Bee~ Journal of then...

[Quail_Antwerp]

I have a cow almost every day.....oh, that's not what you meant, is it.....

Me, too!

Moooooooooo

 

[Javamama]

Reading about your change of plans with Blossom, I had a thought because I had a similar situation with a dog. Maybe you were only intended to have her just long enough to love her and rehab her and send her on - because that is a gift you have, healing. We just sent a little dog to a new home after 2 years of intense work and he was one we never intended to have in the first place.
Glad to hear your boy is doing well at boot camp.

 

[big brown horse]

Also think about it like this...You taught a lot of folks TONS in the process too. I will always remember how you took "bull by the horns" and stood up for what you believed in. It proved that there are other more ss ways to deal with a poorly, preggo cow.

I am all for her going to help children. She seems to like the little ones anyway.

I am also excited that you are going to focus on sheep..because I want to learn more and you seem to know soo much! Baah!

 

[Beekissed]

Maybe you were given this little cow experience as a bit of stress release.

While you are watching those (interestingly three) babies kick up there heels and get loved on by a really GREAT mom that has gone through some hard times on her own ... (sounds a little familiar huh?) You were able to get a little relief from that hard hospice job of yours and the stresses involved in having your own babies growing up and becoming men (and ones that you can be proud of at that ).

Sometimes God's way ARE mysterious... sometimes you just have to be back aways!

Farm, that hadn't occured to me but you could very well be right. It did blur the stress so that I couldn't focus much on losing my boy for the summer. I know that sounds silly but these two younger boys have never been away from home for more than a few nights. They are my best friends and it was hard to let go...even for a summer. It also distracted me from the awful death of a lady I really loved.

You girls are the most wise of women and give me good counsel! I hadn't thought about it like the ways you are describing but it makes me feel better that Blossom may have been sent to me out of the blue. Maybe God has big plans for Blossom and she needed a jump start through my gates.....I don't know, but you all sure gave me a fresh prospective on this.

I'd been feeling like a quitter and it felt bad. I've quit a lot of things in my life, some after I had beat my head against the wall too long and some at the first whiff of stress and pain. I'm a runner, I will admit that. I run from stress and unhappy situations, if at all possible. Its a self-preservation technique that I have developed over time. I used to be young, brash and full of vinegar and could take that tiger by the tail.....but years brought survival skills. Painfully learned, over and over.

So...I'm running from this. But you gals taught me that maybe God was counting on that. Maybe He knew I was up for the challenge but knew when to quit and let it go.

I'll think real hard and try to find the lesson in this lesson.......

 

[OkieAnnie]

Maybe part of the lesson is to be open to what He has in store, even if it is a short journey along the path. I think it is fantastic, the way the whole thing has worked out.

 

[TanksHill]

Bee, this journey was such a learning experience for all of us. We all have gratitude to you for sharing your joys and frustrations with us. Everything works itself out. It's all good.

 

[lorihadams]

Bee, we just want you around.....you make us laugh with all of your antics and we all love you!

 

[BeccaOH]

If this lady buys her, she will be on a farm called Eagle Ranch, a nonprofit farm that has horseback riding facilities for handicapped children. There will be chickens, horses, cows dogs, cats and even a possum! She may have come here to find her way there...who knows? Those kids could see a milking demonstration, taste real milk straight from the cow and it would be a great experience. She would be ideal for this as she just loves to be petted and loved on. She might touch a little child's life and make an everlasting impression with her sweet disposition. .

That is very cool, Bee.

If you hadn't given the milk cow a shot, you would have always wondered if you should have tried and how you would have liked it. Maybe there will be another cow for you in the future.

Ever milk a goat? I love goat milk.

 

[Beekissed]

I've milked goats.....easy but I just don't have any fondness for goats, for some reason. I don't like their eyes and the way they hold their tales....I know, I know..those are silly reasons but they sort of repulse me.

Thank you all very much for making me feel better about this.....couldn't ask for better friends. The kind who support you when you are doing something not too bright and support you when you come to your senses! Thank you very much.

You guys will get a real kick out of this little story....

The hay for which we had bartered services arrived yesterday. I was a bit disappointed in the quality, as it is last year's first cutting. Didn't even smell hayish anymore, if you know what I mean. Maybe good for cows but I doubt my sheep will like it much. 100 bales! I stuffed my little shed, the dog shed and used 3 pallets to stack it 5 tall. Covered everything with tarps, etc.

Meanwhile.....I'm having to literally threaten Blossom with a stick to get her to leave the hay alone!!! She had just got her sweet feed and 2 flakes of some really great, green and sweet second cutting hay. Is she content with that and grazing my orchard all day? NO!

She was like some kind of drug addict and I had to give her some taps with my fiberglass wand to get her to leave it alone. She almost ran over me to get back to her hay-driven obsession. Could it be that cows prefer old, worn out hay to good, nutritious hay? I've heard that this is so but never believed it until this day.

This morning.....she and the cows next door had torn into our stack on the pallets and had decimated two whole bales, one of which was red clover.

Will be running electric fencing to encompass this hay as it is clear she cannot control herself.

T-Bone and Jerky are doing wonderfully and frisking with Shade like mad cows! I am so afraid they will break a leg or something because they run madly down the hill and skid to a sliding stop, legs everywhere and sometimes tumbling out of control. Crazy babies!

Word to the wise and anyone with livestock for the first time. The lady who owns Eagle Ranch and my sis on Hell Farm both had unexplained livestock deaths this week. Now, my sis has these on a regular basis but this one was odd. She had an older, healthy lamb die. Found it up in the pasture and it had froth around its mouth. No other symptoms prior. The Eagle Ranch folks had two 2 year old steers, both in good health, found dead within 30 yards of each other. No explanation. My son said a friend of his had this happen and the cows had eaten poison oak. They had a reaction and it occluded their airways. Could be what is happening here.

Check for any poison oak in your pastures. Even a little bit could result in this kind of death.

Thank you, lori!

 

[punkin]

Sounds like you just needed each other for a little while. You both got what you needed from each other, and now it's time to move on. I'm glad she is going to a good place where you know all your hard work and attention won't go to waste.

Bet your even happier now after the hay incident.