Sunday the weather was beautiful. My future father in law, Brent, has been planning for some time now to get the calves branded. It was the perfect day, maybe even a little bit too hot for being outside, in the burning sunshine. Brent mentioned that he can't ever recall the weather being as nice when he has branded in the past. Normally it's too windy, rainy, or just plain miserable. But, with no wind, no rain, and sunshine galore (not to mention temperatures of at least 20 degrees), we couldn't pass up the day.
We started out rounding up all the cattle; making them all gather in the corral. Some of them, at the very far other end of the property had quite the hike. This cow and calf in particular made my heart ache.
The poor mothers full utter was wagging back and forth with each exhausting step she took, she just wanted to rest the poor thing. Her calf looked a little worse for wear as well. I eventually decided he couldn't hack it any longer, and he got put in the box of the truck.
For awhile I sat there in the box with the calf and Dalton drove. Then the misquitos were attacking me too badly, and I got to drive. Mak (the border collie) was my passenger for awhile.
Once all the cattle (all except that calfs mother) were in the corral, the "cutting" began. Justin, Brent, Dalton and Brian were in the corral, sorting out cattle; looking at the tags and shuffling them around.
Eventually it got so there were only the calves in the one corral, all in the shoot that lead up the the branding table.
Now, this was my first experince branding, and let me tell you, oh my, what noise! The cattle all in one area like that - wow, what a commotion! Every once in a while they'd all stop bellyaching; all at once, for no reason - then one would start mooing again, and they'd all join in. I do not know how Salt (the cat) was able to sleep with all the noise, but I saw him curled up a few times, dozing off.
I really have a soft spot for the little calves. Especially when they're just days old! This is the same little guy that we lugged around in the box for awhile.
This is seriously my favorite picture I think I've ever taken. Think I'm going to enlarge it, print it off and frame it for Brent soon. Maybe a good Christmas present; maybe a just because "slurpee" (just what Justin and I call out of the blue cheap gifts - it's a long story!).
Getting things all heated up. At this point I remember thinking "too many irons in the fire" - I'm telling you, the sun affects my head!
I felt so bad for my little friend. He was so exhuasted, and hungry. I requested that he be one of the first to get branded, so he could go find his mumma and get some nurishment!
Once the little babe was out of the branding table, I walked with him for a bit, helping him get going again. I returned back to the action, only to look out into the field and find him all by his lonesome in the completely opposite direction as his mumma was. I went back out again to help him (did I tell you he wrapped his hoof around my heart?). When I got him headed in the right direction once again, I headed back. When I lifted my foot up on one stride I realized there was a board attached to by foot, by a nail that had entered my shoe. Oh, then the pain set in - I stepped on a rusty nail. Yes, wonderful. I shook off the board with the nail and slowly limped back. I sat in one of the trucks, and investigated my injury. All I could think was about the last time I got a tetanus shot back in Junior High (I had a big bulge in my arm where the needle went in, and it hurt really badly, feeling like the skin would burst at any second. When I went to the doctor, he said some people don't need the shot as often; the vaccine stays with some longer than others. He said next time I needed a tetanus shot to first be tested to see if I actually required it; you guessed it, I'm not a fan of needles.). I decided I was just going to make my trip to the hospital later on, and I'd just sit in the truck cab until the branding had finished.The next thing I knew, Brent's friend, Bill, who was the one administering the vaccine to the calves, got jabbed in the finger with the needle. Apparently the calf jerked his head, and he poked himself. I heard Brent saying he'd heard of people having bad reactions to the calf medication, and suggested Bill head to the hospital. Well, we could kill two birds with one stone I figured, so the two of us took off together to the Emergency room.
I thought Bill was the one in the worse shape, but it turned out to not be a big deal; the doctor was just concerned that none of the vaccine made it's way into him (no more than a few drops anyways). I on the other hand got X-rays to make sure no parts of the nail were in my big toe, and to make sure it wasn't broken; and I got a couple pills to dull the pain. I told the doctor about my last tetanus shot, the reaction I had, and how I should first be tested to see if I needed it. She did some research and discovered the test had to be sent away and could take as long as 7-10 days to get results back - and she reasoned I could be dead in that amount of time; if I was okay with it, she was okay with giving me the shot - needless to say I got the shot! They bandaged up my toe, and sent Bill and I on our way.
After spending two hours in Emergency, and a long day out in the sun, I was wiped by the time Bill and I got back to the farm. We all enjoyed a yummy supper, and Justin and I headed home shortly after. My tetanus arm feels exactly the same as last time I got the shot; sore is an undestatement. Last night I took half of a Tylonal 4 just to help dull the pain so I could get a decent nights sleep. I was pretty groggy this morning, but it did help. I find the morning and nights are the worst for my arm; I put ice on it at night, and rest my hand on my head a lot during the day to elevate my arm. Seriously, since turning 25, I've spent a lot of time at the doctors, and now in the Emergency room. I would like to stop getting hurt and not be in pain!And there you have it, facts as to why there was no Monday Challenge this week. (And I was just too wiped last night to write this post).
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