Baby Boom

A photo from Todd of twins born to one of our mamas, No. 775. We were in Topeka at the time, watching our granddaughters' activities. The twins got to stay awhile in the shed but are now out in the lot with their mama and the herd.

I have a pretty cushy job these days. I get to be the paparazzi for our new baby calves. But I don't have to staff the overnight shifts. Or - come to think of it - the daytime shifts either.

Tye and Todd, who handle the day-to-day care for our mamas and babies, had several days when they took catnaps in their pickups instead of getting into REM sleep their nice cozy beds. Sub-zero wind chills and newborn baby calves are not a good combination. 

The twins have their own "earrings" now. Tye and Todd use a different system than we did. They tag the babies with the mama's number.

I don't think the few cookies I delivered make up for the sleepless nights. But we sure appreciate all their work. It wasn't all that long ago that we were the ones watching the maternity ward and warming up new babies. 

Come to think of it, maybe another cookie run is in order. 

Snow and chilly temperatures haven't made calving easy on man or beast. But - ready or not - it's calving time in Kansas for us and for lots of other folks. We always had people ask why we calved in January and February. Like many Kansas farm families, our operation was diversified. Crop farmers are busy in the spring, summer and fall with those duties. They have time for the extra work that feeding cattle and calving entails during the dormant winter season.

Our mamas and babies have the yellow tags. Tye and Todd use other colors. 

For the last few years before retirement, I was the hired hand who helped with feeding chores and did my best to help when Randy needed to pull a calf. I can't say that I'm missing the time in that rather drafty feed truck every day. But I definitely enjoy the drives through the cattle lots with camera in hand.

 

Some extra hay spread out gave babies a place to snuggle down.  

On one of our trips through the cattle, we saw a mama cleaning off her brand new baby. 
 

It's good that Tye and Todd have a liberal visitation policy. I'm sure the paparazzi will be back. 

 

Frigid Welcome

It kind of looked like these calves were sticking their tongues out at this weather. 

I must wholeheartedly agree, little ones.  

I hate it when I can see my breath ... and when just breathing can take your breath away. 

It was -14 degrees F Monday morning. According to the meteorologists, the wind chill was in the -30s. Today had a balmy -10 start.

However, I give gold stars to the mamas on The County Line. They are doing a stellar job. 

 

While Randy filled the feed truck with silage one cold day, I watched a newborn calf and mother. 

The baby wasn't sure which end of the mama provided the "fountain."

The mama kept nudging the calf and moving around until the calf found the right location.

The next day, they were still up in the straw behind the windbreak, keeping as warm as they could. 

 

Other mamas find other available shelter for birthing their babies. Yesterday afternoon, this mama had her baby in tall weeds in the pasture south of our house.

 

The weeds are a pain to walk through for humans. I took a rather ungraceful spill into a mud puddle after tripping on the dry weeds in the corrals a couple of weeks ago when we were sorting out an old cow to go to the cattle sale. It meant washing everything I was wearing at the time. 

But those same weeds provide some windbreak and warmth for the newest members of the County Line herd.

 

A little sunshine was a welcome addition to the landscape yesterday afternoon. It gave the illusion of a little warmth, and the solar energy does help warm the new calves up a bit.

 

The mamas tag team with the sun, working hard at getting their new babies cleaned off and up for a warm milk snack. I can relate. I've put a packet of hot cocoa mix in a cup of coffee for a special warm-me-up treat the past couple of days.

 

When human intruders are too annoying, mama protectively moved the baby a distance away from the meddling paparazzi. I can take a hint.

 

 That mama wasn't the only one using the weeds as windbreak. 

 

 Others were glad to use the straw Randy has provided behind windbreaks in each pasture.  

 

A little attention from mama is sure to provide some warm fuzzy feelings on a cold winter day. 

There was plenty of love to go around ... even after Valentine's Day was over.

And there was plenty of warm milk to go around, too.

Randy has fulfilled his inner circus dreams and tried out flame throwing in an effort to thaw out the nozzle on the water trailer. 

He has had to resort to the acetylene torch so that the water stream flows out at more than a trickle.

Wonder if a flame thrower works on frozen feet? That method is not recommended.

Electric companies are asking people to conserve energy and have said they'll cut power off in rolling blackouts for 30-minute intervals, if needed. As for us, we are waiting to feed until this afternoon, hoping it will make it easier to get the feed truck and loader tractor started. They don't like the frigid cold either.

I have to laugh at myself when I look at Wednesday's forecast and think that a high of 18 seems warm. Everything is relative.