A Look Back

I scanned through my photo files the other day and saw that I had kept 116 pictures of the Red Poll cattle set aside as favorites, appealing photos of my cattle over the last four years:

 They dined on lush pastures in their new home:

 And I fed them windfall apples. Alas, one of the things these photos showed me was how svelte they used to be, compared to how obese they have now become. I fear the apples may have hastened that process. But these pictures are all from their thinner days. These three were Gracie, Scarlett and Amy:

 They were a wild bunch when they arrived, unused to humans being too close. But I made friends with them over time:

 They all look so sleek, shiny and thin in this photo. They're a bunch of fatties now:

 Little Loretta, one of my first calves, romping in the south field:

 A happy herd with their babies:

 Violet, a red haired beauty:

 Grazing near the gravel road:

 They weren't at all sure they liked the introduction of the two miniature horses, but they soon became friends:

 Maggie, another of my first calves, tried to get Blue to play with her, Blue has also gained a lot of weight since he arrived and is no longer so thin and fit as he is in this photo:

 They got to graze in the north field after the hay was cut in the autumn. I enjoyed reminiscing as I looked through these favorite photos, and I hope you enjoyed them also:

The Red Poll Gals

Jasmine, one of the sweetest, gentlest cows, often does not come into the barn for morning grain. I sometimes carry a bowl out for her:

Tabitha and Maggie are growing at what seems to be ever increasing rates. They'll be huge by the time they are six months old and ready to go to a new home:

Violet, the most obese cow, has lost much weight and is already looking better:

They spend half their day at the salad bar and the other half of the day chewing their cuds, an essential part of digesting the hay:

Tabitha and Rosella, with Amy in the background:

Jasmine, with her expressive face:


Tabitha and Maggie were playing and rubbing their heads on the small trees:

Maggie is one month younger than Tabitha, but they seem almost the same size:

Back playing again, this time by climbing up and down the manure pile:

Rosella, my only cow born right here and raised by me. She, like Jasmine, has a sweet and gentle nature:

Most days are peaceful and quiet for the Red Poll girls:

When their hay feeder is on the east side of the barn, they are near the gravel road and people often slow down to watch them:

Calves And Cows

I feed the horses and cows a bit of grain every morning so that I can get them into the barn for a close look and also to keep them accustomed to me working nearby, moving around them:

 But the big problem right now is that only two of them have been bred for next year and I don't know if they are now pregnant. I am not seeing when they come into heat, so I'm spending more time, just hanging around the cattle and watching. It's so late already that any calves from successful inseminations now won't be born until late July or early August:

 The herd sure enjoyed the apples while they were available. They're pretty much a thing of the past by now, but both the cows and horses still run to me when I come out into the field. I know they're hoping I have apples:

 I can't now remember if this calf was Tabitha or Maggie, but she was running wildly just for fun. Blue was ignoring her:

 Tabitha, hanging out with the big girls:

 Maggie, still with a baby-face:

 The nearest cow is Rosella. Her udder is perfectly shaped but not distended as the older cows' udders are. I don't know if Rosella gives less milk or if the older cows had udder problems before they came to me. I do know that Rosella is raising a fine calf who doesn't seem hungry - so she must have enough milk:

 Tabitha, standing in the wrong spot. Yes, they do get pooped on sometimes:

 Tabitha, running in circles around the rest of the animals:

 Maggie and Tabitha playing. They like to run of course, but they also like to butt heads and climb up on the compost/manure pile:

 Mother and daughter, Scarlett and Maggie:

 The free grass clipping banquets are all over for the season. The lawns have stopped growing. This was the last delivery:

A Nostalgic Look At This Year's Calves

As I sit here, preparing this post, I am only a few days away from losing all my calves from this year. They have been sold to three different farms, all in New York state, but will be picked up all at once by one of the buyers. They are going to good homes and will be valued because they are purebred, registered cattle - and because they have good breeding. Nonetheless, I have made such pets of them that I will miss them and worry about their welfare. So here are some photos from their final days at Windswept farm. The first is of Gladys and Annie, cheek to cheek, with  Rosella (last year's calf), standing behind them:

Merlin, the only bull calf, will become a breeding bull and not hamburger:

 Loretta, with her face still wet from nursing:

Pearl, the youngest of the bunch:

 Loretta, looking winsome:

Rosella, on the left, is nine months older than Annie but from a mother of shorter stature. That's why they're so close in size now:

Merlin, living the good life:

Gladys, nuzzling her mother, Gracie. This is why I dread separating them from their mothers. Yet it has to be done and, I think, will be kinder if done all at once:

Merlin at play:

Merlin ran in circles around the field, almost as if he was showing off for me:

Little Pearl:

Pearl, the last born this year, will always be the baby of the bunch. As you can tell, I'm already feeling nostalgic - and they aren't even gone yet:

Playful Pearl

I was feeding the cattle their daily bucketful of apples just the other day when little Pearl was feeling playful. I had my camera with me, so I got a video of her having fun:

Summertime Red Poll Girls (And One Boy)

This is Gracie. Her calf, Gladys, is doing fine and has begun eating grain already:

An afternoon snooze, surrounded by buttercups:

The herd has surely grown. There only used to be five of them, but now there are ten:

Merlin, Jasmine's little bull calf, at three days old:

The cattle seem to enjoy the north field and get friendlier when they are there, often standing by the fence to watch for cars. But that field is now off limits so it can grow hay for cutting:

The girls, greeting passersby:

Life is good in the summertime:

Violet and her calf, Annie, with the still pregnant Jasmine behind them:

Gathered by the stock tank for a cool drink after having a bit of grain:

Gladys and Loretta at play:

Annie, already seemingly half her mother's size, nursing. That's Jasmine beside them:

I saved this picture for last. That's Rosella eating her grain. She obviously had been standing or sleeping too close to the back end of one of the big cows. Needless to say, I didn't pet her for a week or so: