Connecting....

I felt compelled to share about the soul-nourishing afternoon we spent on our farm today.  The photo collage below is a collection from our winter of 2010-2011... , and while we do not presently have snow on the ground, the home, the land, and the animals, look very much the same today, as they did this time last year.  Hence, for the rest of this blog post, I am using photos from our albums, rather than shots from today's events.  We had no hands spare for the camera, and at a brisk 24 degrees with a wind-factor, I dont think I could have convinced anyone involved it was a particularly good photo op.  The stout farmhouse sits atop a hill that overlooks the valley that is our farm. 

It is a place of built of love, of dedication to an ideal, and of commitment to those who dwell therein.  

From the front decks, you can look down the drive... past the gated pastures as in this shot.... 

 About 50% of our land is devoted to grazing our Scottish Highland cattle.  It is a small herd, by any estimation, but have been the most fascinating creatures imaginable.  They are hardy, gentle, and magical! Below, you see two of our girls hand feeding one of them, the first week they arrived on our farm, over 3 years ago.

In this shot, you can see the majestic nature of the magnificent animals...so much resembling the ancient bison.

We have been lamenting the loss of a couple of calves this winter, due mainly to bullying of the older, more dominant animals in the herd, and also, to the inexperience of the young cows, who calved for the first time this past fall.  So it was decided today, that we must take action.... and we moved the remaining two calves up to another barn, to accompany our Jersey dairy calf, ( who is an unfortunate cross from our Highland bull... {that stinker just walked right over the pasture fencing and helped himself to our dairy cow} ) and so... This amazingly talented fellow ( who just happens to be descended from an earl, Robertson, dated around the 11th century, Scotland) along with....

....this sweetheart of a guy... Timothy, who is our last son still living at home ( and as such has inherited the charge of livestock water-boy and chief fire-wood splitter)  as well as myself, formed our plan and put it into action...

We cranked up the 4-wheeler, and rode into the cattle pasture, cornered the calves, one at a time, then loaded each one up onto the rack on the back and crept up the long winding drive to the waiting barn.

Those poor babies, they were more than a little skittish, looking up with pleading eyes...

We got them settled in, piled in the wonderful smelling hay, coaxed them to drink warm milk mixed with sorghum, and to munch on the handfuls of grain.  As our dear little dairy calf, Maisy, had never even seen another cow, she was more than a little put off.  Hmmm... she thought..." how dare you stick me in here with those ugly beasts"  ( well, after all, she is a lady with the prettiest little Jersey face, that just happens to be covered in Highland fur)  She stood aloof for a bit, but eventually decided that they were going to tolerable, at least.  

The entire experience... chasing the calves down, holding them safely on the ATV, while we walked them up, feeling their timid bodies in our hands, .... the thick soft fur, the smell of the hay and the feed... the cold wind biting at us...the fellowship of working together with those you love, for something you care dearly for... it is such profound food for the soul... It may not be everyone's "cup of tea"... but for me, I wouldn't have it any other way.  I can never see a time when I will not want to be on the land, in the elements, connected with what and whom I love... There have been many times that the cozy blanket of mist has rolled into the valley, and as I look out upon it, I can imagine myself in another time.  A time when many who came before us, did just as we have done today... perhaps with more simplicity of means, but connected in the very same way that we experience in our lives today.  Those opportunities exist all around us... wherever you are, you can find special ways to connect with what feeds your soul...

and so, I will finish this up with a sharing of one of the beautiful sunsets that we are blessed to observe many evenings...right from the front decks of our home.  Yes!, as the sun set today, I was truly grateful for the connections I am able to enjoy in my life... no mansion for me... just a simple, wooden house, on a hill, at the top of a valley... and in that place... there is much love....