Mama in Decatur, feeding frenzy, new arrivals

Mama had an MRI on her left knee done yesterday afternoon at the doctor’s office in Decatur. She scheduled it close to the time I would be getting off so we could run a few errands together while she was here in Decatur. It worked out pretty well, I suppose. The most difficult part of the procedure for her was holding still for an entire hour. Fortunately, she had gotten some of her nervous energy out shopping her way to the doctor’s office.


She had set some things aside at one store so we went back to get them on our way out of town. She did well, money wise, for what she got but I could tell she really wanted to shop some more. But there were animals waiting to be fed and bedded down for the evening. All told, we were about an hour late getting the bottles to our dependent animals. We were surprised that there was not a cacophony of animal protests when we drove up to the farm. That all started when the animals heard our voices.

The fun really began when we walked out into the calf lot with the bottles. Mama had commissioned me to start with Lily while she got the calves into their stalls. After the third “You stupid cow” was hollered out, I was pretty sure it was time to leave the lamb and help Mama. The older calves were interfering with the separating of the bottle babies and turning them out of the stall area was proving too much for Mama so we teamed up and finally got everyone in place.

I have asked Mama not to feed the older calves any grain so they will go back out to pasture where there is plenty of grass for them to eat. But she feels that she is denying them special treatment if she does so. While their companion is locked up in the fattening corral she feels obligated to give hem grain also. Hence the difficulty of having them hang around the feed trough all the time. I do not share her thinking on that but she is managing the farm in Grandpa’s absence. I am just part-time help.

The entire mess of getting every animal in place and getting them fed and grained for the evening took less than twenty minutes but it seemed like a lot longer at while we were in the middle of it. It is difficult to believe four calves and one lamb could cause such a ruckus. Were it not for their older cousins we could have gotten by pretty easily, but that is what we had to deal with.

Once the bottles were washed, Mama got changed and we went to Nocona to cash in on a sale at the grocery store there. There is a store of the same chain in Decatur but I did not want to delay getting to the farm any longer so we opted for the Nocona store. On the way home from getting the groceries we saw the most beautiful sunset; one where the clouds obscure just enough of the sunlight that the entire orb of the sun can be seen with the naked eye. We stopped twice to get pictures but they cannot do it justice.

Maggie and Aaron are safely in Alaska. Maggie said it is absolutely beautiful there. Last night they each texted us their new phone numbers. They enjoyed the Passage and the ride on the ferry but the person who was supposed to meet them upon arrival and take them to his home could not follow through on the offer since his wife went into labor that very day.

It will be a memorable marker for the date of their arrival for years to come.