You know how some women like to decorate their kitchens with cute-ified little geese, or pigs, or cows? Well I don't like that. I decorate my kitchen with the real thing. Fiona the tiny twin calf came to my house on March 10, and stayed in a box in the kitchen for 10 days. She had to be taught to drink from a bottle. She started running a fever, and have to have nasty injections. She "scoured," which means her digestive system was unhappy and I had to deal with the consequences. Let's just say I washed about 50 loads of towels in those ten days. Most frustrating, she didn't grow. At two weeks of age she'd gained one pound.... 35 pounds to 36. Eventually Fiona moved outside... on the patio or in the yard when it was sunny, and in a large kennel in the garage when it was raining or dark and cold. All in all, she was here until the day after she turned one month old. She weighs about 45 pounds now, and is in a pen with two other orphan calves up at the farm.
I miss her a lot; she loved to scamper around in the yard and play. She gamboled like a lamb. She liked the dogs. She sucked on my pajamas, my fingers, my shoes, my nose, anything she could get her little lips on. She learned to eat grain and walked around with bits of it stuck to her nose. Once she took off running so fast that when she tried to make a turn she totally wiped out in the dirt. That was pretty great. She learned to climb the back steps because she wanted to come in the house and get more milk. She loved the fresh spring grass. She ate all my tulips. Now, she's in a muddy corral, and it makes me sad.
1 comment:
awwww takes me back, I grew up in Basin City, and raised the holstiens, not to milk though, dad kept a few of the dreaded big bagged had to be tended to twice a day by me things around for learning experience, lol. But the babies, oh I miss them. Day olds, and at least 50 at a time. Butting your knees their hair so soft, I miss the babies.
Post a Comment