Cora's Transformation - Part 2

If you haven't read Part 1 - Go Here First!

We had a situation erupt – 3 days after Cora gave birth to Seamus.  Naturally – it was a Friday night.  Not a good time to have this huge necessity become a reality - getting Cora into the chute.  The last time we tried getting her into the chute – Dwayne had backed it up to the gate for the little yard.  He refused to square it up – and left a gap.  Cora jumped through - and jumped me.  Knocked me on my butt.  Scared the crap out of Dr. Kate.  I got up looking for the cow.

That was a bad day.  Dwayne had to repair fencing and run a LOT MORE hotwire.  Cora didn’t get her annuals that day.  Brucey had jumped through the gap before Cora.  He jumped over the 3 foot fence for the chicken yard.  And then he got too scared to jump back over – after we got a halter and lead rope on him.  Dwayne had to rip up part of the fence so I could get him out.  And then that fart walked with me - all the way across the open area – into Artist’s paddock – all the way across to the gate for the little yard – ALL THE WAY into the chute – head secured in the headgate – without a bit of hassle.

I miss my Brucey.

The next time Cora had to be treated was for having a screw removed from her leg.  She’d yanked the cattle rub off the wall and tripped over the mount.  Thank God – the screw made a clean pass above her hoof.  Thank God for giving me the inclination to look all our cattle over when I feed.  And for cellphones that can take pictures.  But Kate had to scrounge up a Dart gun.  And it took 2 darts to knock Cora’s lights out so she could be treated.  We took advantage of the moment and gave her the annuals then.

Dwayne and I had fun touching her face and loving on her after Kate put her on her feet again – while Cora was still drunk.  J

But on this 3^rd day after birthing Seamus - I had to wait for Dwayne to get home from work.  He had to use the tractor to move the Chute on its trailer.  We had to take it through April’s paddock – then through Storm and Dodger’s paddock – then get it into Artist’s paddock.  The tractor and the trailer were too wide for the gate with the latch installed.  Dwayne had to remove the latch.  We used a chain and clasp for the time being.  He had to unhitch the chute from its trailer.  He had to drag the chute into the little yard with the tractor.  And then we had to hand-pull the trailer into the little yard – hook it back up to the chute – hook that back up to the tractor – and manipulate it until we had it butted up to the door of the barn.  None of it comes easy.

Cora’s udder was in trouble.  And we had to get her into the chute before calling for any kind of help.

We had to use Seamus for bait – tying him outside the chute.  And one more surprise came when Dwayne managed to get a nylon combination halter/ lead rope on Cora.  We were shocked that he managed without her getting as ugly as April or Patty.  But she wouldn’t budge one step forward for him.

I showed her the sweetfeed – before handing it to Dwayne.  He held the bucket while I took the lead rope and prodded.  We all made our way through the chute until we got Cora secured in the headgate.  I let her touch her baby first.  And then – I always – follow through when I con with the sweetfeed.

I don’t like to my husband.  I don’t lie to my kids.  I don’t lie to my cows.

Thank God for ADCA members - and a Vet that was willing and able to show up on this particular Saturday.  We called Kathy Chaney.  She hooked us up with Jennifer McPheeters – who got dressed and drove all the way over to our place to help.

I will never forget a particular moment.  Jennifer was well into the milking when she was informed that she was milking a brood cow - that had only recently allowed us to touch her – and had never been milked before in her life.

But it got even better.  Jennifer informed us – she had never milked a cow in her life before!  Only goats.  And none of us could believe the pail of milk was standing there so still – filling up so fast.

And Seamus.  He was only a 3-day-old bull calf – enduring some very unexpected and expedited halter training.  He was so tiny that we used the nylon combination halter/lead rope for lambs.  And that little boy was just a pure natural at it.  He was so good!  He did such a wonderful job at it!  He stood right there by Mama – where they could see and touch each other.  And he’d just lay down when he got tired of standing.

Cora spent over 3 hours in that chute.  That made it a bit harder to get her back into the chute on Saturday.  I had to help with getting the combo halter on her.  And then Kate had to help us when she got there - getting Cora’s backside in and locked in so we could get her into the headgate.  Dwayne thought it through and we put a Control halter on her while we had her in the chute.

Me and Cora had a little party after we got that halter on her.  ;)  It was funny!  Her eyes started shining!  She knew what was going on.  She had her own bling – just like all the others!  She’d never had a real halter on in her life before that day.

