*Farm Girl/Guy Problems*

So we are all still trying to get to know our girls and they are us... in western Oklahoma, they had very little people contact, but here, you know me - I want to be up in their faces all the time.  I want to get to KNOW them - they are our critters!

I get dumb stares:

And MissyBadCat aka Missbehavin' is not sure what to think about that critter...  She always goes where I go - like the dog; one is my right side kick and the other is my left side kick.  Chelsea, the dog, just wants to round 'em up and corner them.  Missbehavin', on the other hand, wants to be under them, near them and around them.  (I think she is scoping out out the milk content)... but she is finally accepting them, and they are her.


We are learning all the ropes of cattle farming. One thing we learned is that if you buy 22 bales of hay and put it all out in the pasture, the four cows are gonna eat a little - from all 22 bales!  When that happens, picking a bale up with a tractor is not an easy task:

*farm guy problems*

And it doesn't tie off too easy either:
 

 

But eventually it all works out and you get it there.  Cows are not very patient critters - they stand (in the way) at the ring waiting for the new food:

 

Or stare you down to make it happen faster:

Another thing we have learned is that freezing temperatures freezes water troughs and ponds.  We finally got this one broken up and inserted a water heater to thaw it out.  The girls are now happy to have water drink, not ice cubes, to munch on:

 

If you will notice, that ice is about 2" thick!  BRRR!  At the time this picture was taken, the pond hadn't yet frozen over - so they did have water.  It is now frozen.  We have to be sure the heater is working several times a day.  *farm girl problems*


One of the things we found we are supposed to check every day is the girls butts.  Yes, you read that right, butts.  Apparently, right before they give birth, their backsides get soft and you can see the birth canal widening and getting ready to birth.  So, every day, twice a day, we try to peek at the girl's backsides.  Some days it is easier said than done.  I think they know... you know... like us women know... we DON'T WANT OUR BACKSIDES being examined.  I was lucky here - they were racing away from the trailer - they were not up to any more rides!

So now you know some of what our lives are like with the new cattle farming.  So many things have changed this last year and continue to change.

We never know where our lives are going to lead us.  Years ago, we used to know what to expect; you know, kids had school, scouts, band and such. These days, it is just Steve and I, the farm and the critters.  We think we know what to expect, but things just keep changin', life keeps happenin' and ...

The world keeps on twirlin'.