Sun & Thawing

It was a warm sunny day.  Really warm.  In fact, it was nice.  We took the opportunity to move the new water tank out for Christina and beefy.   

The hoses have been frozen and we've been waiting to try them.  Carrying buckets of water to the cows is getting old.  We unrolled the hoses, connected them, and water flowed.  It flowed!  We danced in celebration.  After the tank was filled, we drained the hoses out.  As soon as it freezes we'll know if they fully drained.

Beefy kept cuddling on my husband while he was working.  He was trying to keep his shorts clean, but finally gave in and hugged back.  Cows do leave a smell on your clothes.

Still no signs of heat in Christina.  Our friends with a family milk cow said the first time their cow went into heat they thought she was dying.  She moo-ed incessantly for a whole day.  So we figured it would be easy with Christina, but nope.  She's quiet and dainty when she's in the mood.

After talking to some professionals, we have a new plan for getting her bred.  It's possible that she hasn't gone into heat, so we'll keep watching.  If she doesn't by Saturday, we go on to Plan B.  We'll give her the shot that the Vet left with us, that will be twelve days after the first one.  Then we'll breed her three days later on Tuesday, along with another shot that the breeder guy will bring with him.  This will give her a due date of Nov. 1st, which sounds pretty good to us.

Our battle with the mice continues.  We thoroughly cleaned out the pantry, ready at any moment to find a small mammal, but we never did.  We found a few droppings on the floor and bottom shelves, but the higher we went the less we saw.  There was no indication of long-term residence.

So the mouse is gone, but where is it?  Did it go back into the garage?  Or is it somewhere else in the house?  Oh, I can't hardly stand to think about it.  We left mouse traps around.

It was so warm that my nine-year-old daughter took scraps out to the chickens with only a tank shirt on.  Those chickens come running as soon as the back door opens.  By the time she gets over to them, they are a convecting unit until the bowl is emptied.

I'm reading "The Good Life," about people who opted out of the cash economy in 1932 and built a sustainable life for themselves.  They had no animals and lived a vegetarian life.  They state that they wanted no dependents or dependence.  It's an interesting idea.  We do spend a lot of time taking care of animals.  If we didn't have chickens and cows, winter would be awash in relaxation.  But the milk and meat and eggs that our animals provide are a real source of joy.  Christina cream in my coffee alone is a daily occasion of gratitude.  And the animals themselves are fun.  But I hear that relaxation is good too.