General's Mani-Pedi

It has been a good couple of weeks here at the farm.  We have received a little rain, which is always appreciated, and the cows are fat and happy.  Our #2 cow is especially round, as she is expecting a calf sometime soon. Based on the size of her, it should be sooner rather than later, but she’s keeping it a secret so far.  

There is other news in the bovine department, though.  When we arrived at the farm a couple of weeks ago, we noticed that General, our Hereford bull, looked like he was wearing elf shoes.  The tips of his front hooves were beginning to overlap and turn up at the tips, and he was favoring his right front foot.

That’s not a good thing, When an animal’s hooves grow too long, it can cause lameness.  Just think overgrown or in-grown toe nail…only on feet almost as large as a dinner plate.  Something needed to be done sooner rather than later, so we made an appointment with our vet for General to have a larger-than-life mani-pedi!

So Tuesday was the day.  Rue helped move the cattle from the pasture to the working pens, where we lured them in with range cubes and separated General from his family.  

We loaded him into a stock trailer and one of our neighbors, Sue Lee, hauled him to L & L Veterinary Clinic in Hamilton so that Dr. Josh Lackey could treat him.  While we were there, General had several procedures scheduled, including a “breeding soundness test.”  (He passed!) 

The procedures required him to be immobilized, and for a 1500+ pound animal, that’s not simple.  General is a trooper, though.  He walked calmly into the hydraulic squeeze chute and was secured so he couldn’t hurt himself.  

 

Then the chute was rotated so that he was on his side and his four enormous feet were accessible, and could be secured for the procedure.

Dr. Lackey went to work to grind and smooth the edges of his hooves, taking as much care as any manicurist working on a movie star.  While working on General’s right front foot, Dr. Lackey discovered the reason he had a slight limp.  The hoof was cracked and had an abscess.  You can see the dark area on the foot Dr. Lackey is working on.

Poor General, Dr. Lackey had to open the abscess and drain it, remove the dead tissue and treat the infection.  He even got color on his toes, though we didn’t get to pick it.  The disinfectant applied after his mani-pedi was a lovely shade of green.

General tolerated the procedure without complaint, and was soon wearing a large bandage to keep the medication in and the dirt out.  

And to add insult to injury, then he had to tolerate being branded…not something fun for any animal, but important to mark him as belonging to us and to deter anyone who might want to steal him. 

General will stay at the clinic for several days for treatment, but we hope he will be back in the pastures with his family in a couple of weeks.  They miss him and so do we.

A Red-Letter Day

January 1 is a Red-Letter Day, a special day on everyone’s calendar.  It signals the putting behind us of all the negative stuff from the prior twelve months, the beginning of a new year, and perhaps a new set of New Year’s Resolutions.  But January 1 is even more important to us.  It’s a Red-Letter Day because it is Kota’s Birthday!  It’s a great way to start a new year.  This January 1, Kota turned ten years old, and we began the celebration with one of her favorite things to do…take a walk at the farm.

Kota signals the beginning of a walk when she picks up a stick and begins to dance around madly, barking and urging everyone to “Come On!  Let’s Go!”

This year was no exception, and we had a marvelous walk through the pastures.  The dogs were looking for squirrels and bunnies, smelling all the interesting scents and enjoying a roll in a cow pie when we weren’t looking.  

After our walk, Kota carefully chewed her stick into bits, as is her habit.  

Then, when we returned home to to Volente, she and her pack enjoyed their traditional Blue Bell treat.  It was a great birthday!

I would never believe she is ten if I hadn’t shared all but the first ten months or so of her life.  She is a joy and a treasure, and we look forward to many more good years with her at our side.

Goodbye 2019

The Christmas holidays were quiet for us.  We celebrated on Christmas Eve Eve with John’s sister, nephew and family.  Then on Christmas morning we all checked our stockings to see what Santa had brought.  

The dogs were pleased to find soft, floppy stuffed toys, and amazingly played with them without dismembering a single one.  That was a first at our house.  This was Cody's first Christmas as a Bagley Dog, and he thought it was all pretty special.

Then we were off to the farm to enjoy the Christmas-New Year’s week. When we arrived, we found our niece Erin Carmody, and her family at the little house, and Cousin Clover waiting to visit with her dog cousins.

Erin and Jeff's son, Noah, took some nice walks with us, and climbed up on "Bob's Tree," a giant post oak that left us a couple of years ago.  

We also had a good time with Noah doing target practice with the 22 rifle and the new Reuger 22 pistol John and I gave each other for Christmas.  Our next project is fencing an area for a shooting range, but that will keep for another time.

Though we enjoyed the good weather, we had hoped for more rain, as the stock tanks are getting very low.   It is supposed to be a warm, wet winter, but so far we only have had the warm part.  

The game camera has recorded a number of deer visiting the protein feeder.  Among them is this handsome buck.  His antlers are non-typical, and we think he has about a 12- or 13-point rack.  We hope he survives deer season.  

There were nice sunsets and rambles through the pastures. 

Even though most vegetation now reflects the subtle grays and browns of winter, the colors are still beautiful.  

We finished the year with a lovely, late-afternoon walk with the dogs, and were snug in bed long before the big ball dropped in Times Square.

Happy New Year!