel ready at their place (they live right next to us--separated by just a hay field, so at least we will see him all the time).

Anyway, what a weekend--and spring is here--soon there will be another calf and little kittens in the barn.  And not too long after that we will have our own little longhorn calves (we hope, we hope)!