What Have I Done?

I am guilty of speeding occasionally.
Road rage creeps up on me at times.
I haven't always tithed at Church.
..and sometimes I say bad words.

Yet somehow, someway, I have managed to become so amazingly blessed that it is making me feel like I am living in some fantasy world.   Having said this I may wake up, but until I do I am going to be thankful for every second.

This is my second weekend in a row that I have had totally off.  Like, totally.
Not to mention I had 4 days off last week.  Ok, now I'm just bragging.
But for real, I'm also typing this on my new iPad...whaaaaat????
Yeah, totally bragging.

In truth I catch myself wandering occasionally around the house, like I'm not real sure what to do.  I clean a lot.  I gym longer than I used to.  I lay on the movie chair with my honey in the man cave and watch movies.
Is this a dream...or my new reality?
Maybe I shouldn't question, maybe I should just go with it.
Yeah, I'll just go with it;).

I love it.
I took Caden to school one day..the first time eva..and it was nice!
In all honesty, in hopes of making some sort of impact we listened to "Jesus music" the whole way there.  I prefer Christian rock  99% of the time thankyouverymuch, and maybe he kinda liked it instead of knowing every word to every Ludacris song out there.  No offense Luda, but you're not meant for 11 year olds.

I am learning so much in the small animal world, and getting my cattle fix in the form of 80-100 cows at a time....and that's just fine with me:).

I also learned last week about how condescending and rude people can be for no apparent reason.
Coincidentally it was simultaneously learned with the why-I'm-not-secretary-material lesson.
I need to become softer maybe, so things just roll off.  I'll work on that.

Until then I have a quiche in the oven and Church with my 2 best guys on the horizon.
I'm just breathing it all in...like a new gift every day:).

Love and  new ipad struggles,
BlessedCowLady,

Christmas Day

Christmas on the farm, might just look like any other day.

The cows, they are milking,

The calves are at play.

But if you look closely, you might notice a change.

The animals act differently,

Some may even call it "strange".

The cows, calves, cats, Peacocks even!

They know it's almost time,

They know it's the season.

For when they were born, their mothers taught them well.

They heard of the Angel, the Kings and the star.

Their mothers told them about the baby born, Immanuel.

At first they are shocked, it's unbelievable to hear!

The King of Kings was born in a stable,

Much like right here?

The babies keep the story locked up tight in their heart.

Always remembering,

Never skipping a part.

They will teach it to their babies one day.

A story from their hearts,

One that is sure to light their way.

It is important to remember that Silent Night long ago.

To remember that of all the palaces,

A simple barn is where they would go.

To this day, on that very same night,

The animals all gather, look to the star,

And kneel under it's light.

Merry Christmas!

Love,

CowLady

I Carried a Watermelon

Like, all week.

First of all, for anyone who is not familiar with a certain Dancin' Dirt-ay movie, here ya go...
I carried a watermelon
Click^ and learn.

Did you wince a little when you saw that?
Oh the embarrassment!
I always wince a little, like really?  A watermelon?  Dork-tastic.

I carried a watermelon this week, pretty much every day.
Anytime I was in "small animal world" at the clinic I was trudging along with that great big thing.

I would be standing, oh, anywhere really, and someone would walk in the door, catch my eye and say something CRAZY like:
"I'm dropping off my dog"
"I need a new heart worm pill"
"How much does a rabies shot cost?"

And there I'd be...."Uh...I carried a watermelon....".

Then I would run and ask someone what to do.  Problem solved.

My only saving grace were the large animal days, or the random "hey can you go pull a calf?" call.
HeckYesICanPullACalf!
Couldn't. leave. fast. enough.

Or, when someone would would walk in with a calf question and suddenly I was struck with diarrhea of the mouth...which, by the way, is what happens if you eat too much watermelon.  Only not the mouth.
Just so ya know.

