Baby Swimmer

I helped deliver a baby boy the other night!  It was a very intense delivery and my first time helping to actually deliver the calf (I've watched a bunch of times before).  A first-time mother was having a very big boy, it took us a little over half an hour to get him out and we weren't sure he would survive such a long birth.  But he did, and he could be one very special baby boy.  We're hoping that he tests well genomically.

Trying to stand up already

Didn't quite make it, maybe next time.

You may wonder why we separate the calf and it's mother so soon after birth.  There are a few answers to this question: 1) the mother cow can pass along a disease to her baby, 2) she could accidentally step on or lay on her calf and injure of kill it, and 3) we also want the cow to eat and drink to gain back her strength after the delivery.  So we want to keep both mother and baby safe and comfortable.

After the baby is born we also feed it 2 bottles of colostrum (a new mother's milk).  They are always really hungry after they're born.  And this is easier and safer to do for the human and calf when the mother is separate.

A few days later, he's still cute and is walking very well.

What a change

We go from a beautiful fall October day yesterday to... snow?  That's pretty crazy.  Hard to believe, and it's snowing even harder now than it was when I was outside taking pictures.  It's a good day to snuggle up on the couch with a bunch of blankets.



She likes snow as well as rain.



Puppy prints

Things you normally see closer to Christmas, not in October.



These girls don't mind the snow, they stay comfortable inside.



Low visibility

I told Grandpa that I thought it was a little too late to mow the grass.

Back inside with rosy cheeks and nose...

Perfect time for a hot drink.

It's a good day to...

... go for a 3 mile jog.  It's been too long, and it felt great to do it again.  And my puppy loves to come with me, not that she needs the exercise.  She just loves to run and sniff around in the grass and run through the puddles, waiting for me to catch up.

Puddle hopper

Grass-hopper

Ostrich

Another grass-hopper

Just plain cute

I'm just thankful for this beautiful fall day!

"Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus."  1 Thessalonians 5:18

Fear

Fear seems to creep in whenever something unfamiliar or uncontrollable comes along.  It seems that more often than not, my mind tends toward the worst-case scenario.

For example, Josiah is out to dinner with some friends or at Bible study, and says he won't be out too late, my imagination starts to run wild when it seems to me like he should have been home long ago, when all that happened was he got caught up in a great conversation with someone.  And when he gets home and tells me all about it, it's great, but the worrying in between is not what I should have been doing.

Philippians 4 is great encouragement for times when I feel overwhelmed with fear.

"Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.   And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise."  Philippians 4:6-8

Another wonderful promise from God:

"For the Lord your God is living among you.
      He is a mighty savior.
   He will take delight in you with gladness.
      With his love, he will calm all your fears.
      He will rejoice over you with joyful songs."

  ~Zephaniah 3:17

Let your light shine

As I was trying to finish up planning worship for Sunday for the church we go to, I decided to get out my flute and see how it sounded for one of the songs. 

My flute is over 14 years old.  It has sat unused for over half of those years, but when I get it out every so often, I find that it can still play all the notes that it used to (except middle C, because there is one little piece that is broken).  It doesn't sound as nice as it once did, and it certainly doesn't look like it used to.  When I get it out of the case after a few months, it looks a little tarnished, but after some handling and shining up, it looks decent.

I wouldn't say that playing the flute is one of my gifts.  It's something that I can do, but I don't excel at it.  With practice I could get better, but only just a little bit, like I said it isn't one of my gifts.

This morning I decided to use another (dare I say it?) gift of mine (I could be the worst photographer in the world according to someone else, but I still love to document the things that I see as beautiful).

So this post really has nothing to do with farming.  But it does have to do with using the gifts that we have.  I could be the best farmer in the world, but if I didn't go out to the barn every day, I never would be (I'm not, though).  And if I sat around comparing myself to everyone else, seeing how much better they do everything, I would never be good enough.  God gives us gifts to use so that we can give him all the glory for everything that we can do. 

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."  Matthew 5: 14-16