Kitty’s Window On The World

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It’s that time of year when it’s warm enough to open the bathroom window and enjoy the smells and sounds of dawn  as I get ready for work.  Kitty loves it because she can sit in the windowsill and watch the birds at the feeder, feel the light breeze in her fur, and sniff at all the outdoorsy smells: smoke from spring prairie burns, the dark soil warming in the sun, or just the clean “nothing” smell of the country that causes us to take a deep breath in.

As an added bonus, these days is our little herd of young cows with their first calves are enjoying their morning in the little pasture just over the yard fence. Kitty and I watch as the sun comes up behind the herd, putting them in profile. We watch the dark silhouettes of the little calves nursing from their moms, or scampering about stretching their legs in an early morning romp over the frosty grass.

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Sometimes I linger too long with my elbows on the windowsill pressing my cheek against Kitty’s soft fur and gazing out on a landscape I’m so blessed to be a part of.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Prisoner Update:  Harland took the halter and hobbles off the prisoner this afternoon and reported that while she is still not being motherly toward her calf (cleaning, talking, nuzzling), she’s also NOT kicking or head-butting it while it nurses.  She’s not going to win any “mother of the year” awards, but at least she’s letting the calf nurse and that’s a big thing. So, the plan is to leave her in the barn pen for another day just to make sure, and then they can both go out to pasture with the other young moms and babies. And that will be a week to the day since the prisoner was confined to the barn. Why are some cows so stubborn?  Geez!

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Suzanne

Cattle, corn, wheat, beans, mud, snow, ice, and drought. Plenty of fresh air and quiet. Our life is sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes joyous, but never boring.

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13 Responses

  1. Rebecca says:

    Great photo…you are blessed!

  2. Chester's Mom says:

    Will you keep the problem mom and breed her back? Do you think she will be a problem with her calf next year?

    • Suzanne says:

      As long as she raises her calf, we’ll keep her and breed her back. The only times we sell off cows is if they flat refuse to raise their calf, or if their calf dies. The circumstance of selling off a cow because her calf died used to be a hard one for me. After all, it’s not her fault right? Well, sometimes it is – if the calf died as a result of a genetic issue. But even if a calf dies from cold or illness which are not the cow’s fault, it’s still not cost-effective to carry a cow over another year without a calf income from that cow for that year. Profit margins are pretty narrow in a cow/calf operation.

  3. Alica says:

    I’m glad to hear the prisoner is at least tolerating her baby now. But shame on her…doesn’t she know how much fun it could be?!

    • Suzanne says:

      Apparantly not unfortunately. Last night Harland put an eartag on the calf since we now know she’ll be staying with us, and the calf let out with a loud bawl. As you know, the typical mother cow would have come running. But the prisoner? Harland said she continued to eat grain contentedly. Sigh.

  4. Becky L says:

    Aw, spring. Loving the warmer air. We’ve had nice days with temps up to 60 and a bit above. Then today it rained alot and a couple more days of it. Sigh! Thanks for the cow update. Glad she’s letting the calf nurse without problems. I forwarded the prisoner post to my daughter who’s studying criminal justice, for fun. She thought it was kinda laughable. but serious as well.
    We are enjoying the tulips. Megan brought home a couple of bunches but I am giving them away in a few days. Take care!

    • Suzanne says:

      You could send us your rain, we certainly need it. It’s very dry here..much too dry for this time of year. We should be slopping about in mud, but instead it’s dusty here.
      Do enjoy the tulips, I bought another bunch too last week. Hoping my daffodils bloom well this year.
      Have a great day Becky!

  5. Stephanie says:

    Kitty is so human 😉 I love to sit at my living room and watch my garden through the glass as well. Have a great weekend.

  6. Dianna says:

    Aw….such special sights, sounds (and smells!) for you and Kitty. Love your photos.

  7. Jeanne says:

    I love seeing your pics of Kitty. She reminds me so much of our Phoebe, who was our gorgeous calico cat. She was so precious…

    After a few days of really nice weather, we’re back to the showery, rainy stuff. We are actually behind on our rainfall, too, so we really appreciate this, but I wish we could share, somehow.

    I’m glad the stubborn prisoner has at least come around a little! Silly girl! As Alica said – doesn’t she know it’s s’posed to be fun?! Keep us posted as to further developments…

    • Suzanne says:

      Sorry about your Phoebe. Sometimes I think about what it would be like if Kitty wasn’t here. I can’t think about it. This evening she’s been asking me to chase her – a new game where I run after her around the house. She loves this. She also just ran ahead of me into the office and jumped on my chair fast enough to make it spin. She saw I was going to sit down so she just had to beat me here. Silly silly Kitty.

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