There's been a lot of crazy, a little normal, and a new world of learning, but I have enjoyed it so far.
I love the people I work with, and laugh more each day than anything...other than gagging.
I can handle cow smells, horse smells, heck even pig smells..but there are some dog and cat smells that are just off.the.charts nas-tay.
Ew.

I actually got into a man named "Coyote"'s truck today and gave his wildabeastofadog a shot...and made it out alive with ten fingers.
That's a win.

Then, at the end of the day I had to answer phones for a short stint, which involved a lot of unintentional hang-ups, in betwixt the intentional ones of course, and trying to manage payments while holding a watermelon.
People just wanted to give me money, and I will be danged if I didn't know what to do with it.

Oh, and I learned that I can handle a 300 lb calf all by myself, but I need 2 people to help me hold a chihuahua.
Go figure.

I guess this would sum up my week....

happier than a squirrel with a nut!

Love,
EternalCowLady

The Goings On

I left the dairy: old news.
I started working at an equine hospital: old news.
I left the equine-only world and started working for my veterinarian, Dr. Kirksy: new news!

Yes, that's is where I am now..er..where I have been this past week and hope to remain:).

I kicked off the week by breeding 75 beef cows, and during the course of the week I assisted his equine vet, IV'd some cows, pulled a rowdy calf, and ended up working 150 steers by myself on Friday.
(That took me about 6 hours...and it was awesome:).)

I feel like I have found my spot, all nestled in between the cows and Dr. K's need for a little help. 

It was during the haul home Friday evening, after working at the stockyard, that I really felt like I had carved out my spot.  I was talking to Dr. K and at the end of the conversation I asked what he needed me to do on Saturday, and his response was this; "Nothing.  If you haven't ever felt appreciated I can tell you right now that you are.  Have a good weekend and we will hit it hard on Monday". 
The truth is I hadn't and until then didn't realize how much I needed to hear that. 

Yesterday I was able to wake up, do a little baking, take Caden to basketball (during which I went to a "parents meeting"!!!!!!), and play with my dogs some.  Can I tell you how cool that was???
Loved it.  Loved sitting in the bleachers watching him play, beside Saigon, and telling people #4 was my stepson.  Loved it.  Rejoice in the small pleasures, always.

I have been overwhelmed with blessings this past week.  My heart swells with appreciation for them and at the same time breaks for those lives in Connecticut.
My very dear friend Jen, made a good point and said, "I have never heard of a farm kid losing it".  While this statement isn't a researched fact, I believe there to be a lot of truth in it.  I think, being a farm kid, there is a lot of truth in the danger of "idle hands", but that's just me.  We will never know why, and really if we did it wouldn't make us any safer.
Malinda said, "Something has got to change" and she is so right.

Jeremiah 31:15
"A sound is heard in Ramah, a sound of crying in bitter grief.
It is the sound of Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted because her children are gone."

Though it's easy to think He doesn't always care, God weeps too.

My stepson is 11 and my nephew is a (almost) a rowdy 2, and they absolutely hung the moon as far as I am concerned.  
I believe in God and His love, and that's enough.  It has to be.

A hug, a squeeze and whole lotta love,
AlwaysCowLady

I'm Not Tired

at.all.
sigh.

Between you, me and the internets I have been on vacation the last week.
ACTually, I do more on vacation.  After working the five day stretch and experiencing the weekend all I can say is...what?
What is all the complaining about? What? What? What?

OK, I'm done complaining.  Sorry.
I should take everyone's advice and just reeelaxxx.  ButICan't!  I have to do something. 
I held a dog, a couple of sheep legs and some horses this week...and the cleaning.  Don't even get me started.  But hey, it's a pretty cool place.  I saw a surgery like thisclose up before I cleaned the room.  It was a horse with a fracture and, hold for trivia time, did you know that the riskiest part of knocking a horse out is not the anesthesia, nor the surgery itself, rather the waking up part?  Holy padded room Batman.  That's a very scary time. 

