This post is more about my dh's escapades than mine or the kids. Every other weekend he helps out at a nearby dairy farm feeding cows. He loves doing this-plus the farmer is a very close friend-and like a second father to him.
This friend (Fred) played a good trick on Pat. Pat reached in between 2 big sliding doors that were stuck to try & open them from the inside. It was dark & he couldn't see in there. All of a sudden, something grabbed him by the arm & shoulder & started pulling with all it's might. It was Fred-and he gave Pat a good scare. LOL This is something Fred would do. He loves to pull pranks.
When he got home around 9am, he took Hannah into town because her 4-H group was doing a fundraiser & giving pony rides to children. Our little town was having it's annual Winterfest-which is lots of fun things to do & food to eat. A lot of the activities are free. It's a nice community event.
After he dropped her off & came home, he sat down to do bills. Within 10 mins, Fred called because he was already in town shopping w/ his wife & the other farm hand on this weekend was out also. There were a couple guys there, but they don't do much with the cows. So, Pat was needed to help a cow that was down on the ice. The poor thing had slipped & it's back legs spread out. Unfortunately, the hired guy that was cleaning out the barn alley, spread manure all over her-thinking she'd get up before he got close enough w/ the tractor.
So, Pat had to help her into the bucket of a tractor & he also got covered in manure. (when he got home, he had to strip in the laundry room to deposit his clothes immediately in the washer) After he got her to the barn w/ stalls for hurt cows, the farm helper also told Pat that another cow was having a hard time giving birth. She had already had 1 calf & was trying to have another-noone knew she had twins.
So, Pat was up to his elbows in this cow trying to pull out the calf far enough to get chains around its feet-it was breech. He got her out & had to take some measures to get her breathing. Fred showed up shortly after this as Pat called him to let him know about all his adventures. He was so pleased & told him he had saved the calf-and since it was twin girls, that's valuable for a dairy farmer.
I must interject here & say my dh isn't a farmer-he'd like to be one & we have lots of animals. But, he is actually a police officer. LOL
This man is such a sucker for animals. Fred showed him a stall w/ 5 jersey bull calves w/ 1 mama cow in there to feed them all. He usually ships the bull calves to auction, but w/ the economy the way it is, it actually costs him to send them to the auction now. He asked Pat if we wanted any for free. We've raised calves on bottle before, but usually in better weather. So, Pat is trying to sell me on these beautiful doe-eyed jersey babies that he knows I'll fall in love with-I LOVE jersey calves. I've been hoping we could have less animals & simplify a bit-it's hard getting all the chores done & get schoolwork done in a timely fashion.
So, then, he tells me if we don't take them, they're going to each get a bullet in the head-and of course he tells me this in front of the kids. Everyone is outraged. Turns out, it's cheaper for farmers these days to shoot their bull calves than ship them to auction.
I was starting to cave, but put off making any commitments. We went to the Winterfest & had a great time-hung out w/ the 4-H group for awhile chatting with the other 4-H parents. They all wanted to know about the new horse. Then, we met up with some friends & walked around town together checking out the activities, letting the kids jump in the bounce house in the elementary school(which we had never been inside before) & getting their faces painted & making crafts. It was a lot of fun just walking around & visiting-we don't get to do that kind of thing often. We decided to all eat out together & by that time, Hannah's group was done w/ pony rides, so we picked her back up along with one of her friends-Jekara.
We went & got pizza & pretty much took up every table in the restaurant-it was 3 families with 12 kids total. We went home after that & Pat thought we should swing by the farm to see the jersey calves. He's such a sneaky stinker.
We almost took home all 5 calves home right then & there. Hannah is campaigning for that. We're going to turn into a rescue home for bull calves if we go down there too often. We're not taking them all, though-I wish we could. I'm still trying to hold out, though. Bottle feeding calves is a lot of work & time. The last time we did it I was pregnant w/ Alyssa & the smell of milk replacer made me SO sick. I think I will still associate it w/ being pregnant & still get sick.
When I was pregnant w/ Jonah I heard the music to Blues Clues every morning & I still feel a little queezy if I hear it now.
Speaking of vomit, Susanna did NOT like being in the dairy barn. She was holding her hand over her face & said, "You need to get me out of this stinky barn. I am going to "frow" up!" LOL
Anyway, the fun wasn't over yet. Another one of Hannah's friends came over-so she had 2 friends over-Jekara & Danielle (from 4-H). But, they mostly stayed outside & worked with the 2 young horses. So, that was good. I love having those 2 girls over, so it wasn't a hardship. The girls & Jonah all sledded & snowboarded in the dark until the girls went home.
So, it was a great day-I'm so thankful!
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