Wet and Green

I write this under grey skies again. Mega-rain expected in the next couple of days. What a country! In early May we worried about the dry spring-now people are worried about all the rain. Actually, so far, I am just fine with the rain. I am my father’s daughter. In one of my favorite photos of him, he is in his yellow slicker, accompanied by his wet dog, happily surveying the overflowing creek. Up until it’s time to actually cut and bale the hay a rancher can hardly get too much rain. Grass likes rain. My aged hayfields need lots of rain to produce any kind of a crop. We managed to slot in calf-processing-vaccinations, ear-tagging, castrating the bull calves, on about the only day it was dry enough last week. We also had the hoof trimmer out to do the over-long toes on seven cows one evening. Not so lucky with the weather that time. It rained during most of the procedure-and it is quite a procedure. Unlike well-broke horses which will stand politely while the farrier holds up one foot at a time, cows must be subdued. This is done by chasing them into a sort of squeeze which immobilizes them and lifts them off the ground . Then each of the feet is tied firmly in place and the long “toenails” are buzzed off with an electric trimmer which sends chips of excess hoof flying like hailstones-much to the dog’s delight. Rather tasty, I guess. Released after about ten minutes the cow gingerly steps to the ground and walks off, amazed that she not only survived but feels much better. I was relieved when this job was done as the rain caused me to fear that either the cow or the trimmer might have an electrifying experience! All was well, however. Now, the garden is growing, the bedding out plants were delighted with the cool, damp transition from their nursery packs, and I’ve even managed to keep most of the lawn under control. What’s not to like? (Ask me that again if we happen to get the 100mm of rain they are predicting for some areas!)

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