Puppies, cold air, cow talk, closing soon(?)

Allie finally finished delivering her sixth and last pup at 9 a.m. All the little ones seem to be doing fine but Mama is worried about the little mama; she has not eaten since she delivered the pups. I am hoping her natural survival instincts prevail today and she can disassociate herself from the pups long enough the nourish herself. If that becomes an issue, it will be a very long six weeks. I suggested that Mama give her a couple bites of cheese to spark her appetite. Maybe we can get her interested in eating – although we may never get her filled out while she is nursing this litter.

Mama was going to run to Dallas with Grandpa to get my Amsoil order and to pick up a gas range she has a lead on but now that the neonatal unit is open at the farm she does not want to risk leaving her 3 ounce charges unsupervised. I believe the sextuplets will do fine for a few hours but we will have to get them through the first several days before any reasonable assurances can be made concerning their viability.

When I got up this morning the outside temperature was 21®F That’s cold anywhere but it is very cold for this time of year in this part of the continental United States. It is supposed to remain very cold through the weekend, finally approaching normal temperatures by the early part of next week. It has put a damper on our outside activities for the moment. It is not so much the cold that is difficult to deal with, it is the brutal winds that have accompanied it.

The special needs young man at our church, Andrew, that Mama and I have picked up on our way to church in the past was questioning Mama last night as to whether we would still be able to pick him up if needed – since we were moving. I teased him a good bit about how much it was going to cost him now that we would have to go a different way to church just to pick him up. His dad and I had some fun with it but I thought it was cute that he was concerned about losing the option of having our help with that part of his life.

Andrew’s dad and I also talked about the cost of cattle. They have two nurse cows and he was looking to buy three bottle babies but he set a limit of $585 per head to the buyers. He did not get any calves at the sale Tuesday for that price. Even for beef bottle calves that price is out of sight.

On the other hand it verifies the price Mama and I were quoted on some bred heifers that are registered Aberdeen Angus. Grandpa had always been interested in that particular breed and after some study, I have adopted that interest. It will be expensive to start with them but in the long run it would be advantageous to have some quality, registered bulls to have for sale.

We got word from the bank yesterday that they would not be able to close this Friday but I would not be surprised if the closing happened very early next week. Mama and I are ready. The painting and flooring people are ready. Grandpa is ready. Once we get the keys we will be off and running.

Continue to pray for Maggie as she battles strep throat early in this pregnancy. Pray especially hard for Aaron.