Hi everyone,
A surprisingly packed day here. It started slowly: another bitterly cold morning that had me moving the pillow of my bed down by a food so to be able to pull the blankets over my head. Yeah, that cold!
I had some time spare and the ex and I had needed to delay skyping with the girls for an hour and a half. So, I was working on a draft of a book-Tuesday blogpost when the old boy got back from down the paddock and said that heifer #67 was having trouble calving. He, Michael and I duly got into the yards and got to work with the pulling tackle.
She was a good patient apart from her legs giving way when the calf was halfway out. Not good. Some heaving from Michael and me had the little fellow in the open air.
I'm delighted to say that momma found her feet with a little help and began cleaning the calf, which is essentially how cows and calves bond.
I was able to get back in enough time to Skype with Grace and Rachel, which was awesome: I got to watch them playing with Sleeping Beauty Lego and tell them about the new calf. Grace said if it was a heifer it should be called Georgia, and Rachel said if it was a bull-calf it should be called Thailand (I can only wonder why she thought of this!). They got to Skype with the parental units as well which was good. Grace especially wanted to know what sorts of animals she'd see if she was camping out here and we talked about kangaroos and koalas and wallabies and cockatoos and kookaburras. I told her that wallabies are like huge rabbits (she wants to take a ride on one!) and that kookaburras love to laugh. I love that they love me even though I'm so far away and not exactly kicking goals in the Dad-stakes. I guess I feel that being a dad is something where trying your best isn't good enough. You must get it right and be a good father, or else it's better you don't do it at all.
I forgot to say that while we were messing around getting the calf born my woolen cap kept falling down over my eyes: in short order I started feeling like Dumb Donald from the Fat Albert cartoons:
See what I mean?!?
After lunch I set out some more salt, minavit and molasses for the cows. We also mustered up two troughs to give Bluechip the Bull some better rations of oaten hay, grain and water. He gave me a suspicion look as he was brought up to them: bulls clearly don't believe in there being a free lunch.
I was rostered on at the Legal Centre this evening. I have to say I was feeling fairly jaded as I drove up, asking myself what is the good of being a lawyer if the only people who want your skills are those who get them for free. The evening was at least a bit motivating: a product liability issue and three wills/probate matters, all of whom I could more-or-less help. I still haven't decided whether to bother renewing my practising certificate for next year though. It seems so pointless.
Work with Daryl the gardener tomorrow. Hopefully the rain will hold off.
More tomorrow.
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