Baby Pictures

I know it's only been a couple of days since I posted photos of newly born Annie, but like any good papa, I've been outside often with my camera. Here's one of my favorites, of 2 day old Annie nose to nose with 8 month old Rosella:

Rosella and Annie are best buddies. Notice that mama, Violet, is keeping a concerned eye on her baby:

We had a spring snowfall on Annie's first night, but Violet got her into the barn to sleep on the bedding hay until morning. Annie seemed perfectly OK with the cold and snow though hopefully she won't see any more such weather for a few months:

And she follows her mom wherever she goes (unless she's sleeping):

The herd keeps an eye on little Annie. Can you identify Violet among the adults? She's the cow on the left, identifiable by her full udder and how her eyes are focused on her baby even while she eats:

A size comparison. This is 8 month old Rosella beside 2 day old Annie:

And a close-up:

The best part of this photo is Violet's eyes near the top of the photo. They were wide with concern for her calf as I moved around with the camera. For all her gentleness, I try not to provoke the protective instincts of this 1200 pound new mother:

Annie had a good instinct to suckle and Violet had a good instinct to watch for predators:

Nursing:

For now, Violet has more milk than Annie can drink, but that won't last long as Annie is already growing at an astounding rate:

Our snow has now melted but there's not yet any green - no, not one green leaf, blade of grass, daffodil or any growing thing. It won't be long, though: