Lost Calves

 We got some cow's milk!!

This is big news after our family was rationed only one quart of goat's milk a day after Matilda dried up around October.  It's only a little taste of what's to come, and we only got a half gallon, but it was hard-won.

We moved the cows down to the weaning paddock.  We've got them on a bale of hay and are planning to give them careful little slices of the now lush and beautiful rye pasture.  (If we just let them loose on the rye they would probably gorge themselves into a bloat, the silly things).

The good news is that the calves are very trained to the electric fence...but they also refused to cross where the electric fence had been when we tried to move them.  All the other cows, even Sampson, moved along down the brain-cage just fine.  Only Flora, predictably enough, ducked under and ran along the wrong line and had to be herded back with the others, but we did get her back in - eventually.

But the calves...they just refused to follow.  We chased them around the huge grazing line where Lichen was born until it was too dark to see and there was no moon.  Then we gave up and hoped they would find their way down.

They didn't.  But it was easier to herd them down in the daylight.  Chestnut and Geranium were frothing at the mouth and hoarse they were so upset at being separated. Chestnut did let herself be distracted by some hay and barley long enough for me to milk the half gallon of milk while Ethan shooed the calves down.  Finally they were reunited!

They did what any other baby would do after being deprived of mama....

Straight for the boobs!

(The milk we got turned out to be very, very thin because Chestnut kept all the cream back!)