We have about 15 cows. It keeps the land under agricultural use, so we can afford the taxes. Buddy, Jasen's grandfather, has always taken care of the cows. But he's getting older, and showing the beginning effects of Alzheimer's Disease. He turns 85 next month.
Keeping the cows fed, the weeds in the fields down and the fences up is work enough. But every so often a calf dies. Here is the latest story...
One of the older cows gave birth to an unusually small calf last week. It seemed healthy, but very small. The mother looked horrible after the birth ... skin and bones. There's not much we can do except give the mother extra hay, unless one of us had time to bottle-feed the baby. I've done this before. It's not fun. It's literally equivalent to taking care of a newborn, and with a toddler and husband working 12-hour days seven days a week, I just didn't have time.
So the calf died three days ago. I didn't know it until I saw it half-buried in the hay barn. Buddy originally said he pulled it there out of the field, but then totally forgot all about it. He forgot the calf had died. So two days after it died, I found it. With Juni. Luckily Juni doesn't understand yet, and I'd like to keep it that way.
Anyway, I told Buddy about the calf. Five minutes later he'd forget. So I showed him the calf, had him get the tractor, and pull it out of the barn. He promised me he'd take it to the woods, where Jasen could later bury it. So I didn't think anymore about it. Until yesterday.
I needed to worm the cows, since Buddy obviously wasn't going to do it. I had Juni in the buggy, and the medicine with me. Then I saw it...the mother. Dead. With her head on top of her dead calf, which was still in the field. It was horrible. She'd died, still trying to get her calf to stand.
When a calf dies or leaves, the mother will mourn for days. She cries, moos, doesn't eat. She stands above her deceased calf, apparently trying to wake them. It's horrible. Last year when Daisy's calf died, Jasen had to keep her away with a shovel while he drug the calf into the woods. She wouldn't let him take the calf away.
So I wormed the cows, which is not easy, and left. That night Jasen got home and I told him about it. He was so stressed from work, but seriously...two dead cows? No way can I take care of that myself, and Buddy is in no condition. So it was up to me to either hire someone, which Jasen vehemently opposed, or for him to suck it up and do it himself. He was NOT happy about the situation., but did it anyway.
Here's my take on the situation: yes, Jasen is working like crazy, and yes, i need to step up and do as much as possible. But there are some responsibilities that he just has to take care of, despite the situation at work. Two dead cows in the backyard is definitely one of them in my book...
Keeping the cows fed, the weeds in the fields down and the fences up is work enough. But every so often a calf dies. Here is the latest story...
One of the older cows gave birth to an unusually small calf last week. It seemed healthy, but very small. The mother looked horrible after the birth ... skin and bones. There's not much we can do except give the mother extra hay, unless one of us had time to bottle-feed the baby. I've done this before. It's not fun. It's literally equivalent to taking care of a newborn, and with a toddler and husband working 12-hour days seven days a week, I just didn't have time.
So the calf died three days ago. I didn't know it until I saw it half-buried in the hay barn. Buddy originally said he pulled it there out of the field, but then totally forgot all about it. He forgot the calf had died. So two days after it died, I found it. With Juni. Luckily Juni doesn't understand yet, and I'd like to keep it that way.
Anyway, I told Buddy about the calf. Five minutes later he'd forget. So I showed him the calf, had him get the tractor, and pull it out of the barn. He promised me he'd take it to the woods, where Jasen could later bury it. So I didn't think anymore about it. Until yesterday.
I needed to worm the cows, since Buddy obviously wasn't going to do it. I had Juni in the buggy, and the medicine with me. Then I saw it...the mother. Dead. With her head on top of her dead calf, which was still in the field. It was horrible. She'd died, still trying to get her calf to stand.
When a calf dies or leaves, the mother will mourn for days. She cries, moos, doesn't eat. She stands above her deceased calf, apparently trying to wake them. It's horrible. Last year when Daisy's calf died, Jasen had to keep her away with a shovel while he drug the calf into the woods. She wouldn't let him take the calf away.
So I wormed the cows, which is not easy, and left. That night Jasen got home and I told him about it. He was so stressed from work, but seriously...two dead cows? No way can I take care of that myself, and Buddy is in no condition. So it was up to me to either hire someone, which Jasen vehemently opposed, or for him to suck it up and do it himself. He was NOT happy about the situation., but did it anyway.
Here's my take on the situation: yes, Jasen is working like crazy, and yes, i need to step up and do as much as possible. But there are some responsibilities that he just has to take care of, despite the situation at work. Two dead cows in the backyard is definitely one of them in my book...
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