Silent Sunday

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meet Benedict Cloverpatch

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Benedict arrived late yesterday afternoon -- in fact, was 3/4 of the way born when Justin spotted  Clover lying down. We had known she was near her time but she hadn't shown the usual signs that would have let us know a birth was imminent. 

This was Clover's first calf -- always a slightly anxious time -- but she did it without help and seems pretty nonchalant about the whole thing.

John called me and I came down to the pasture where he and Justin and Ariel (Claui's niece) were all in attendance.

He's maybe a half an hour old -- still wet and with the waxy hooves that will harden soon -- soft and waxy to make the birth easier on the mama.

Marigold, on the left, is hoping there's some sweet feed in that bucket.

Clover licks her baby 

and he begins to struggle to his feet.

Not easy when you've be curled up for nine months . . .

But he's up!

There's a hiatus in the pictures here as Justin carried the baby to the little milk barn and Ariel and I herded Clover after him. 

In the milk barn, Clover is rewarded with sweet feed and some chopped up pears. Her head is in the stanchion so she'll stay put while Justin does a little milking -- a first for her.

Baby Benedict is in a stall for the moment . . .

Justin makes sure that the milk is flowing in all four quarters . . .

Then Ariel helps the baby find the teat.

He catches on fast.

Check out those eyelashes below!

 

Live action HERE  on YouTube.

 

Early October

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Red Barn on Indian Grave Gap Road

Red barns aren't as ubiquitous here in western North Carolina as in other parts of the country. Unpainted barns were the norm for a long time. Still, that iconic red barn of children's books and country-themed calendars tugs at many of us. Our own red barn was unpainted for many years . . . and then John bought a spray painter.

I love the weathered gray of many old barns.  But the way that red pops against a green background is nice. And the paint adds protection to the wood. 

 

A little on line research reveals that the red paint may have originated in New England in the late 1700s when thrifty farmers, seeking to protect their barns' wood from the weather  began experimenting with ways to make their own protective paint.

One mixture of skimmed milk, lime and red iron oxide created a rusty-colored mixture that became popular among farmers because it was cheap to make and lasted for years. Another preservative was linseed oil, derived from flax seed -- and flax, grown for linen, was a common crop. It was found that adding rust to the linseed oil created a nice rust-red finish to the wood.

What color are the barns where you live? If there are barns . . .

 

Dancing in the Light

 

 

 

 

Thoughts on the Edge of Madness

Waiting for the government shutdown . . . if I had a Biblical super power, I’d like to be able to cause tongues to cleave to the roofs of certain mouths. A rain of frogs and serpents in the House might be a nice diversion too

A Facebook ‘friend’ was fulminating about the current administration ‘telling us what we can and can’t eat and forcing us to buy insurance while all the time we the taxpayers are buying the food Obama’s kids eat as well as paying for the blond highlights in Michelle Obama’s hair.’ 

The frothing-at-the-mouth hurts. I really wanted to defriend this woman but first I wanted to ask if she’d gotten her panties in a bunch over the bill for President Reagan’s Grecian Formula. Or begrudged the Bush twins the food in their mouths.

 I didn’t do either. I've tried to adhere to a policy of not defriending people just because I disagree with them. In fact, I think that the only person I’ve defriended on FB was a high school friend with whom I’d had some heated but polite exchanges. Then he sent me a racist joke. It wasn’t even funny. That did it.

  

 Still waiting… expecting that at any moment, Ted Cruz will hold up a fluffy kitten, put a gun to its head, and say, “Defund Obamacare or the Kitten gets it

Send in the frogs and serpents – the clowns are already there.