It is the day after International Women’s Day, and I am still celebrating all the amazing, strong women that I am surrounded with.
Personally, I would owe my strength and determination (and maybe some of my stubbornness) all to Nanny. I have learned kindness and to never give up from my mom. All the other ladies that I spend time with—we are just strong, resilient and unstoppable. I am fortunate and thankful for all these great people and feel proud and happy to have them all in my circle.
My cows have been keeping me busy, and I am down to the single digits of calves left to come. It has been steady but not crazy and I think my biggest complaint would be the weather. I know you likely think that we are never happy with the weather, but wet weather is hard on cattle and something you can usually avoid when calving in the winter.
Thankfully the sun has some strength, but it is a constant battle trying to keep animals dry. I am certain if someone asked me what the biggest challenge is running a farm; I would say weather, and there is NOTHING you can do about it.
The rising costs of fuel and fertilizer are right up there, though. I realize fuel prices affect us all, but fertilizer prices will as well. If we aren’t able to access fertilizer or the price is too high, this will affect your food, not only in price but availability. For most of us we don’t even think about not having food, but this is a very real issue for many, and it is a number that continues to rise. Let’s all hope that this messed-up world corrects itself.
My oldest niece made the trek home for her reading week, and Shane and Char were hosting a birthday party for their billet Nick. I was hoping to sneak away from the cows for a few hours. Naturally, I had a cow start to calve that decided to take her own sweet time. Finally, I started to get concerned so I checked her.
I could only find one leg, so I called Stacey. She was able to locate both legs, so we just pulled him. He was a big calf 47.6 kg (105 lbs) and she is an old cow (13 years) so it might have been a combination of both! All was fine and I did get to run to town for a quick visit and party! The roads were a huge mess with the rain and melting ice. If you travelling on the back roads give yourself some extra time!
The Emo & District Hospital Auxiliary is hosting their St. Patrick’s Day Tea and Bake Sale this Friday March 13. You can join them from 1:30 p.m. until 3:30 p.m. at the Emo Hospital Cafeteria. Admission is $5 but you won’t want to miss out on a great bake table!
