How Much My Husband Loves Me

Before writing this post, I asked my husband if it was ok to brag about him to the world. He said it was. :)

Some women receive flowers, some jewelry, some vacuum cleaners or KitchenAid Pro stand mixers, or a new car. 

I received a cow.

This may not seem so strange for those of you who know that my husband is a cattle rancher. A cow would seem normal. This little story, however, shows the deep love my husband has for me. 

I will start at the beginning. 

We were married in October of 2005, right between busy seasons. The season of haying during the summer was over. The season of winter and feeding cows hay every day wouldn't happen until the end of November, depending on snowfall, and then calving wouldn't start until March. 

I was pretty nervous for calving season when it approached us. I'd never lived on a ranch and been involved in this before. New babies, late nights, not being able to leave the ranch for very long due to keeping an eye on the pregnant mothers. 

I had no idea what to expect. Now, six and a half years in, it's not quite so intimidating. Especially not after that snowy Sunday in March of 2005. 

We checked on the cows shortly after church. They all have numbered ear tags to tell them apart. Marty noticed that 010 was calving. We brought her into the barn since it was cold and snowy outside. That year she was five years old (A cow has her first calf when she's two, and until she has a calf, she's known as a heifer. I guess having a baby makes a female bovine a cow.). Marty said it looked like she was having a little trouble, so we brought her to an area of the barn where he placed her in a structure that secures her body and helps Marty see what the problem is with the upcoming baby calf. 

Marty ended up helping 010 deliver her calf. It was an incredible sight! 

(It's hard for me to describe it with words, so you'll just have to come visit sometime during calving season.)

As soon as the calf came out, 010 looked back behind her and mooed the most gentle moo I've ever heard. It seemed as if she was saying, "It's ok, baby, Mommy's right here." 

Just like humans, calves are born wet. But unlike cows, humans don't lick their child clean. At least not any sane people that I know. A cow's tongue has been created by an awesome and powerful God to be rough. As she licks the newborn off, her tongue helps to circulate the blood and within minutes the calf is trying to stand. I'd not witnessed something so precious before in all my life. 

The calf was beautiful. Mostly black with a few white speckles on her face (what is known as a broco faced calf). As any normal person would, I named her "Snowy" for the lovely weather on her birthday.

010 quickly became my favorite cow. She's beautiful black, with a few white speckles in places. She has a gentle face, and she's HUGE. She's always done a fantastic job of raising a calf for us.

Fast forward to November 2011. Each year we "preg check" our cows. We gather them up, send each of them one by one down an alley way that is set up in the corrals just for cows. The local vet, Doc K, inserts his arm down her backside (I'll keep this G) and tells us if she's pregnant or not. I have yet to try this out, as I'm sure it's fascinating being able to feel a tiny calf growing inside the cow/heifer. The ones that are pregnant, we keep. 

The ones that aren't, are sold. Because an "open" cow isn't raising a calf it doesn't make sense for us to keep her. Since we are a cow/calf operation, our business runs on a cow raising a calf for us to sell. 

My son and I were watching the days activities from the pickup, near the end of the alley way. I could closely see the vet as he worked, and each individual cow as she came. 

010.

My heart stopped. She's now 12 years old. A lot of ranchers sell their cows once they get to be this old. We haven't as she's done such a good job of raising her calves, and we have several of her daughters in our herd who are doing a good job as well.

The vet stepped behind her. 

He was taking a little too long. 

The tears started flowing. J looked at my like I was crazy. Maybe I am. Maybe I've come too attached to this cow. She will move on someday, but I just didn't want it to be that day.

Doc K took out his pink maker and placed a large pink "O" on her back. Open. 

No! The tears continued to stream as I watched her being sorted into the pen with all the other open cows. 

It was J's nap time, so we conveniently headed back to the house. 

Tears were still streaming. 

Then, I had an idea. 

In the past, Marty has had a "fall" herd of cows. A small group that calves in August. We've sold the calves the following April as a means of income at a time of year when cash flows pretty tight. In November 2011 we didn't have a fall herd. 

We do now! It started with 010, and a few other cows were added. The vet was out here a few weeks ago to preg check our fall herd. 

010 is carrying a calf! 

Normally, Marty wouldn't start another fall herd. But, because he loves me and knows how much I like 010, he's building up the fall herd again. 

I think he's kind of partial to her, too. 

Taken 2010 with her calf.