I will say this, it is the off-season as far as horses go, and there just really isn't much going on.  This is great for someone, like moi, who needs to learn how to properly put a catheter in before the ICU gets slammed and allofthesudden there are 6 colic cases that come in and I'm over here all like "well let's just tie its head to its leg and get this dance over with"...yeah cuz that's what you do with cows.  Not horses Rachael.
Horses are different.
Horses are more fragile than cows, Rachael.
Well, I can tell you about a horse who is about as fragile as a Water Buffalo, thank ya.

Which brings me to tomorrow...I received a call from my friend Dr. Kirksy on Friday, and he asked me to help breed 150 beef cows on Monday.  Hallelujah Chorus, Angels, twinkling lights....
Home.  That's home for me.
I called the head technician and asked if they would have a problem with me doing that tomorrow and they said not at all.  So...heck yesssss!
Give me cows, give me smelly, ornery cows any day.

I had an experience this morning that pretty well says it all.  I walked into Church right at the beginning of praise time and realized that I hadn't breathed out deeply all week.
Fish out of water?  Yeah.
Different everything? Oh yeah.
I stood there, singing quietly, and wrung my hands the entire time.  Couldn't stop.
Slowly as worship continued, I could feel myself letting go and sending all of the anxiety and tension somewhere it could be dealt with better than I could ever deal with it.  I was thinking a million things from my new job, to praying for my old one, and left service this morning feeling like all of the pieces had been put back together.  Awesome. Powerfully awesome.

So what now?  Well tomorrow I go breed cows for Dr. Kirksy and Tuesday I go back to my new job.  I am grateful for my new opportunity but I know this isn't over;).

Thank you to everyone who has sent me messages and prayers.  You are more than I could dream of.

Love,
ForeverCowLady

P.s. This is Rowdy, the blind wonder, I know I haven't shared her post-incident picture here before:).

Closing Time

What a strange December so far, huh?
It was 65 degrees out here yesterday and the bugs they are confused.  I saw a few yellow jackets stumbling around and sighed the "you're-gonna-die" sigh.  Strange indeed.

So today is my last day as herdswoman here and it's a heartache and a half.  I told Mercy yesterday that I just feel like I was put on this earth to take care of these cows, because they can't take care of themselves.  Maybe my purpose is taking care of things...not so much people things.  Animal things, yes that's where it's at.

I took Rowdy the Great and Kirra the Sweet home with me yesterday, and this morning I have missed them terribly.  They are happy though, and I was able to sit on their big, fluffy beds with them before they went to sleep last night.

The vibe around here is sort of the "oh well" kind.  It's funny how some people can be so easily-effortlessly-replaced.  Oh well.  It's like Eddie told me before I left to get married, and I was freaking out about leaving(you remember), "the circus still goes on, even if one monkey drops out of the act".
He's writing a book now called, "Eddie's Words of Wisdom" and I probably will wait until the $1.99 downloadable version comes out before I think about buying it.  Thanks bud.

Gus has been sold, there really is a sucker born every day, heh JUST  KIDDING!  We did sell him, buuut the purchasers know the good/bad/ugly details about the fella.  They have lots of time to spend working with him, and getting him over his...quirks, so that's a plus! My back hurts......

This whole, sad ordeal is kind of like my back pain.  As long as I don't think about it I can take off running after a cow and be fine...for 20 seconds.  As soon as I stop for a minute it hurts.  That's where I am right now.

From where I started to where I am now has been a journey and a half.  This is not a job, it's a life.  Anyone who says otherwise isn't doing it very well.  I started with a herd that had few records, the cows were disorganized, the equipment old and rigged-up and employees habits were horrible.  I have made an about-face and can leave knowing I have given everything I have, sometimes more, to this dairy and these cows.  I am proud of me, and maybe I can be happy knowing I finished strong.  We shall see.

Tomorrow means a new day and a new job.
I just need to get through this day.

.....every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.

Love,
AlwaysCowLady