And then Dr. Kate got busy.  It was a list that included - examining her – taking teat cultures – milking her out –injecting her 2 right side teats with antibiotic - and needle punching her all over the place – under her tail – both sides of her neck.  Once again – we took advantage of the situation – dealing with those annuals.  This was worse than that 3+ hours she’d spent in the chute during the night before – even though she wasn’t in there near as long.  But I did all I could to keep her attention redirected.

I taught Seamus a game.  “Love Mama, Seamus.”  He’d stick his head through the headgate and rub up and down her brisket!  They learn so fast at such an early age!  “Awww – Seamus loves his Mama!”  And Cora would start licking his neck and back.

I took advantage of having her in the chute – proving reasons to trust being touched.  She finally experienced being brushed.  She went through the touching on her face and figuring out what I was doing with the others when I do that while saying – “gentle.”  She’s come to enjoy that!  I’d rub her ears.  She’d almost go to sleep.

We went through several days afterward - getting Cora into the chute so we could milk out her right side quarters and inject the SpectraMast.  Each day became more of a challenge to get her into the chute.  Having that Control Halter on her has been a huge help.  But she just won’t budge for anyone but me.  And even then – it’s a fight.

We moved the chute away from the barn door and to an area that’s shaded in the evenings after Dwayne comes home from work.  We had several more days when we had to haul her into the chute and milk her out – even after finishing up the box of SpectraMast.

There’s a possibility that she may have let her milk down on that day when we tried putting her into the paddock with April and Aon.  It was a week or so before Seamus was born.  That may have contributed to the Mastitis developing.  It was shortly after that – when her udder began to just blow up.

(Took Cora 5 minutes to square April up about who was Boss!)

Time finally came when we could put Cora and Seamus into the paddock with April and Aon.  We had to bring them back into the little yard to milk her a couple times.  But we changed rations to get everybody grazing more.  And we began seeing Cora’s udder looking normal as it should be.  Dwayne discovered later – we were getting some help!

Dwayne busted Aon and Seamus – both – nursing on Cora.

Aon is a smart fart.  He lets Seamus get situated with his butt to his mama.  And then Aon gets situated on the left side of Seamus.  Seamus hits the right quarters.  Aon hits the left side!  He has no trouble finding things!

Seamus won’t mess with the teats on the right side because they’re too big for him.  And he always got so confused on the left side of Cora.  He kept bumping her under her chest – trying to get her to let her milk down.  Wrong end!

Kate will be coming out to inject Cora’s udder quarters with a prescribed med for drying up when we begin weaning.  We’re taking this protocol to assist with ensuring a better chance of having no issues in the future.

It’s come along so well that I can walk out to the paddock with a brush and Cora will stand there – enjoying every bit of it!  She even walks toward me when she sees the brush.

It’s amazing to me – the fact that it only took a year.  I’m sure the circumstances had a lot to do with helping.  But it’s such a wonderful feeling to be able to love on that cow!!

Don’t laugh at me.  Having a steer for a pet is a whole lot damn cheaper than a dog!!

Obviously – she’s wanted to fit in and be pampered like all the others.  She just needed time – patience – a little nurturing – and a lot of compromising.

Nobody can recognize that need for fitting in with the others more than me.

Never let anyone tell you that cows are stupid.  If you take the time to pay attention closely enough – they’ll tell you all kinds of secrets!

Cora's Transformation

(Taken as soon as I noticed Cora in labor and before the storm hit.)

It was a vision in my mind of the difference living here could make for Cora – that made sense out of deciding to cull Patty from our Herd.  It’s hard to describe.  But there was a moment I will never forget - on April 27, 2013.

I had Cora’s calf in our Gorilla cart – beckoning her to follow me into the barn so I could get both of them into a stall and out of the storm.  That baby needed to be put under the heat lamp and dried off – fast.

Cora followed me.  She got about 20 feet from the barn door – before Patty came charging up.  She T-boned Cora and started raising cane at Cora – demanding she come back.  Patty forced Cora all the way back to the furthest corner of the paddock.

It was an ‘eye-to-eye’ contact of communication between the 2 of us that told me so much.  In Cora’s eyes I could see her telling me that she wanted to come with me.  But she had no choice other than to go with Patty – no matter what she wanted.  Patty was one to get revenge when the Humans weren’t around.

And I knew that.  I’d seen it.  Patty never could see me watching her from between the blades of the window blinds in my sewing room.

But it was that moment of ‘eye-to-eye’ contact with Cora that put a solid hunch into my heart.  I just knew Cora would be so much happier – if Patty were gone.  And a day would come when I could brush her.

We just don’t sell mean animals.  Patty became much nicer – in the Freezer.  And you could just – feel – this warm and fuzzy blanket of – pure calmness – covering our entire property – as soon as that livestock trailer could no longer be seen or heard by the others.

