Dolly the mutant is a sweetheart, there she stands in the pasture placidly chewing her cud on her little 18" bow legs. Doe eyes plead for that extra carrot / apple/ peanut and when we gointo her pen, shes the first to amble over for a snuggle. It wasn't always like that and I anticipated a regression (big time !!) when we started the AI procedure. Dolly has been a pleasant surprise,....over the past few days we have been working to get her into the chute the first day Dolly didn't let us down !. We could have used the bull prod...but we don't like to work that way,...we don't hurt them....they hurt us. smile There I was, hauling on the leadrope, there was Greg holding on to her tail ( old wives tail...they can't kick if the tail is over the bovine butt.....maybe so,...but it doesn't stop them trying !!!) Dolly wasn't for moving. I was pulling, Greg was pushing...still she didn't move. Eighteen inch bow legs planted and it was" wont go, can't make me". Enter kind neighbour on a totaly unrelated matter who landed up holding said tail ( carefully avoiding back legs in case old wives tail was untrue !) Greg pushing..me pulling. Makes a pretty picture, doesn't it !! Dolly moved a little..then a little more..stretched out for an apple and we had her in the squeeze. Congratulations all round were a little premature. Kind neighbour left ( no doubt wondering how his day had taken such an unexpected turn !!) and we prepared for cute little Dolly in rodeo bull disguise to rocket out of the squeeze. Dolly didn't move, we pulled, we pushed, Dolly still didn't move a little bowed leg. Carrots apples and peanuts ignored Dolly settled in for the night, she had gone in...now get her out ! Eventually bored by our efforts Dolly the Mutant just hopped out ( she's a low rider and too short legged to step out !) and walked like a puppy dog on a rope back to her pen !! Stage two over we now look forward ( or not !!) to getting her in tonight for a hormone shot and remove the blue straw from bovine butt, trusting Macho hasn't succeeded in removing it overnight. One final thought before I go, Gregs Mom (almost 90 and what a ranch hand / ranch cook ) left yesterday to go home to Albuquerque, she was amazing and we will miss her..you Mom. take care. M
0 Comments
Ok, I'm just a city girl, an English city girl and the wonders of artificial insemination are sort of lost on me except that the end result is a really cute little bundle of calf like Daisy Mae. It's how we get there that is my biggest concern right now..(.apart from the weather forcasts that is, smile ) Dolly didn't take too kindly to being manhandled and even less kindly to a foreign object being pushed up her "bits", she has forgiven us for our previous affront to her dignity (if cows have any dignity) but I'm pretty sure that she is going to be wise to any new attempts to pin her down. Currently both she and Molly Moo are wandering around blissfully unaware of a blue plastic straw hanging out under their tails....Macho the buck goat isn't and it has turned into a challenge, how can he get that little bit of blue plastic,... it's got to taste good ? I have turned into some kind of bovine pervert and spend 99% of my time checking out a blue straw sticking out of a cows butt !!! On Monday, Greg and I have to give both girls a hormone shot and Thursday Wayne will return (he's clearly a glutton for punishment !!!) to do the "business" ( I guess I had better set the record straight......in a technical sort of way, ..phew, could have been some explosive gossip ha ha ) Today Greg and I have been busy making some sort of chute system, I am getting more and more adverse to suicidal procedures and trying to give Dolly a shot and then impregnate her within a week sounds pretty suicidal to me. The chute is looking good, both Dolly and Molly have spent a good part of the day watching the progress... Monday evening and a hormone syringe will tell, till then I will continue to watch blue plastic straws and bovine butts,...most unsavoury. Its bedtime, tomorrow morning we have an early start, take care. M Maybe MJ will be wrong...maybe the double dopplers and the weather stations have made a mistake, maybe.......This morning I buried my head under the pillow and tried not to hear, I wriggled under the comforter ( it was a nice place to be, I'd love to have stayed !!smile) and hoped it would be finished before I had to come out. Long term forcasts are consistent....its going to be a BAD winter. I'm not a fair weather cowgirl, I can do rain and I can do mud, wind doesn't bother me ( I came here from the windy NW of England) ..but snow and frost are a different matter. Two years ago when Greg had his previous back surgery we had the worst blizzard in umptyump years. I remember vividly having to dig out gates before I could even get into the ranch, every water trough was frozen solid and froze again as I filled them. I trudged the 40 acres in the snow searching for the animals, dug ditches and hated every moment. I used to love to watch the pretty snowflakes, I loved to see the pure white snow settle and blow into drifts......2 years ago I didn't see beauty..I saw mud, black snow and ice and I was miserable !! I was SO lucky, we had help that arrived in the form of family and friends and my sanity was saved...just. I listen to the forcasts and memories come flooding back..Gregs surgery is going to be early in the year....please God be kind to me and send El Nina somewhere else !!!!!
