Double or Nothing

It has been busy since Thanksgiving; we managed only one trip to the farm but it was full of surprises.  The first was our “double or nothing” day.  We arrived late Sunday afternoon, December 8 and on Monday morning discovered two of our cows were missing from our small herd.  After a full morning of searching, we located our #5 cow with a beautiful new bull calf.

Our B-4 cow was still missing, however, and we were concerned.  The last time she calved, back in March of 2018, her twin calves were stillborn.  We thought that she might again be carrying twins, and were concerned that she might have trouble delivering her calves.  Not to worry, though, by mid-afternoon B-4 brought out her brand-new heifer calf.  We were excited to have both babies born on the same day, and especially glad that both were strong, healthy calves.

It was a beautiful several days.  The autumn leaves had turned brown, but the “swamp holly” was covered with bright, red berries.  They made a vivid display against the naked boughs and bright blue skies.

There were other vivid displays as well.  We crept up on our lower stock pond to find it literally covered with ducks.  Not only were there mallards, but green-winged teals as well.  

I was especially pleased at how my new Olympus 12-200 mm lens captured the ducks in flight, especially at such a distance.  Thank you, Robert Backman of Precision Camera for your recommendation.

There were other surprises in store for us as well.  Cody had his first up-close-and-personal encounter with a skunk.  Fortunately, he didn’t take a direct hit.  Either this tiny skunk was being kind, or its aim wasn’t too good, so Cody only got a whiff of “skunk juice.”

The skunk was foraging in tall grass near the creek.  It is unusual for them to be out in the middle of the day unless they are sick.  However, this one appeared very healthy…just small…not much bigger than a kitten.  It was rustling about in the grass, occasionally catching and eating a grasshopper or beetle.  As it foraged, I watched from several yards away, careful to keep the necessary 10-15 feet between me and the skunk...just in case.  It had bright black button eyes, a little pink nose and a face covered with dirt from digging for grubs.  

So long as I remained still, it ignored me and continued searching for bugs and grubs.  If I moved, it hoisted its tail in warning and turned its “business end” toward me.  Then after a minute or so it went back to hunting for its lunch.  It was a beautiful little animal, and after his unpleasant experience, Cody was glad to stay back and respect my “leave it” command.  It was a special moment.