Before their beds were cold, I had yet another surprise when Twin sister Annie and her husband Malc arrived for yet another two weeks of digging and filling in holes…oh…and poo, lots of poo !! I was an amazing birthday and my thanks go out to everyone involved in keeping the secret…and to my big brother for being the one who managed to breach the secret with only 7 hours to go !!! Poor John, he will take a good while to live this one down !!
Daisy May has still not delivered her calf…she is beginning to resemble a beached whale as she struggles to put one foot in front of another waddling up Cow Lane and is using her imposing condition for some pretty unforgivably hormonal behaviour. Hopefully today will be her day as she is now overdue and getting lumpier and grumpier daily. Poor Goliath had a close encounter with a particle board wall yesterday when he happened to stand within three feet of our expectant bovine. Even little Hol-ley with her devilish horns is keeping a safe distance and Misty the Jersey Calf appears to be trying to pretend she isn’t a cow…”do I have to go out to play with her ??”
While we are all on calf watch, Malc found a hole to dig… and fill in. Greg had a big smile on his face as a project stored in the recess of his brain for the longest time actually came to be. Malc dug the hole and a happy and enthusiastic Greg put the tractor to work ferrying stones and cement blocks to the site of the operation. Always intrepid Carla, still snuffling, sneezing and snorting in tune with me set to work with the men and my “waterfall” has come to be.
Annie can ( after the last poo ball has been laid to rest on the poo pile) usually be found buried in the garden. Buried is possibly the appropriate word as for the greater part of the afternoon Annie sported a designer black mud blob on the end of her nose. It is, between the two English farm enthusiasts apparently a competition as to who will get the grubbiest. We are gleaning the last ripe raspberries off the plants….before Doris the Deer beats us and have wrestled what are left of the juicy blackberries…after Doris the deer added them to her diet. We all bear the scars and have questioned why God created berries at all if (1) the best ones are always out of reach and (2) the thorns hurt so badly.
Quest is still recovering his weight, he is eating everything that doesn’t move and has added 1” to his girth size. It is great to see Quest and his mum back together again and he is happily receiving his admirers (as long as they have a carrot or apple in hand). The publisher has informed us that the Quest and Gertie book will be ready in November, it is apparently quite the piece of art with about 40 pages including full colour photographs…I’m excited !
Time to go, got to check on our expectant mom….Take care, keep safe, M