"It's Baby Time"

Don't get too excited. We are not have a baby. Well, not a human baby. "It's baby time" here on the farm means that everything stops and anyone nearby hustles over to help or watch as the newest baby Guernsey calf is born. It's kind of important. Cows must have babies first before giving milk and selling milk is what we do here on the Farm. Girl babies are the preferred gender since the males do not give milk. 

Yesterday was a quiet day. No visitors. Nothing special going on. I finally made the turkey soup from all the bones that were in the freezer. Then I sat at my computer typing out notes for one of my courses and wondered why my hands were hurting so much. Then it dawned on me. I had peeled and chopped a lot of vegetables. That made sense. Then I drove into the city to babysit the little girl grand babies. All 3 are sick right now. Poor dears. I know. I have been sick with the same thing for the past 2 weeks. I am getting better, but the  throat still hurts. But only when I swallow. Or try to sing. Or talk.

The girls were all in bed and asleep by 9. The little ones earlier. The older one begged  negotiated trying to get some ice cream treats. We settled for a freezie and a piece of toast with honey. By 9:30 I was tired so put aside the book report I was working on and lay down on the couch. Soon after one of the little ones started coughing and crying, but by the time I got off the couch, climbed up all those stairs and got to her room, she was quiet, so I went back down to the couch. Around 11 she started coughing and crying for Mommy. I went up and sat with her until she fell asleep again. Mommy and Daddy came home around 12:30 to discover that with the rising temperatures outside to +4C the outside water hose had thawed and it had not been turned off, so my son had a mess to deal with. So I left. I got home about 1:15 AM. Surprising how much traffic there is at the hour.

When I got home, I went out to the barn to check on the 2 cows we had brought in earlier in the day because they were showing signs of getting read to calve. The one was laying quietly not chewing her cud. This is important to note. If she had been chewing, she was not ready to have her baby. The other cow had 2 feet sticking out. This was a definite sign that the baby was on its way out. So, got my farmer husband out of bed and we helped the cow have her baby. This was not easy since the calf was already dead. It was a bull so we did not cry. Instead, we went to check on the other cow. It appeared that her baby was backwards and he could only feel one foot. So, phoned the vet on call that night. Since I am retired, I went to bed. It was 2:30. My husband went back out to the barn. Good thing I had napped on the couch earlier. I later got up about 11.

In the meantime, my sister in law (who is not a farmer) was coming home from a charity event and saw the lights on in the barn, so sent out her 18 year old daughter (who is a farmer), who is home from college for the weekend (where she is studying agricultural technology) to help. This was very timely. The big bull calf was eventually born with much assistance and we will get a vet bill. My husband got a half hour sleep before going out to start morning chores at 5.

In the quilting area, I got a few stitches in on the chili peppers CCCQ block.

I like to relax with needle turned hand applique.

MOO--ny Blessings,
Chris