LIVING IN THE BOONIES

This is not a story about a black sheep, but about a white calf. It's actually a story about experiencing Spring out in the country which is where we live, or in the boonies as my sister prefers to call it. You can't help but experience it, it's all around you; you can't avoid it. Robins and meadowlarks are here, and that is always a good sign.

Every morning on my way to work I drive by this small ranch with about 50 head (of cattle for those of you city slickers). I have watched pot-bellied dark colored cows skim down as new calves appear in the humid frosty morning mist. Placidly inactive and weak-legged at first, the youngsters soon turn into playful little munchkins, who alternate between sucking on engorged tits and horseplay, or should we call it calfplay.  It must have been 3 weeks ago when I had to slow down in order not to miss the curve as I was distracted by a strange sight within this bovine sea of black. Of all the dark-colored cows and offspring, a white calf with brown face and lower legs dominated the landscape. I asked myself, I wonder how it feels to be the white calf of the family. Maybe not as bad as the black sheep?  Over the last 3 weeks I have been reassured this calf does not feel different or strange among her kind. She has been playing with her darker playmates who seem to have accepted her as one of their own. She seems to have had a full and healthy adjustment to her new life. If only we could learn some lessons from those species who we consider lower in the chain.

Crab apple branch budding

Bulbs sprouting from the ground

More Spring to come...JIR