It’s been a long – slow – patient – compromising journey with helping Cora build trust enough to fit in just like all the others – over this past year.  But we’ve pampered her.  We’ve never pushed.  She’s enjoyed the cookies – the extra hay – having so many things her way.  She’s appreciated being allowed to come inside the barn during the rough cold winter periods and during storms.  She’s appreciated the respect we’ve given her.

Through it all – she’s maintained 2 rules - “Do NOT touch me.” – “I don’t share my food with anybody!”

We’ve had to dance around the issue regarding her food rations.  Our first go-round of having April and Anna in the same paddock with her presented problems during meals.  She wasn’t backing down.  So we tried bringing the other 2 girls into the little yard to share the bunker during meals.  When it works – you go with it.  When it doesn’t work – you better be willing to think fast and try something else – if you want your own supper.

Cora has enjoyed – and appreciated - her life here since Patty left.  And she let that be known when April dropped her first calf.  She witnessed April take such a drastic switch into a negative direction with her behavior – as soon as that calf hit the ground.

Cora was in her own stall – beside April’s – when she watched April throw Dwayne into the air and against the wall.  All he was doing was picking up manure so she could enjoy a clean stall.  Cora’s always understood and appreciated that care from us.  She’s never resisted scooting over so we could “get the poo-poo” for her – not even when she spent a week in her stall after having Stormy.

She witnessed April’s constant attempts to ram us when we tried dishing her grain into her feed trough – even when we’d try giving that girl extra hay.  But I think the turning point came when Cora saw April ram me out in the paddock - and hurt my right arm – which I’d had surgery on in January.

Training Cora to come inside her stall to eat paid off in more ways than we’d even hoped.  We needed to be able to con her into that stall – especially when it came time for her to calve.  Having this calf was a whole new ballgame for her.  Patty wasn’t around.  And we wanted her to enjoy the experience – for a change.  But we never assumed things would go as hoped.

The surprise came when we noticed her eagerness and willingness from the start.  This was just one more thing that Cora wanted – in order to feel like she fit in with the others.  She wanted to eat inside her own stall – like April.  With the exception of the few days she spent in that stall after she calved Stormy – Cora had always shared the alley of the barn with Bruce – or – alone.

We turned April and Aon out into the paddock – after they’d had time to bond and he was fit for going outside.  We tried turning Cora out with them.  Right off the bat – Cora began trying to nurse Aon.  And she began shoving April out of the way.

We had to pull Cora out of there – immediately.  She was close to calving.  We could not have another calf robbing the Colostrum from Cora that would be needed for her own calf.

We’re not quite sure if this may have attributed to a problem we had later.

But the trouble we had with getting her out of there had me concerned.  Cora’s persistence – reluctance – followed by blowing snot at me for the rest of the day – had me feeling there was something more to it.  I had to kiss her butt with cookies and extra hay – even after the sweetfeed – just to get her to stop blowing the snot.

We know now – and we will try next time – milking the colostrum from Cora for storage – before pulling April’s calf and putting it with Cora.  But things with Cora began changing after that.

My routine with her during meals was to – deliberately – set her feed bowl in the furthest corner of her stall.  I was letting her know that I was respecting her flight zone in a small space.  I picked up manure around her – first.  And then I would lay her hay out along the front wall of her stall.

All of this – at the time – was about conditioning her - preparation for being able to access her stall with her and the calf inside.

I always made a point of swinging out - away from her big preggers butt to leave the stall after setting down her feed bowl.  The 2 of us developed a comfortable routine within a couple days.  Cora would follow me in and even give me room to set the bowl down before approaching to put her nose inside.  Basically – I’d walk the back wall of the stall – then walk the side wall and exit through the door.

There was a day – before we’d tried letting her out into the paddock with April and Aon – when she pulled a stunt on me.  I set the bowl down.  She approached the bowl and began eating as soon as I stepped to the right.  But as I reached the corner of the stall connecting the back and side walls – Cora made an obvious and deliberate move – dragging her feed bowl backward and swinging that big preggers butt to the right – trapping me into the corner.  She did it so fast that I lost my footing and had no choice but to lean on her right backside to catch myself.

Not one single flinch appeared in her entire body.  She just continued inhaling that grain – like nothing happened.  I had to remember to breathe first – move my hand second.

Until then - I’d always used my buzz words “coming around, Baby Girl” – whenever I needed to pass by her in the alley of the barn for any reason.  But I never touched her.  When I tried doing the same for this moment – the Girl would not budge.

