February 20.2010. Chevy Chase, Md. Calves.

It is a wonderful system. You work hard at the farm in order to put away hay and silage so the cattle can eat over the winter. Then you have one bull and many heifers in the pasture and by the end of February, the calves begin to appear. So far we have nine little calves and they are very cute indeed. Just as soon as the calves are born they stand up and soon begin to nurse. Then they follow their Mother. It is an amazing sight. One of the calves is gray. Can an Angus calf be gray? