Three New Articles: Big Girls; Ernie’s Retreat; Seeding for Spring

Last spring my neighbor sent two of his heifers to another farm for a week of girls meeting guys. That’s no bull, but there were.

Now – nine-months later – the ladies are due to give birth at any time.

[A third joined the duo next door a few months ago. And by the looks of things she is also expecting, although I don’t know her delivery date.]

Over the months the pictured female with the horns has come to be a friend. She responds to Ernie and me when we walk the adjacent pasture: she enjoys taking my handful of freshly gathered green grass. It’s one less mouthful she has to collect herself.

After the outstretched freebie I slowly and gently offer a fist bump: she responds with a big wet nose. [No offense, Ern.] Sometimes a bonus is a quick swipe from her sandpaper-like tongue. I take these behaviors as a thank you.

She is also very curious about Ernie, but that’s not reciprocated: he becomes more diffident the closer she gets to the fence. Interestingly, when she walks away he acts as if he wanted to say “Hey, where ‘ya goin?” My explanation is that a thousand-pound cow to his twenty-five remains an intimidation for a little big guy.

So, how close to giving birth is she? Never having seen this bovine event before, I don’t know. However, considering it in human terms it must be real soon: on Christmas Eve Day she was laying in the grass breathing feverously. Her head was down; she never looked up.

After watching for ten minutes I began at once to feel both uncomfortable and concerned. I had no choice but to move along; after all, she is not my animal.

People who have grown up with this say that the cow will go off to a quiet, isolated spot and deliver her progeny in solitude. I think about this time of year and the effects of cold temperatures, lots of storms and driving rain. The sneaky killer coyote lurks too. Not to worry, I tell myself, this has gone on for millennia.

I’ll report back as soon as the calf appears.

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Ernie’s Retreat

At about 5:30 on a recent morning Ernie and I began our walk. He always varies our direction and this day it was towards the front of the property. Shortly thereafter we made a 180 and he sniffed our way toward the back. Just as we did multiple shots rang out from afar. Is it still deer season, perhaps dove? Ernie’s response was to make another 180 and walk quickly to the Shacks’ door. He sat down. As soon as I took off his collar and let him in he walked briskly past his bowls of food and water and dived into his cave under the bed. He remained there for a couple of hours.

When he did come out he jumped up on the bed, curled himself warm, closed his eyes and went to sleep. Despite my prodding, he even ignored his neglected breakfast. [The Ern loves to eat and unabashedly nudges me anytime I’m late filling his bowl.]

Since Ernie is so loud-sound averse I have formed a theory. In the first six months of his life- with whoever had him – he showed promise as a hunting dog until he was actually taken on a hunt. It was then that reality showed itself and Ernie was rejected for duty and let loose in south Florida to fend for himself.

This time, by early afternoon, Ernie was back to being normal: he made up for the lost breakfast by hefting up lunch.

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Seeding for spring

There is an unusual reason I especially look forward to Christmas and the holiday season: it reminds me that vegetable garden planting is only a few months away. The time to order seeds is now, and I’ve done that.

Relaxing, I’ve browsed hundreds of imaged edibles at this years’ designated heirloom seed source  www.VictorySeeds.com  My list includes everything from celery to soybeans, and kale which a best friend’s wife assures can be baked into healthy chips.

For the uninitiated heirloom means the seeds have not been unnaturally, genetically modified in any way. The Burpee’s of the world are not particularly happy with that. Most of their seeds are hybrid creations, forcing you to go back to them each year to buy more. With heirlooms, however, you can make your own by simply letting a few of each plant mature to seed;  you can also continue to grow vegetables that go back generations.

2016 is the first year I am fully ready to grow. Last spring I trucked in proper soil for the first raised bed and the test vegetables grew well. By the end of summer I made and filled the second bed. They both stand ready for spring planting – weather permitting – in March.

With all that done the pre-planting fun has begun. Certain veggies, like celery, are started now as seedlings in peat pots under grow light. I always marvel at celery because the seed is so tiny, yet the plant goes from kid to adult big time in around four months. [See the photo of last years’ test which looks good, but I planted too late. It was bitter and inedible because it couldn’t fully mature.]

Others, like radishes, will go from seed-to-table in three to four weeks. In addition to the standard red globe variety I’ve included a black Spanish, and a Hailstone white. More about them later………….

[As a related aside I have the ultimate in heirloom seeds. My Hungarian grandfather grew wisteria at his house in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. That was early in the 1900’s. Seeds from those plant’s then went to an aunt in Connecticut. Decades later seed went to a cousin in California. And now I have some; they look like big, flat M&M’s. The reason they haven’t been planted is I have read that they are very aggressive and hard to control. [That’s the seeds, not necessarily the M&Ms] I need to investigate their growing habits in this south Texas climate.]