I tried it again.  Only this time I gave her 2 soft pats on her right backside as I said the words.  That was one of those cliff-jumping moments.  My gut was wrecked!  She could have kicked the fool out of me – smashed me into the walls.  I could have been a goner – so easily – after touching her again!

She made one step to the left.  That was all.  I had to squeeze around her backside to get out of the corner.  (Compromising to the bitter end?)  She never even moved a hoof until I made it outside and closed the stall door.

I just stood there – holding back tears.  Everything inside me told me that she’d done that on purpose.

From that day until Seamus was born – Dwayne and I would test the waters with patting her on the butt every now and then.  She never fussed.

(Taken after we knew it was okay to go inside.)

As luck would have it – I couldn’t bring myself to lock her up in her stall near the end.  Me and my cup of coffee headed out to the barn as soon as I could see outlines of trees and structures on June 6, 2014.  I found Cora standing about 20 feet from her new black baby that was curled up in a ball and sleeping.  But that was even better than had she been inside the barn.

We’d been prepping Artist for the new arrivals.  He became pissed off after seeing April and Aon in the other paddock for the first time.  I had been telling him that he was gonna get to see HIS new baby.  I had prepped him with my buzz words.  “You and April are gonna have a new baby!  You’re gonna be a Daddy, Artist! I’m gonna make sure you get to see your baby.  I promise!”  They all know that last part secures the deal.  Mom follows through with that one – all but this one time anyway.  And it broke my heart.  I was as angry as him.

But Artist was able to stand only a few feet from Cora while she gave birth to Seamus!  He had to go through some training with learning how to use his “ Baby voice, Artist… Gentle.”  He goes from holding his head up kicking out a roar to holding his head way down and looking up with his eyes while he gives off this gentle coo.  I snicker every time he does it.  He loves to coo to the babies.  And it’s all just so cute!

But after all the frightening nightmare we went through with April – we both stood outside the little yard.  Dwayne stood next to the gate.  I stood under the RV pad.  Cora seemed to conclude that we were not coming inside.  And the coolest thing happened!

She walked over to the calf – began nudging and mooing until the calf stood.  And then – she began pushing the calf toward me!  Dwayne and I just looked at each other with mouths wide open.  We went inside!

It was as if she was compensating for April’s bad behavior – deciding to share her calf with us.  And Miss April watched the whole thing.  We could only hope she would learn a lot from Cora – and cool her jets.

We took pictures – of course!  And then we decided on a plan for getting the 2 of them into her stall – at least long enough to figure out how we’d get to the calf so we could dip the navel and give him his intranasal e.Coli bovine vaccine.

We tried the usual feeding routine.  It worked.  But she left the calf outside!  So Dwayne carried him in while I manned the stall door to get him in with her quickly – to quiet her down.  All she did was moo a little louder to let Seamus know she was there.

So much more different than April.  THAT Girl has had to learn so much with this first calf.  And the first lesson was learning that mommies do not leave their new babies in a corner of the bedroom and go partying!  All it took was a flake of hay.  She almost ran out of the barn to get to it.  It was as if she’d completely forgot that she’d just had a calf!

And then it took her a few minutes to realize we’d shut the barn door!  But when she snapped – all Hell broke loose!  Luckily – we had Rob and Michelle there.  We had to work fast to dip Aon’s navel – weigh him and give him the intranasal vaccine.  But Dwayne cleaned the stall.  He laid fresh hay over the entire stall and have her a couple flakes to eat.  All was fresh and clean – and baby was just fine.  Took her 5 whole minutes to shut up!

Cora had no problem after Dwayne set the calf down.  She let him come back into the stall to dip his navel and give him his vaccine.  She let both of us come inside and pet him – love on him.  She just made it so obvious that she wanted to share this calf with us!

That surprise became a blessing more than we could have imagined – 3 days later.  And I’ll share all that in the next posting!

So Long, August!!

The white one is a commercial large white egg.

This was NOT expected until November!  I went out to collect a couple of Escapees this morning.  Got everyone settled back into the yard and calm.  I Opened the big door to put away a small rake.  Found a hen sitting on the perch inside the coop looking into one of the nesting boxes.  I began snooping and found the eggs!

I hope I have enough egg cartons.

This past week has been a trip to Hell.  By Friday night - Dwayne ended up leaving work in the middle of the night to drive all the way home and take me to ER in Lenoir City.

By then I could only sit on the edge of the bed with my legs dangling enough to take pressure off my back.  And I had to sit on a heating pad.  I was submitting to pain pills and stool softeners – which thoroughly hacked me off.  Both of us had missed 2 nights of sleep before he’d gone back to work.  And I just couldn’t take it anymore.

