However there was one exception - any baby farm animal (calves or pigs at our house) was allowed on the back porch in extreme emergencies. Once in a while a calf would be born in really bad, cold weather, and we would bring it onto the porch to warm it up so it didn't freeze to death.
These same rules for animals apply in my house, too, and before Christmas my back porch met it's first baby calf. Taylor and I have some heifers out on cornstalks near the house, and of course two decided to calve the day a snowstorm came through. The first one was born early in the day, several hours before the snow hit, so it was up and going well by the time the weather turned bad.
The other one was born only a couple hours before it started snowing, and the weather was hitting it hard. Taylor and I went out to check on the heifers and their calves right after it started snowing. At that point the wind was blowing pretty hard, but the snow was still fairly light. We drove the two miles to the field and found the newest calf.
I should preface that heifers are not always the smartest when it comes to having a calf. It's their first baby, and some of them just don't know what to do to take good care of it, but this heifer seemed to be doing alright. She had cleaned her baby off, and was laying next to it, blocking it from the wind. Unfortunately the calf never had the chance to get completely dry before the really cold and wet conditions hit, and he was suffering. We tried to stand him up and dry him off some more, but he hadn't yet gotten up on his own, and his legs were so cold he couldn't straighten them properly. To make it worse, since he hadn't stood up, he hadn't nursed, and he was quickly getting weaker. We decided we would have to take him back to the house, or he would never make it in the storm.
Before we left with him we wanted to check on the other baby. We weren't as concerned about this one. It had gotten fully dried off, eaten and had been up and going. But as we started to drive to find this other calf, the snow started coming with a vengeance. It was pretty much whiteout conditions. We got about half way across the field before we realized we wouldn't be able to see the second calf in this weather, and if we didn't hurry up and get back to the other calf, we might not be able to find it. We had to use the fence as our guideline just to make it back to the general area of the first calf. We drove past it the first time without seeing it, but luckily as we turned around and drove back, we could just barely make the cow out in the blowing snow. We got the calf, loaded it in the truck and started heading back to the house. The two mile trip took longer than we hoped. It was at this point Taylor's truck heater quit working, the windshield started frosting over, and I ended up sticking my head out the window to watch the white line so I could tell Taylor where he was at on the road. Finally we made it back.
At home we dried off the calf (who we dubbed "Frosty"), laid out some plastic on the back porch and brought him inside. My hair dryer came in handy to help warm him up more quickly. It took a little bit, but after we got some milk in his belly and his body warmed up, he started recovering quickly. After maybe an hour he was working to get up on his own and start walking. At that point we were able to move him back out to our garage. The next morning we took him back out to his mom. She was a little confused as to whether the calf was hers or not and it took her most of the day for her to start acting like Frosty's mom again. But he's done well ever since.
I did have a few other unwanted visitors in my house while Taylor and I were gone over Christmas weekend. Apparently our house has shifted a little and our front door isn't closing as tightly as it should. When we left, we must not have got the door shut properly and the strong wind that started blowing Christmas morning blew our door open. Our cats took advantage of the situation. Thankfully Taylor's dad stopped by that morning, saw the door was open and got the cats out. Although we had to wipe a few things down, they didn't make too much of a mess and they didn't leave any surprises anywhere! :)
Even with the cats jaunt in the house, it was a wonderful Christmas. Taylor and I were blessed to get some very nice gifts, but more importantly we had a wonderful time with our families!
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| This was one of my favorite pictures from Christmas with my family. My sister is such a goof, and I love her for it! |
Western Kansas Fact: The stars are brighter out here. It may partially be the higher elevation and/or simply that the sky is so wide open, but you can see a lot more stars out here. They fill the night skies.
One of my favorite scriptures recently has been:
He gave up his place with God and made himself nothing. He was born to be a man and became like a servant. Philippians 2:7
I loved this scripture because it reminds me that God, Ruler of the universe, left His throne and came to earth simply because He loves us. And He didn't come to earth to rule over us, but to serve us and die for us so that we may truly see what love is. I pray that we may choose to love and serve the Lord, simply because He loved and served us first, even when we didn't deserve it.
Here's wishing 2013 is a wonderful year for every one of you!
Lyndee
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