Monday, February 27, 2012

News, Moos, and Mews

First, the News
The obligation of chores, morning and evening, doesn't leave much time for watching television. Not to worry....
We call it the New TV. Watch that milk slosh, listen for poor suction, be on the alert for kitties who have sneaked in and could be in danger of being stepped on by those big cow hooves. Hey! It's even a little like the Wii in that we don't just sit and stare at the boob tube: we exercise arms and legs and backs as we enjoy the comedic drama of the twice-daily show.

Next, the Moos
Feeding the young stock happens before we start milking the big girls. Pat handles the 3 youngest on her own. With all three of us feeding the five "middle-aged" calves at once, the job gets done quickly. I'm usually standing there between Pat & Weldon, but someone has to take a photo now and then!

The picture above is looking over the backs of the 5 youngsters and seeing the older calves eating their grain. I think there are 8 of them. They are so big now that Weldon has to go in to give them their grain. They could easily knock any one of us on our butt!

Last, but certainly not least, some Mews
In my January 11 post, I mentioned three baby kitties, saying, "I'll get you my pretties!" To date, I'm unsuccessful in attaining that goal. Mom Google moved her babies to the truck shed near the house and, for unknown reasons, one of them died. However, I've been feeding the other 2 and talking to them twice a day, but they remain aloof. Since I'm not certain of their sex, I haven't named them ... but I do have pictures!
     Gretchen with 5 new babies: 








Baby Ruth & Iris snuggling in the Kitty Spa:



In closing, I have a cute story to share. Just over a week ago, Weldon told me he saw a bluish-gray tiger-striped kitten in the old milk barn. A day or two later, Pat saw it. I couldn't imagine what kitty it could be and I couldn't think of any cat that had kittens that we hadn't found yet. Morning & evening I looked for this mysterious cat and talked nicely to it, in case it were listening, but I never caught a glimpse of it. Four or five days after the original sighting, just before I was heading out to chores, Weldon came to the door and told me to grab my camera and come. There was Pat, holding this big gray cat! Wow! I was expecting something a lot smaller.
Pat said, "Here's your ghost kitty! What are you going to name her?"










(Please ignore the fine farm fashions and finish reading the story!) I went back to the house to change into my milk duds and suddenly had the name: Mrs. Mewer! Once again, how my brain works is totally awesome. Pat called her the ghost kitty and, within minutes, I thought of the 1968-1970 TV series, "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir." Muir ... Mewer! aaahh, I'm good!

Monday, February 06, 2012

The Life Romantic

Some people have a very romantic image of life on a farm, of "going green," and getting back to nature - whatever that means! I once posted on Facebook about slogging home through the rain with Weldon after evening chores and a friend wrote, "That sounds so romantic!" Really?!

Recently, I was recalling some of my first thoughts when I started visiting Weldon on the farm. Since we were dating, certainly I must have had some romantic thoughts. I mean, we would spend an entire day together - walking, enjoying local sites, and talking of our lives and future dreams. Young love, even for a couple of old geezers, tends to be romantic!




To my pragmatic eye, the state of the farm was not a thing of beauty: old, dilapidated buildings, piles of rusting junk, broken down vehicles parked helter-skelter, and miscellaneous stuff everywhere. Truth be told, the first time I walked through Weldon's house was almost a "deal breaker" for me.

However, when I returned to Charlotte and prayed about my fears of all the junk and mayhem (seriously prayed about it!!), I knew I would be marrying Weldon, not his house or his farm, and I felt at peace. But, surprise! surprise! In marrying Weldon, I find I married his house, his farm, and his work. Did I  mention his junk??



Romantic has gone out the window and reality knocks firmly, often ferociously, on the door. But it's okay!! I never was much of a romantic, anyway. And now I'm laughing out loud, cuz all these pictures look kind of ... romantic! Eat your heart out, city-dwellers!