Monday, March 16

Happy Heifer....

Due to the graphic nature of this natural event I want you to be aware that birth of any kind is detailed...if you are not ready for that, you will not be ready for this post. (Photos within are ummm...detailed.)

4:00 a.m. the spot light bounces as the rubber tires on the four wheeler move across the new spring grass. Some of the mamas in waiting open their eyes only to be blinded by the light. (It is almost confirmed that someone in the band grew up on a farm and this is where the song "Blinded by the light" was born.) Using my pointer finger I play the opening key board sounds while the other hand firmly hits the gas. My mini rock concert takes place in the pasture of cows. Manfred Mann's Earth Band would be proud. My fans, although very impressed, do not move in the slightest way. Tough crowd tonight. An actual sigh of relieve comes out of me knowing that like everyone else I have no idea what the lyrics are after the first few words. I bow my head giving thanks to those ungrateful beef patties.

The night sky is full of stars. I kill the motor and stop my singing to hear the music of the night. A warm feeling of comforting arms wrap around me while the light breeze whispers in my ear. A coyote cries for a lovers return. The hoot of an owl brings question to my mind. A lone cow is mooing. In the distance I see the valley of Missoula is fast asleep.

I hopscotch through yesterdays placenta and listen to young mothers feeding their newborn. I sit and watch the bonding. A new mother's nervous tongue gently cleans her baby. Barely 24 hours old, together they moving into the direction of life, living, surviving. Still suckling for milk I leave them for the night.
(Photo taken at a different time...)


In the far corner of the field I see the silhouette of Double "O" Seven.
Aka, Oh Oh.... She is an older cow with years of calving under her belt, rarely without incidence. She stands there casually, smoke billowing out of her nostrils while enjoying her cud. Her backside reveals a calf making it's way into the world on this cold March night. Oh Oh, shows no sign of concern outside of her next meal or the treats I have in my pocket, something she is always acutely aware of. Perhaps this isn't the time to be focused on bite size treats as it should be all about birth. My eyes are open to our differences. I can almost guarantee that I wouldn't be nibbling on a carrot during birth...maybe ice cream. She lays down through a few of her contractions...still chewing and most likely not too concerned. (Photo taken at a different time...here to support the text.)

My nerves are getting the best of me. Like Oh Oh, I want to run into the house grab some food and wait. I know that it will be hour before her little one arrives. After laying in the field for what felt like half of the night I trudged my way back to the four wheeler. Climbing into bed I set the alarm anticipating the birth of another sweet calf.

Sunrise...a new baby.



If I had a JVC HD Camcorder, like the one An Ordinary Life is giving away....you could have watched a video. Seriously, I could have still played the key board solo, driven the four wheeler while taping it, how cool would that have been? The video camcorder fits into the palm of my hand. 150 hours of birth, now come on. That is entertainment at it's best. If you think I should win the camcorder or if you want to enter (and vote for me) hop on over and find out how.... I'll heart you forever!

Check out my giveaway is here.



33 comments:

Anonymous said...

Awwww...that little cutie is here! I can just picture it walking unsteadily on its little spindly legs.

SouthernDogwoods said...

Wow! What a group of pictures! At first, I thought "I am going to be grossed out" but oh, it was the exact opposite! What a precious calf! Thanks for sharing such a sweet story!

Dawn Parsons Smith said...

What a sweet story just in time for spring! It makes me remember all the fun I used to have at my aunt's farm!

Bloggymommy said...

I loved your story! And those pics are so precious! There's nothing more beautiful then a new life starting!

Turtles In Northern Florida said...

oooooooooh love that baby.So sweet.

Jules said...

How awesome! Kind of wish child birth could be like that - contraction, a little bit of food, another contraction, lay down, and baby's here!
Sweet pic's though! Thanks for sharing.

Take care!! ;0)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the memories! Just yesterday I was reminising about calving in Montana. Love the life there.ME:D

Anonymous said...

Oh how cute :) and Love the new look of the site ;)

Janiece said...

I have been watching a cow down our road getting closer and closer to her big day...when I passed by yestday there was her brand new little calf.
Very neat

Nicole S. said...

The miracle of life! How awesome is that?! Thanks for sharing

Belinda said...

I love the pictures,we bottle fed a calf last spring we had so much fun. Still love you caught it on film thats so cool.

Selissa said...

It is always facinating to see! Thanks for welcoming me to SITS!

Regina Moore said...

I enjoyed this post...really interesting!

Heather at Mad Rose Creations said...

Thanks for visiting my blog and commenting. I agree I think you need to win a camcorder =)
the tink-n-frog blog

Speedcat Hollydale said...

Wow! ... just like "Wild Kindom" over here !!!

Hello from the SpeedyCat

Sara Elizabeth said...

Super sweet. Simply beautiful.

j said...

ha ha! when i saw the title i thought, "sweet! ann is posting about me!!!" :) but no- REAL cows. :)

i love it! baby cows are my favorites. i love calving season- and sadly, up here in the north there don't seem to be many babies. :( i miss seeing them all gangly in the field.

how cool that you got to be there to actually see a birth!!! :)

Kaycee said...

There's nothing gross about new life. I loved this post, and yes, it would have been awesome to film this on your four wheeler.

Ms. Ganshirt said...

Wow! Incredible! (And what a relief to know that spring is finally on the way!!)

Thanks for welcoming me to SITS!

Kerri said...

You are such a great writer! I wish I could have been there. I love that! Thanks so much for coming over to meet me and entering my giveaway! Just in time!

Kirsty said...

So special. I am a doula and I love any type of birth story :)

Thanks for the welcome to SITS! I will check out your giveaway next! :)

Debbie said...

How wonderful! I love birth stories of any kind. Great photos.

Debbie said...

Oops. Forgot to tell you how much I love the new look around here:)

Jill of All Trades said...

Wow, I love stuff like this. Thanks for the visit.

Amy said...

What an amazing birth story!

And thanks for the welcome to the SITS'stahood! :)

ACH said...

This is amazing! Thanks so much for sharing (and for stopping by my blog :)!

Anonymous said...

Wow that is so wonderful! I wish I could have been there! Thanks for sharing!

AiringMyLaundry said...

How sweet.

I love baby cows. Or any type of baby, really.

Susan said...

Thanks for visiting... All I can say is "wow"...!!

Controlling My Chaos said...

Great pics. Did you take those?

Thanks for the welcome to SITS! :)

Ryan Ashley Scott said...

I never thought of calf-birthing as a beautiful thing, but you certainly know how to write it that way. Very nice post, Annonandon. Very nice. Sweet pics, too. You need a camcorder.

Unknown said...

ah, life...........

scrappysue said...

that's amazing!