They took 4 vials of blood and pushed Saline tubes – before loading me with a series of pain meds and muscle relaxers powerful enough to take me an inch away from being completely sedated – just to take x-rays.

The diagnosis was severe inflammation of my spine and hips.  They don’t know why it happens.  But they’ve started seeing a lot of it happening.  And a person doesn’t really have to do much at all for it to come along.

I’ve been – quickly – volleyed back to Heaven with a Steroid pack and muscle relaxers.  Have I mentioned before – how much I LOVE those Steroid packs?

I get things like this accomplished!  More Jalapeno Peppers and packages of breaded Okra.

This was for dinner the other night!  Our very first Dexter Beef Hamburgers!  We had our first grilled T-bone steaks a day or so before that.  But I forgot to get photos.  Grrrrr…..

Stormy and Dodger have been moved back over to the paddock where they shared with their mothers.  And the boys are in their glory!  Both boys love all the grazing.  And they’ve had fun hanging out with Bruce at the fence.  Bruce seems to enjoy having company on both sides of his place!

The only negative – they look like black ants again.  Ha!

Bruce loves the shelter Dwayne built in that paddock for Killian.  We’ve had really warm temps and he’s snapped to the cool breezes that filter through the boards.  He gets ticked off if you make him come out for any reason – until the shade from the Cedars falls over to his side from Artist’s paddock.

Dwayne got the Hay cut!  I am so proud of him!

This is his very first time cutting hay - ever!  And he did such a fantastic job!  We came out with 164 bales - minus a few left inside the baler.

Lloyd and Rita helped load onto Lloyd’s hay wagon before they all struggled with getting it up the elevator and stacked in the loft.  Everybody was flat-out torn up by the end of the day – too tired to even eat.  But we got a variety package of Dexter Beef together for him to share with Rita – along with some frozen breaded Okra that Lloyd mentioned being ready for chomping down on!

We’ve changed up rations.  All the ‘ Bigs ‘ are now receiving 2lbs. of Purina Stocker Grower ( non-medicated ) twice a day.  They receive hay in the evenings.  And this is encouraging more grazing on the whole!

Last meal in the little yard - before moving back to the big Paddock!

Stormy and Dodger are now receiving 2c. Calf Starter and 2.5c. Purina Stocker Grower ( non-medicated ) twice a day.  They also get hay in the evening.  And we’ve just never had to lift a finger to encourage those 2 growing boys with grazing!  I think it really makes a difference when they’re born on site – how well they take to the grasses they have in their pastures.

Cora and April have started eating ( DE ) Diatomaceous Earth out of the feeder bunker like Artist.  In the past – Cora had no interest.  And Miss April would take to putting her head down in it and spinning in wild circles – making wild noises.  It was like crack for her!

We’re having a serious problem finding these worms on our little pine tree that we planted in front of Artist’s paddock and on our Sunflower plant by the driveway.  The Neem barely phases them.  Not sure what to do next.

If anybody knows what these little turds are – any help would be greatly appreciated!

I’ve been putting a good deal of green beans and okra away.  I’ve even managed to get several packages of Purple Hull Peas frozen.  We’re getting ready to plant some spinach for fall season – now that the hot temps have calmed down.

Sharing one of the Tractor Tires!

I’m not quite sure what happened here.

It looks like 2 different melons are coming up.  The striped ones must be the Sugar Baby watermelons.

And the other looks like an organic honeydew that I tried to plant again.

I thought I’d replanted squash!  I’m telling ya’ – I’ve been in Hell!  This year has just been a challenge!

Dwayne’s been helping me with water buckets.  I promise.  The door is not locked!

My Life KNOWS When It's Canning and Weaning Season!

We had an incident that led to housing Dodger and Stormy in separate stalls inside the barn for a few days prior to Patty and Killian being taken to Hampton’s.  Mr. Stormy gave us a little bit of a struggle helping him through a bout with Scours.

Jen and I had headed to Academy in Knoxville to pick up bag rolls for the FoodSaver.  Naturally – Hell always breaks loose when I leave the house.  Never fails.  Stormy managed to get his Easy Wean out of his nose.  It was raining.  And of course – he nursed on Cora – who had not nursed in over a week.

We won’t be using these Easy Wean appliances in the future.  They come off our Dexter babies too easily.  Our little yard seems to be a really good place for the babies to be fence-weaned from now on.

I’m just glad we got home when we did.  Dwayne had also forgotten to go get feed.  And Co-Op was closed.  He got to drive all the way to Lenoir City and buy feed to get us through until Monday.

