Welcome to Fern Valley

Here in central Alberta prime farm country,my husband Martin and I work together raising beef cattle and Appaloosa horses. Fern valley appaloosas have long been known for their quality of temperament conformation and color.I have recently rediscovered a love of writing and have published 2 collections of poetry. "Telling Tails" and Tails Trails and Campfire stories" . I look forward to a future spreading my wings as an author and as a horse woman .

Tuesday 3 April 2012

The "oh crap Scramble"

Nope, not a new dance step,it is what happens when you have 1 brand new calf,1 protective momma, a bit of confusion at a gate, and me.



Momma went from passive  momma cow to fire breathing dragon in an instant , when I  tried to steer baby  around the gate back to her, yes I was trying to help, but she seemed to think I was the elusive 2 legged coyote!
So while John Wayne as Rooster Cogburn  was "to old and fat to jump fences" I am not!
Fear is a great motivator,it wasn't pretty , but I got out of the way and that is what counts in the end .
Did get mom and baby joined up again and all is well .
Up to 5 calves now , and other than me  practicing some vaulting , and some slick cow horse moves(My Uncle Bud once told me I would make a helluva cow horse, well I hope he is watching over me and enjoying the show!)  when moving them from pen to pen it is going well enough so far .







we are up to 5 now.Hoping they might take a tiny break as we have forecast for bad weather Wed/Thurs . But if you know cows,sigh , nothing works better to bring on calving than a change in the weather! 
We were almost snow and mud free before the last blast.
Oh well Stay safe everyone !

15 comments:

Mikey said...

Adorables!!!

sally said...

gosh they are great looking calves ...I hope future babies hold off until the weather comes right!

Ami said...

So that cow is really a momma bear!
Glad you scrambled out and nothing was injured but your dignity!!

(((hugs)))

GoLightly said...

Glad it all ended well, and hope your Olympic vaulting skills don't come back and hurt you.

Gorgeous calves, Fern!

Shirley said...

You never know how quick you can move until you have to...
The calves are looking good, and I hope the bad weather doesn't last more than a day.

Janice said...

Sorry for laughing but I now have a mental pic of you vaulting the fence...maybe uttering a few unmentionables....thanks for the chuckle though I am in need. I will say it again, I love calves ....way tooooo cute, to bad they grow up to be cows:)

Cut-N-Jump said...

As you well know now- you never know how far or fast you can run, how high you can jump, how strong you really are or any of the other mysteries of life until Your life depends on it. When that happens- watch out. The answer may surprise us all.

The whole ordeal with Holly Moo, when we called it off and called the processor, she was not content to stand around. She charged me several times in the barn aisle. The first one- I was on the fence, the second one- I was still climbing over the fence, the rest, I was on the other side but she still tried. Hooray for steel!

Confessions of a Closet Hoarder but you can call me Judy said...

Glad you were nimble enough to vault the fence! I'd probably get my foot stuck and get in all sorts of trouble!

And those babies are beautiful!

Nicole said...

You guys still have snow on the ground and we're melting away, ok maybe it isn't that bad, but compared to snow :). I love baby calves and glad you got momma & baby back together. You're right about change in weather, same is true for sheep too!

Crystal said...

I can picture you vaulting over the gate! Its amazing how cows get so protective as soon as they calve. The one I rescued I think the cow knew she needed help getting her in so she was really sweet! Moves like a cowhorse huh? that sounds very handy :)

dr momi said...

Whoa...a mama bear cow!! It wouldn't have been pretty if I had to jump over that fence either....but I would have done it!! LOL

The W.O.W. factor! said...

L.O.V.E calving season! Sooooo miss it! And it tends to keep one in shape too! Even for vaulting fences when the occasion requires it! But hey, you really still have that much snow?

kden said...

You're funny! I also have that mental picture now and agree that fear is a great motivator.

Sherry Sikstrom said...

As I said, it wasn't pretty , but I got out of the way, momma is back to her sweet self tonight

aurora said...

I bet they are keeping you "dancing"!!