A Time and a Place

Things you should know:

1. I'm learning
2. You've got to have a strong stomach for this lark

Yesterday, Ivie had to calf a cow. For those unfamiliar with cows, they're usually pretty good at getting on with it themselves but sometimes they need a bit of extra help. This one was a heifer (which means it was its first calf*), and sometimes they need quite a lot of... let's call it intervention. 

Mind you, I'm getting the hang of asking the right questions at the appropriate time:

• is the calf up on its feet?
• is the cow letting it sook?
• did they have to milk the cow and bottle feed the calf? 

Yesterday was a new one on me, though. Without going into too much detail - partly because I can't remember all the ins and outs (as it were) and partly cos it's a bit brutal - this birth involved a lot of jiggery pokery and something called a calving jack to get the wee blighter out. 

Protective Mama

Ivie, on the other hand, did remember all the details and thought the lunch table was a good time and place to recount them all. I wasn't so sure, especially as it was followed by a chat about a dung spreading machine that Ivie and his brother were going to look at that afternoon. 

If someone had told me three years ago that these would be topics of conversation with my significant other I don't think I'd have believed them. Other recent topics include:

• why some farms wrap their bales 4 times and others 6 
• sperm testing of bulls
• the merits of owning vs hiring farm machinery

Bales wrapped 4 times

Sometimes I like lunchtimes when we just talk about what's for tea.

* I haven't quite worked out how the word 'heifer' has entered normal day language to describe someone who's overweight. Suggestions welcome.