Dishing out a completely different feed to our cattle in an instant is something that can downright set me to pulling feathers out of my butt.  But I had enough of the other left over to mix in for the next couple of feedings.  And we handed out extra hay.

It turned out to be a positive.  These animals went nuts over the Purina Stocker Grower.  Cora’s previous owner used that feed.  After watching them eat without flipping feed bowls and leaving absolutely no waste – we decided to stick with what works.  Our cattle have begun to lay down in contentment and chew their cud a lot more.  This is what we want to see.  It means they’re actually digesting their food properly.  The mountains of manure in the paddocks are nowhere to be found.

We’ve been able to reduce Cora’s ration back to the same feed and amount as everyone else.  We compensated a little with morning hay until we got her moved over with Artist and April.  All in all – everyone is now grazing more productively as we want.

We’ve been putting Stormy and Dodger through a gamut of training centered around their halters and lead ropes.  They’ve also been going through conditioning for getting used to us removing their halters when they come into the stalls at night – and putting them back on before they step outside for breakfast in the mornings.  The routine of off and on helps with being able to stand beside them anywhere and put a halter on them for any reason in the future.

We’re now able to stand around with them.  They have no problems letting us pet and love on them.  Both boys are settling in with common routines and almost walk right beside us.  They take no issue to walking up to us now – as well.

It’s the petty little things you can do during feeding time that can be used for big reasons down the road.  I use my ‘buzz words‘ as I did with the others.

They even stand still out in the little yard and let us adjust their halters without any need for a lead rope.  I always give a few minutes to connect ‘does that feel better?‘ to a problem being fixed – long enough for them to focus on the difference in how the fix feels.

They connect the dots in no time at all.  And a strong sense of trust blossoms enough to allow us all the time we need.  They come to understand that we’re doing something for them that will help them feel more comfortable.

There have been several various routines we’ve begun to teach and swap.  These routines allow helping them become comfortable with things like being tied to posts with enough excess lead rope that lets them eat from a feed bowl on the ground.  No more stretching in attempts to break free.  No more need to tie them up taut – as is done when they are being administered to for any animal care or grooming.  This was an issue while they were in the same paddock with Patty.  But it is – pretty much – something normal to be expected.  That’s why training is important.

They were allowed to keep their feed bowls all day for the first day.  They had not finished their rations.  But we let them slide.  They both left a little bit of feed in their bowls on the second day.  I gave them time until I finished feeding everyone and tending to the chickens before pulling their bowls and passing the leftovers to Artist and April.  Leftovers don’t get left inside the barn to encourage rodents.  And both boys decided to finish up all their rations before I took up their bowls that next morning.

The really cool thing about all this training and conditioning is that we don’t have to spend months going through boring repetitions.  One of the many wonderful traits that Irish Dexter Cattle possess is a strong level of memory retention.  For example – Bruce went months without a halter and not being put on a lead rope.  He still throws a fit when we try putting his halter on.  Always has.  Until we bring out the bucket with a treat.  And when we hook that lead rope – it’s as if he spent the day before walking all around the entire area with us.

Artist – April – and Cora are now in a paddock together.  The girls will remain with Artist until a week or so out from their due dates – if we’re lucky enough to get our young man to succeed.

Dodger and Storm will remain in the little yard for a while longer – while they go through more continued training.  Soon - they’ll be moved back to the paddock where they were born and nursed.

Bruce is now in a paddock by himself – but center to the other two larger paddocks.  He’s able to commune with everyone at the fences.  He’ll have the best of both worlds – until he goes to Hampton’s in November.

Already – in the short time since Patty and Killian were taken to Hampton’s – all the others seem to have calmed down so much.  You can feel the quiet and the peacefulness in the air.  You look at all of them during mid-day and there might be 1 or 2 standing.

Cora has already started her assertiveness toward April at the feed bunker.  But we’re working on that.  She gets a special treat for being a good girl if she shares.

Our cost for a 50lb. bag of feed has gone up almost $2.00 per bag.  And we’re driving all the way to Lenoir City to buy it.  Yet - the feed bill has gone down.  There is no more waste – period.  And we’re able to work scheduling for buying feed alongside other errands requiring driving to Lenoir City.

I’ve been really tickled by our little Fig tree this year!  This is its second season growing here.  And that little puppy has just loaded up with gorgeous figs!  I only get about a half-dozen ready each day now.  But if all goes well – it’s a sure sign that I’ll be canning fig preserves next year!

If that little Fig tree doesn’t double up next year – it’ll triple up with some wonderful fruit!

Our dominate Americauna Rooster is coming up absolutely gorgeous!  Took him a while.  But he finally got a handle on his ‘crow.‘   He had a pubescent ‘Bobbie Brady Thing‘ going on there for a few weeks.  We laughed every time we heard him!

