Just a quick note to let you know that Melody had her 9th (!) baby — a girl-calf — sometime on the evening of September 30th. This picture of the calf resting doesn’t do justice to her because she is one of the most active and happy-to-be-alive calves I have seen yet this year. Jimmy and I found her in the early morning on Saturday and she was already walking, tail wagging, and cavorting with great enthusiasm at less than 12 hours old. (I believe “cavorting” is a word invented especially for calves.)  Melody looked unfazed, and easily trotted the 1/4 mile out to pasture to get some FOOD! I guess labor and delivery makes you hungry.

And speaking of cavorting, I was turning on the irrigation sometime in the past few days and concentrating on watching the line in the next pasture through the trees to see when the last flush valve closed, when through the binocs I see in the background ALL the calves and at least one of the yearlings galloping in a big circle together out in the field! I am trying not to get distracted from this critical moment in irrigation start- up, but it is hard not to wonder, WHAT are those guys up to now!?!  I never saw anything unusual, so I guess they were just feeling frisky.  Crazy calves…