Shmelly and The Card



Here is the baby I had yesterday..

It's a bull.

Shocker.

 

And he is wrinkling his nose at me.

Shocker.

 He is one of the 5 calves I have had since Monday...only O-N-E was a heifer.
Snake eyes.

Oh well, at least they are all healthy!
Not to mention Lil' Wayne (my Angus calf) LOVES me!
He will suck the bottom out of a bottle of milk in seconds with his tail wagging the whole time:).

I love him.
I'm not going to sell him...though I have had offers.
I'm attached to the little guy and I may just keep him like 'Norman' on City Slickers..
That was his name right?
I can't remember.

My younger sister Taylor has been helping me feed calves in the afternoons since Mercy is not here.
She is sweet.
And shy, and quiet, and teeeeeny tiiiiiny.
She was 3 months premature when she was born so 'little' is more than likely how she will stay.

Taylor comes down to the barn each afternoon in her old clothes.
They swallow her and she looks homeless.

We talk for a few minutes then she waters and grains the calves while I feed milk.
It's a system and it works.

This is Ellie, or "Shmelly", as I call her..

Pretty isn't she?

Shmelly is Beenie's dog and she is very energetic, wild, and sneaky-smart.

This is muy importante.

Yesterday when I finished feeding calves I got on the loader and went up to start feeding my dairy cows.

OK, when you're on a tractor you can't hear ANYthing people.

So if I get a phone call from someone who knows I am on said device, annoyance settles in.

I can't help it.

I don't usually answer unless I don't recognize the number because if I answer I have to yell, "HOLD ONNN!" while I turn everything off.

I am in the middle of loading feed into the mixing wagon and my phone starts vibrating.

Sigh.

It's Taylor.

Ssssssssighhhhh.

Taylor is calling me from 100 yards away.

My eye starts to twitch.

I don't answer.

5 seconds later my phone vibrates again.

I can feel my pulse in my ear.

It's a text from Taylor.

It said "I think Ellie ate the card".

The card Taylor is speaking of is the internet card.  It's about the size of a roll of electrical tape.

I wouldn't put it past her, but I seriously doubt she ate it.

I send Taylor a text back;

"You better hope she didn't."

Seemed concise, polite-ish, and effective.

She texts back;

"What do I do?"

I could scream.

I unload the mixing wagon for my high group of cows, get off the stinkin tractor, walk 200 feet away and call her.

Me: "What happened?"

Taylor hysterically crying: "I put the card beside the stairs and when I turned around it was gone and Ellie was there."

Just breathe.

Me: "Taylor I really don't think she would eat it, did you look for it?"

Taylor still.crying.:"well..it wasn't where I left it..."

I quickly envisioned her sitting in the house boo-hooing about the tragedy and all of my emotions welled up inside me and I exploded:

"well then if I.Were.YOU. I WOULD STOP CRYING AND GO OUTSIDE AND LOOK FOR IT!!"

I hung up.

3.5 minutes later I get another text.

It's from Taylor.

"I found the card".

You know in the movie A League of Their Own, when Tom Hanks wants so badly to yell at Evelyn but he doesn't, he just nods and shakes all over?

That's how I felt.

Now, please excuse me while I dive into the black hole that is wedding invitation land.