He’s funny to watch.  I’ve caught him resting a couple times and it looks so weird!  He doesn’t lay all the way down!  He only bends his knees and ends up resting on his drumsticks!  Haha!

And the Girls are growing so big and so pretty!  Amazes me how we can end up with 24 chickens that are 95% more quiet than the other 5 we had before!  Never again will I even look at a Buff Orpington!!

We are struggling to keep up with the grass around here.  And it’s got the upper hand on us at the moment.  But we’ll get there!  One way or another – we will win that battle.  I can’t stand high grass!  Words start crawling all over me – like ‘snakes‘ – ‘ticks‘ – ‘rats‘ – ‘chiggers.‘

Eeewwwwww!

The garden’s going good.  I’ve been breading and freezing Okra for bagging with the FoodSaver.  I’ve been blanching and freezing green beans.  I’m gaining on a few packages of Purple Hull Peas.  We have tomatoes coming.  God willing – they’ll make it to harvesting for sauce and diced tomatoes to be canned.

The Eggplant just seems to be refusing to die.  We’ve had an awesome season of Eggplant Parmesan this year! And we have more eggplant coming every time we harvest a few.  All from 1 single plant.  I don’t get it!

There is one thing I think I goofed up on.  I thought I planted Spaghetti Squash in one of the tractor tires.  The little babies on these 2 puppies are way too round and dented – like a melon.  And if I’m not mistaken – the seeds may have come from an envelope that I forgot to mark.

I think I had one of those ‘ Screw it – let’s do it for shits n giggles ‘ days.

I only know this.  If I’d done it deliberately – they would have croaked.  With my luck – we’ll end up with some really delicious melon for Christmas.

There it is again.  The story of my life!

Surgery Tomorrow - Next 4 Months Crazy

I decided to drop a few things on the list and get a posting in before I go in for Carpal Tunnel surgery tomorrow morning.  They’ll be doing my left hand first.  The right hand will come a few weeks later – once the left hand has healed enough for me to be able to use it.

I’ve put up with the pain for so long that I’m not even worried about the surgery.  More than anything – I’m worried about my husband.  To begin with – he’s having to use all his vacation time to be at home taking care of me and our little micro-farm.

I’ve been trying to get as many things taken care of and out of the way since my last posting.  There’s been quite a bit going on.  And this deal with the Carpal Tunnel has just wedged itself smack in the middle of some crucial events going on here.

The 2 bull calves have some major turning points coming this next week.  Thank God – Dwayne has a couple of friends that will be able to come help.  Dodger and Stormy are being tagged and de-horned.  Both will be given their intranasal vaccines.  And Stormy will be banded.

I’ll be in the babies’ sight for dispersing the intranasal vaccines.  But I’m disappearing for all the other work.  I’ll be honest.  I’m not happy about these tasks being taken care of so far from the date of their birth.  But I am not the only human living here.  I haven’t been able to get in there and do it myself – no thanks to the Carpal Tunnel.  My choices were outvoted somehow. So – Dwayne gets to deal with all that stuff without me around.  He gets to work 3 times harder to regain trust with those 2 boys.

And if the flies bring problems after the de-horning - he'll just have to put up with another Vet bill.  End of THAT conversation.

Speaking of Vet bills…

We had to have Dr. Kate come out to help us with Miss Cora.  My eyes fell upon a nasty surprise at the feeder bunker a couple weeks ago.

Long story short – it was an old nail in one of the boards from the barn – all from time before we bought this place.  Cora had shoved on the Cattle Rub enough to yank it off the barn wall – and the piece of board went with it.

Apparently – her foot got tangled in the mess and she took a nail to her leg above the hoof.  Dwayne had cleared all the debris from the outside stall.  But I found the projectile that evening – at the feeder.

It’s always been a habit for me to check my animals out while they’re feeding.

I conned her into the barn with no sweat – before Kate arrived.  But it took 2 darts before she went down.

We got lucky.  The nail went in and out – in 2 different places – completely missing anything significant.  Would have been able to drain.  Even better that I found it before that became any issue.  All that was needed was a thorough cleansing and a Tetanus vaccine.

Well - Dwayne ended up searching the bedding with a magnet - until he found the nail.  It popped out when she stood up after her first drunken fall.  LOL

Took advantage of Cora while we had her down.  Finally – Kate was able to hit her with her annuals and replace her tag.

She was pretty drunk for a while – even after she could maintain standing on all four legs!  We took advantage of that opportunity as well!  Dwayne and I spent time loving on her – just petting her pretty face and – finally – getting to touch her!

