Cows And Calves, Calves And Cows

The calves are growing at an amazing rate. That's Annie on the left, nursing from her mom, Violet. Annie was born on March 27 and is more than half the size of her mother already:

Most of the cows will take apples from my hand now but they are so big, pushy and persistent that I now just dump the apples on the ground. That's for my own protection:

I walked clear across the field one morning to find the herd, and they all walked out from under the trees to see what I was up to:

Little Merlin has finally been tattooed and ear tagged. He's the fastest growing calf of them all. Luckily, he's also a gentle soul:

I took lots of calf pictures to use on the farm website, advertising them for sale. Here's a photo of Loretta (#7) and Gladys (#6):

Merlin, already looking like the sturdy little bull he is:

Little Pearl is the youngest, so will always be the smallest. And her mom, Scarlett, is the smallest in the herd:

Here's a better picture of Gladys, this one showing the milk all over her face from nursing:

Annie, already so big that she sometimes looks like an adult as she mixes in with the herd:

I quit giving the herd any grain in the evenings. Instead, I carry out a bucket of apples every afternoon. Can you tell that they're eagerly anticipating them?

And when they get their apples, they don't exactly eat with daintiness:

That's Gladys, chewing on a big, red apple: