We bought a new bottle calf last night. This one came from a ranch about ten miles west of town. DD and I drove out to get it at about 8:00 pm with hopes of getting back home before dark...... We knew better but we just tried to convince ourselves that it could be done. This is a VERY rural area. As soon as we left town, I think that there are a grand total of 5 houses that can be seen on that stretch of gravel ( mostly not graveled) road. It is beautiful but rough ranch country so we drove a bit slower to admire the scenery and save the worn out shocks on the truck. There are a couple of working windmills still used to draw water for the cattle. In my mind, I always hear nostalgic harmonicas as I watch them work. I'm sure that nobody else hears them so I keep quiet about that......
After we got there and were greeted by the dogs and drove out to the catch pens, the rancher coaxed the calf close enough to catch her. We had her loaded in less than five minutes. Done deal-- right??? Wrong! LOL!! This guy spends most of his days alone and is a cowboy to the core but---- he is definitely not the strong, silent type. By the time we had swapped stories, told jokes and listened, as well as gave unsolicited advice on life in general, it was well on its way to being dark. His driveway was over a mile long and by the time we got to the county road, the sun was almost gone. We played chicken with two young buck deer that weren't sure if they should run over us or jump the fence.
By the time we got home, Hubby was waiting to help unload her. We haven't named her just yet. DD and I were trying to decide how many bottle calves we have raised over the years but just gave up. I am sure it is in the hundreds by now. It gets hard to find new names after all that many.
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