The kids have been fed and are on the bus. It is time to go out and do chores. The atomic clock in the utility room reads an
outdoor temperature of 22 degrees, the coldest yet this fall. I find all of my appropriate apparel and
start dressing up in insulated coveralls head to toe, rubber muck boots and a
cozy stocking hat with ear flaps.
I head out the door and find that despite the cold,
it is a beautiful morning. No wind. After a weekend of 50 mph wind gusts it is a
welcome morning. I start off by forking
some prairie hay off the round bale for the geldings. They are anxious to get hay this
morning. The bulls are about 100 yards
out at their hay feeder and see me out.
So they start walking in, single file next to the fence.
This morning I’ll feed the kids 4H calves
first. I fill up their bucket of grain
and head for their pen. Vader, Kye, and
Leopard are waiting at the gate. I walk
in and greet them with a scratch on the head and they dance sideways next to me
as I carry their bucket to the feeder. I
feed the sale calf pen next. They are
not as excited to see me, just happy to have breakfast served. The bulls, seven of which I am breaking to
lead, are patiently watching for me to come out of the barn. I dump their buckets and they tie in.
I am done feeding this morning so I decide to go
for a walk. My three cow dogs go along
to hunt for rabbits. I walk for the
health of it, but it is more beneficial to me if I have something to look at on
the way. I head out through the cattle
pens, down the alleyway to the alfalfa field where the bred heifers have been
camping out. I have been penning them up
at night and the last two nights I let them stay out.
About a dozen of them will come in at a time
to eat silage and get a drink and then head back out to the field. They are
careful not to all come in at the same time anymore as that was my easy way to
catch them and have chores done early in the evenings.
Out on the alfalfa field, the girls are happily
spread out and grazing.
I choose to walk
along a cow path for easy walking until it veers away from the outer perimeter. The dogs, Shakey, Taffy, and Nova are off in
the distance jumping through the tall native grass next to the alfalfa
field. They are good companions and
always stay within hearing distance.
They didn't find any rabbits to chase this morning. I guess the coyotes have them all holed up.