Yesterday was our 14th wedding anniversary, 14 years of love and cosideration, thank you Cowboy. I'm not going to say Greg's perfect , he can be stubborn, bull headed and bossy, but I wouldn't change him for anything in the world. We have a dream and we are lucky enough to be living it together. Our old grey mare Destiny has a dream too, that old girl doesn't know she is on the wrong side of 20 ! Young Hassan ( aka Terrorist) the 2 year old bay Arab was away at "school", but has come home and now munches his way through the neighbouring pasture to Destiny and Charm ( beauty with Attitude) our palamino gelding. Destiny tried all the moves on Charm, she sweet talked, postured flicked her tail, sprayed and turned on the attitude. All failed, Charms first love is himself and second comes food, there is no room for love in his agenda. Spurned by Charm, the forlorn lovestruck old girl settled quietly to a single life.....enter Hassan and once again there is hope. We have a cougar in our midst.....it doesn't matter that he is still in virtual diapers ( nappys for us Britts), he is male handsome and virile. Our old grey mare is a red hat granny on four legs and she wants that boy. The valley resounded with her calling from daybreak, her breakfast, food, usually her first priority was almost ignored in her quest for love, usually I can rug her up and she barely moves an old grey muscle, yesterday she hopped and popped around the pasture. Destiny is in love..... and Hassan doesn't care. I feel another rejection coming on. Oh dear, time to go,it's almost 7.30am, the dog's gone to the door the cuckoo clock has cuckood and Greg's hovering. Take care, M
Monday is my "Mustard Seed" day, I get to dress up....well, a little more than I do for a day at the ranch and 9.15am I abandon my barn chores to Greg and take up my station behind a desk for 3 hours volunteering,then back down to the barn for my real job. Today was a bit different, the man was coming to start the AI (artificial insemination )process with Molly Moo and Dolly, the girls didn't know it was to be their lucky day ! ....or was it ?! Wayne turned up a little late, actually a lot late but after talking to him, I gathered that it is a bit difficult to be precise about time when you are dealing with cows and after watching him I wondered (1) was he really sane or (2) was he even human ??? I asked him if he had ever been hurt ( hoping he'd say no and that the procedure was quick and safe...he didn't !) With a big smile on his face he reeled off the multiple urgent care / emergency room visits he had made courtesy of cows...my stomach sank through my less than stable less to my shaking feet,..... thanks for the confidence shot Wayne ! Molly is no problem, though she was a bit indignant about a total stranger messing with her nether regions, she tolerated quite well. Dolly on the other hand was less than happy about the whole thing. Dolly has never had a headcollar on and Dolly was as pure as the driven snow with no intention of trading her maiden status without at least having a testosterone driven bull participating in the not too savoury procedure. Actually , thinking back to Dollys arrival at the ranch looking and sounding more like a rodeo bull than a mini cow with dwarfism she behaved quite well, she didn't cow kick ( her previous specialty) and she didn't take the gate for a walkand shedidn't head butt me ( like being broadsided by Mohammed Ali).. she managed to twist her head almost 360 degrees and if cows can scowl,...she scowled but, despite my concerns, we managed to get a headcollar on her and Wayne managed to set the implant. That was stage one, we have another 2 stages before Molly and Dolly become moms in waiting but we are (despite my hesitations) on the way..... Wayne didn't have another hospital visit to add to his repetoire, Greg didn't blow another disc and I didn't have to take a valium pill. Thank goodness for peanuts and blackmail. Time to go, Take care...( I try to !!!) M
