Update On The Red Poll Girls

As our almost snowless winter continued and all five calves had gone to their new homes, things began to return to normal for the Red Poll girls. Rosella, last year's calf, is now an almost mature adult and, I hope, pregnant with her first calf:

The cattle kept tipping over the mineral feeder and spilling the mineral powder all over the ground, so I hung it from a tree branch. The cows, however, didn't seem to like it there. I left it hanging with the hope that they'd get used to the change and begin using it again:

All five of the cows whose babies were sold had to be dried off so their udders wouldn't get swollen and infected. Gracie's udder was partially filled, but looked to be no problem:

The other cows also seemed not to be a problem - except for Amy, who apparently had been the heaviest milk producer. I reduced their grain and they all began to relax:

Life returned to normal. I knew that winter was on its way, but I don't suppose cows think about such things. They just take life as it comes, and we were having a mild winter - so far. I was glad they could enjoy it while it lasted, for I knew what was coming. I just didn't know when:

Sweet Jasmine was the most emotionally upset at the loss of her calf, but she too calmed down in a couple of days and seemed to forget. Life was good again:

These cows have a comfortable life, at least compared to what many cattle endure:

And hay is always available:

Rosella is still the smallest of the girls, and she knows where to find a soft place to lie down and get comfortable:

I thought Scarlett would be the most difficult to handle after her calf was sold, but she adjusted with little problem:

Winter finally did begin to arrive, though what you see here was merely a teaser:

We've had an unusually mild winter, though also some cold, snowy periods. All our snow melted this past weekend with oddly warm weather but now our temperatures have again plunged to below freezing. The Red Poll girls have endured it all without any apparent problems: