Chaos and Mayhem!!

I’m possibly going to destroy Greg’s self esteem and shatter his ego….you have NEVER been kissed ‘till a tiny Jersey calf turns her deep brown eyes to look at you and gently rub her dewy wet nose coated in bubbly milk froth across your face. Ahhhhh bliss. Sorry Greg ! Little Bella’s first hours were anxious, we feared for the tiny struggling life and fought all day to restore warmth into her crumpled body. Somehow her long slender legs had got twisted which prevented her standing and her weakness suppressed her natural instinct to suck. Misty Moo had left the shelter of her warm dry barn to give birth to Bella out in the icy field and her little calf was frozen to the bone. It was a tough day but watching Bella at play in the barnyard under the warmth of the Spring sunshine it is difficult to remember just how weak she had been just a short week ago. Bella TERRORIZES the other farm residents, Tiger and Shy keep a careful distance from the bouncing bounding gambolling calf. Tiger the ginger tabby cat did make an effort to introduce himself, tail up straight and on stiff legs he was clearly not too sure about the newest ranch member and was ready to beat a very hasty retreat if necessary. It was !! Bella bounced and landed on the spot the startled cat had just vacated. Shy his ginger and white sibling had remained a safe distance from the stranger and both he and Tiger quickly melted into the relative safety of the barn shadows until Bella was safely removed. As the sun set and all the horses were safely back from the pastures Bella prowled the barn, she investigated the tractor with eyes wide, she checked out my roses, chewed on my raspberries and bounded up the hay pile. Out in the orchard she bounced in the tall Spring grass and nibbled on the dandelions. Momentarily exhausted she flopped down to observe the garden activities in my strawberry bed before resuming her adventure. Busily combing Lady, the big Shire Mare’s long thick tail we suddenly had an unscheduled visitor to the stall, Bella the curious little Jersey calf wandered through the open door. Undaunted by the size of the occupant of the stall Bella confidently introduced herself to the less than confident mare and proceeded to walk under Lady’s tummy. All a little too much, too fast for Lady and little Bella was quickly evicted to a safer environment where she would hopefully be unable to cause chaos and mayhem under horses hooves. Hopefully !!!

Today we pick up our new venture, two little piglets…..I feel more fun and games on the horizon !!

Time to go, it’s going to be a lovely Spring day, take care, keep safe, M