Thanksgiving Surprise

For the past seven months we've been fattening this little Charolais heifer just to discover that, she's not fat. She's pregnant! 

Little Andy was born on the feast of the Presentation of our Blessed Mother in the Temple. A heifer calf, we named her after my cousin Andy whose birthday is November 21st. 

We got mom last April from the sale barn in Worland. She came off the HooDoo Ranch in the Cody area. She was just a squirt when we got her and watched her grow all summer. She must have been bred when we bought her. 

The plan was to butcher her in December when she was good and heavy and her coat was full. All was going as planned until my buddy Minh and I showed up a couple Sunday's ago and discovered that she was bagging up. Oh boy, what a surprise! From the looks of her I thought she might calve that night. So the neighbors kept an eye on her and 10 days later I got a call from Casey that she had calved. 

Perfect timing as I hoped to haul them back home over Thanksgiving. The pair are pretty content, but Mom needs reminding that she is a mother. 

We got in late last night and Dad had our new catch pen all ready to go.

But the next day, in typical first-calf-heifer fashion, baby was curled up in the corner. 

And mom was fixing to head home. 

So Dad and I fixed up a little calving jug to help the two stay mothered up. 

A rancher's delight. 

There's no better sight in calving world then a baby nursing its mother. 

 

So fun. God is full of surprises. When one door closes, another opens. We were planning to put Mom in the cooler, but we'll take a calf instead. This does open new ranching horizons. What they are, not sure yet. The first step was to get a healthy calf on the ground. Now that we've got that, we'll have to see what comes next. St. Paul says to, "Give thanks in all circumstance" (1 Thes. 5:18). Gratitude opens our hearts to receive the will of God. Even when our plans change, God always has our best interest in mind. Let's ranch!