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Calving season is over! Granger delivered her third calf, a beautiful heifer (female), with just a little assistance from us which was more for us than for her.

Last year Granger had a tough time ‘calving’. It required our veterinarian to be arm deep, holding the calf in position in between each contraction. At the same time, Nathaniel and my mom kept tension, all three pulling as hard as they could on every contraction until George was safely delivered.

A lot was riding on this calving experience for Granger. If she had another rough go of it, then we would be forced into the position of culling her. This would mean Granger needed to find a pet home where she would not be bred again or a home… in our freezer.

She is dear to us for those of you who know Granger from following me for years on social media. She was our first cow. She is the cow who will Houdini her way out of a green pasture just to be caught for attention. She is the one who taught us how much fun cows are, attentive and curious. I love her deeply.

We had seen her bag forming and knew the time was nearing. My anxiety swelled right along with her teats. We checked her in the morning on the 10th of July and thought she had more udder to develop until things became imminent.

Late that evening, we arrived home. We weren’t in the house long before Nathaniel dawned his binoculars and sounded the alarm: Granger was calving.

We’d been gone since midday; we couldn’t be sure how long she had been actively pushing for. We were arriving on the scene in the South pasture at bedtime. One foot was surfacing, and then another contraction had two clearly front feet poking out. More contractions exposed front knees, and the important part was that those feet stayed out between contractions.

Very shortly, we saw the calf’s nose and mouth. The tongue wasn’t at all swelled. This was a relief; we knew she hadn’t been trying for long. Swelling in the face commonly happens when the cow has been stuck pushing for too long.

Despite how well Granger was doing on her own, our PTSD from the hard-won delivery we had last year swept over us; we wanted that calf out.

Calving chains are easy to attach, slip-on, and hook the handles in. To use, gently pull in an angle towards the earth on each contraction. Between contractions, tension can be held to keep the calf from going back in.

Chains may seem rough, but the links actually allow blood flow to continue past even when a great deal of pressure is being kept on them. A soft rope would be like a tourniquet, not at all safe. Hands can’t be used because birthing gunk is just about the most slippery substance on the face of the earth.

While all of this was happening, Clancy watched from atop the new ATV. We had put out calls to family members. My mom who had helped us deliver Granger’s last calf was on standby. Nathaniel’s visiting family, living closer, was on the way to assist if need be but also to keep Clancy safe—cows are big and goofy—if the birth was a prolonged or tragic expirience.

The new calf was being licked up into a laying position by the time Nathaniels dad, brother-in-law, and sister arrived on the scene.

We all cheered the calf from the sidelines as she practiced standing and hobbling down mama Granger’s side before finally nursing. I may have helped her just a scotche, placing a finger in the calf’s mouth then switching it out for Granger’s udder.

There is a lot of calving experiences we havn’t dealt with and couldn’t handle on our own but I am proud of how much knowledge we have aqcuired and how we can access and gauge a situation and know how to respond.

The signs we look for and the little things we notice and the mental calculations we make feel like generational wisdom passed down to us, ready to be discovered when the need should arise.

Sharing a quick summertime tea recipe!

A subtle iced tea loaded with vitamin c!

Steep 2 bags of TM’s rosehip with hibiscus tea and 1 bag of ginger tea in a few cups of water boiled in a pot. Remove the tea. Stir in a generous tablespoon of raw local honey and pour into a half-gallon mason jar with a few cups of water in the bottom(to prevent hot water from cracking the glass). Squeeze the juice from half a large lemon into the jar. Add additional water if needed or fill to the top with ice.

Do you want to learn Gluten-Free Sourdough?

Thank you to the newsletter subscribers that are learning how to make GF Sourdough! Seeing success encourages me forward in this endeavor and all the questions help me design material that answers them all. Thank you!

Thanks for opening and reading another Big Rock Newsletter! I so appreciate the ability to share our life on the ranch with friends and family both near and far. Connecting can be so difficult with so much to do, so I write my letter and send it off to those who care and who are cared for by us.