She’s just like me.  She doesn’t remember a thing.  We’re back to ‘ don’t touch me, ‘ again.

At this point in time – the garden is coming along.  We had to replant tomatoes.  I had to re-seed squash and melons.  Oddly enough – the squash that are coming along are from seeds I saved out of Spaghetti squash that I purchased at the grocery store last year.  All others failed – including all the melons.

We’ve already harvested 4 eggplant and a mess of Cilantro and Jalapeno peppers!

Purple hull peas – Okra - and Green Beans are coming along just wonderfully!  We’ll be amending the tires around beginning of August and seeding the one where the melons failed – with Kale.  We’ll be planting more cilantro and spinach seeds.  If I find room – more carrots.

The 18" rubber stepping stones I ordered from Home Depot arrived!  I picked them up from the store in Lenoir City last week.  Hoping I’ll feel up to getting them set in sometime this next weekend.

I am flat-dab loving my  little $9.99 yellow rose bush that I bought at the Flower Shop inside Food City!  So perrrrty!

And the Butterfly Flower bush that we bought at Garden of Eden is putting out a new wave of flowers.  That tells me it has established its roots nice and comfy in its new home and feels quite content!

Our Gang of 24 is doing just fabulous!  Everybody is growing and staying perfectly healthy – minus one of our Roos that bruised his hip – and his ego - by jumping from the coop rafters.  Both the boys have began crowing.  Not quite perfected.  But enough to stir the sense of humor out of us and our neighbors!

Yet – we are all amazed by how quiet 2 dozen birds have been – compared to the 4 that we sent to Heaven before bringing these chicks home!

The date is set for August 13^th – when Dwayne will be taking Patty and Killian to butcher.  All in all – we have Decided that behaviors in Patty are something that do not fit in the plan and hopes we have for our herd here.  Most of all – we’re not happy with the obvious fear of humans she manages to instill in the cattle around her.

And she has a very bad habit of hurting the others if you threaten to not let her have her way with anything.

Through all the moving about and swapping out roommates during various stages of ongoings around here – I’ve seen enough to know how much of a difference in gentleness is exhibited by others when Patty is nowhere around.

I’ve also experienced a second go-round of a difference in time and techniques I’m having to try and find during training with her calves.  Once I get them away from her and give of myself to them – they become absolutely lovable!  My concern is her bad behavior showing up in her offspring and other cattle after watching her behavior.

Something I am seeing in both of Cora’s calves – Killian and Stormy – is possible aggression.  Stormy is already behaving very headstrong as he becomes older.  It is a trait far from the gentleness we are looking for in any bull.  Therefore – Stormy will be banded and tagged for the freezer in the future.

Killian’s bad feet are the main reason for his trip to the freezer.

We jeri-rigged half the barn alley for the bull calves as a creep feeder and a place to just get away and rest during the heat of the day.  Dwayne and I yanked out the divider a couple days ago – to give more room for training the boys to walk on their lead ropes.

Miss April has chosen to start laying in front of the door since we pulled the dividers out of the alley.  She knows those babies are in there - and the dividers are gone!  She turns 16-months-old on August 1^st.  Once she shows signs of going into heat – we’ll be introducing her to Artist!

She's getting so big now!  And she just becomes more beautiful every day!  She is ' Mama's Girl ' through and through!  And she loves her Mama!

Bruce will be going to Killian’s paddock while this takes place.  I bet he’ll miss the baths given by Artist.

We expect Cora to go in with Artist around the end of August – after Patty and Killian are taken to butcher.  This will - also - give the calves more time around one of the Moms to aide in a smooth transition during weaning for both calves.  Cora is known to nurse both the boys!

I’m pulling tail hairs from Dodger today.  The more time I spend with him – the more he just melts in my arms.  But more importantly – all visuals of his physique give both of us reason for seeing possibility in a really nice bull out of the line coming from PF Little Big Man!

So far - there is no other progeny – that we know to be registered - to carry on the line between Patty and Little Big Man.  And it is a really good line with great potential.  If we get testing results on a few other things that please us well enough – Dodger will be kept intact and registered.  If not - he'll be banded as soon as we receive test results.

I would say things will be quite different within the next 4 months.  But I think we’ll be quite pleased!  I’m even counting on the replacement of tomato plants as a sign that tomatoes won’t be ready for canning until after both my hands have healed from surgery!

I hope all of you are hanging in there and receiving blessings from God along the way.  I’ll keep everyone in my thoughts and prayers while I’m away from the keyboard.

Well – I might try cheating once in a while – henpecking on Twitter when I get a chance.  Ha!