While waiting for the water bowl to fill, I grabbed some shots of the calves.
When the cows are moved, the calves get excited. They run around and then get bored. The sun is on today, so they snuggle into the grass while they wait for mum to have her tea.
Lots of chatter about the water cooler today. I stood there for thirty minutes or so waiting for the bowl to fill. But it was sunny and I haven’t sunbathed for years, so it was good times.
The herd gets cozy when it’s warm.
The grass is good.
Poor mum can’t have a break to take a drink without junior.
Worrying about the cows is my normal. It’s my job. Brent does the work with the cows, but I worry. Fences, moves, water, fence strength … this is what I worry about. But the sky is blue and high above. The cows are fat and so is love. This eager heart of mine is singing, cattle where can you be?
Minty, baby Mint Mint, moved the cows with Brent. The cows are so happy with all the lucerne available this autumn.
She got a bit close to the fence which is HOT. Brent taught her about the danger of the electric fence and this is the face she pulled.
Fat cows eating green makes me so happy.
Brent moves the water to the next section. a quick dump of the water and a move of the hose.
Cows munching while he does this.
He drags the dish over.
Graycute, the wild, supervises the procedures.
Live hose with water comes to meet the tub.
The herd is happy in the new patch of yum. They did quite a number on the last rectangle.
Totally ignoring us, they munch away.
When I see a fat cow, I get excited. This is exciting to me.
This is what a cow does after a refreshing beverage. When the water bowl has been moved, sometimes there is a rush on the water. We have to wait for it to fill or else they push the dish under the fence. So we wait and watch. Brent looks at the herd and thinks.
Meanwhile, the cows do this.
and this.
a little pre-this.
about ready to do this.
Boom goes the dynamite. This one has a Lumi tongue. pink and black. I’ll show you later.
This one had a drink after weeding the paddock. Another way to get Morning Glory out of your garden, take a Salers and let her munch.
Side view.
Double nostril!! Right!
and Left!
This white camion guy stopped to deliver les” Pub ” ( the junk mail. In French, “Lay Poob” at home “Lay Pube” ). Incidentally, he had no idea we were in the field taking photos of cows licking their nostrils and consequently pissed by the mailbox. I was a shake too late to capture the action. But that is for the best. French men pissing on the side of the road is as common as wine with cheese. No shock there.
Brent talkie-walkies in. His name is ” Jazz Flute. ” I was bummed because I wanted to go out and photograph Brent tagging ( and castrating ) a calf. He has a style for tagging a calf. And so, we are done. Or so we thought. When Brent went out for the second move, instead of his talkie-walkie tweets, I hear the roar of the Hilux. “We have some work to do,” he says. Another calf, without tags, popped its head up after a long afternoon nap in the previous paddock. This happens sometimes. Sometimes you say things like, ” Nah, this will take five minutes ” or ” that’s our last calf tagged ” and suddenly you are faced with a challenge. Our ” last calf ” has a twin brother. And we were just talking today about Salers farmers who have lots of twins. The challenge here is get this guy with his mum soon.
Brent tagged and castrated ” Je t’aime ” and we carried him over to the herd. It’s important to get that calf to the mum so she will bond, feed and look after the little guy. In this case, she will bond, feed and look after both of the little guys.
After Je t’aime was well in the middle of the herd, we guided the mum and bro to him. Jazz Flute has been sticking close to his mum, which is good. They moved along nicely. It took some patience. Meanwhile Je t’aime was trying to milk off anything with Salers fur.
He finally arrived with his family and the mum gave him a sniff and a lick. Cool. She recognises him.
Then Jazz Flute arrived and she also recognised him. Oh but wait, she then recognised Je t’aime. Oh but wait … Jazz Flute … and so it went. And so she worked it out. Twins! Je t’aime wandered a bit with a steer, ” are you my mother?” Brent guided him back with mum and he started milking. The mum seems to be handling the two. Bon Courage with that, girl!
We’ll keep an eye on them. Salers are great milkers, so there should be plenty for both calves.
Well guess what, this cow herd has a fever and the only prescription is more jazz flute.
After a mighty wind, we are back to sun and calm. The seven bulls have again escaped castration. First, too much rain. Second, too much wind. Third time’s a charm or a snip in this case.
The cows are munching on Colorado again. Brent has worked hard reducing hay feeding while increasing grass eating and pasture improvement.
These sunsets. This happy cow-ness. This early spring, late winter chill makes your fingers cold and your heart warm.