Oh my goodness !!! All was quiet down on the ranch, usually, as the gates are unlocked a cacophony of sounds meet us, each trying to outcall the other for breakfast. Destiny whinnies and whickers, Molly Moo, Dolly and Macho collect on the fenceline and a chorus of baaaas and moos are followed bya harmony of goat calls led by Jolene. The Shires, Lady and Quest join in and not to be outdone, Charm joins in with a drum roll by kicking his door. The chickens cluck and the roosters crow, everyone wants to be first....usually. Yesterday all was silent. A cautious peek into the goat pen and there they were, all contentedly sprawled around their pen, legs dangling and tummies spread over the sides of their benches. The chickens were contentedly on their perches, the sheep just chewing their cud and the horses sleeping in their stalls. Everyone was carroted / peanutted / cracked corned out . I'm sure that all the animals were hopefully anticipating another Farm Fest, no such luck, not till next year !!! Greg and I were still in shell shock, everything seemed to be in slow motion, the ranch still seemed to resound with the music laughter and chatter of the day before, it was a great fun day. One post Farm Fest note, the eggs I set to hatch in time for the children to watch have nearly all hatched and 5 little chicks are cheeping and peeping under the heat lamps. Time to go, take care, M Ps......some of the photos are already posted on Harvestfest 2010 page (see Home page) more will follow.
Saturday morning came FAR too soon, we crawled out of bed before dawn wondering why the night had been so short. I had spent the night wondering what I hadn't remembered ! I spent the night trying to remember why we enjoy the Harvest Fest ???!!I needn't have worried ( though It wouldn't have been me if I hadn't !!) it was an amazing event and just watching the smiling faces wandering around the ranch, the excited faces of the children and the friendly atmoshere made us feel so very lucky and priviledged to be a part of this community. Our volunteers, recruits and conscripts arrived bright early and enthusiastic and we couldn't have made the day such a success without all of you, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Lamb chop got a bath, watching Michelle and Brian scrubbing a not too enthusiastic wooly ball of bubbles that still managed to chomp on peanuts was such fun. Patrick with all the happy people smiling and waving on the free tractor ride, the amazement on the faces of the guests walking through the farm gates to be met by unpaid ranch hand Brian and our two 4 legged ambassadors Lady and Quest the huge Shire horses and the look on the faces of the children as they watched a chich hatch out of an egg in front of them gave us so many reasons to feel so blessed. Mom at nearly 90 years old and our other fantastic volunteers ( too many to mention by name but THANK YOU) kept the animal treats moving, sold eggs and just soaked in the atmoshere. We had musicians who kept our guests very well entertained and came just to be part of the occasion, thank you, you were GREAT, just wish I had been able to sit and visit with you more. Thank you to our vendors, Blue Hen Nursery, Lavender Park and Antiques and who all joined in the fun, to Linda and her cute little piglets, the 4H differences dog agility team, (what a delightful group) and Dana Pederson, certified John Lyons trainer who impressed people whith her inspirational training. We were so happy to see that Mustard Seed and The Historical Society had a lot of interest, both such worthy organizations, thank you for spending your day with us. Also thanks to Mason County Deputy Sheriff Eric, who did a great PR job for our local law enforcement agencies, you were a STAR, Mary Wendy and their tiny goats were also an unforgettable attraction, Filbert had a backpack filled with candy, George his goat apprentice was the candy wrapper disposal, everyone loved you, we are so glad you could come out to play. All in all, it was a great day and over the next few days we will put photos on the web site, it was fun, thank you everyone. Time to go., I've got eggs to wash and pack ...today should be a normal day...we hope, smile.Take care, M
|
AuthorIts me, Maureen, (the Boss) Archives
March 2018
Categories |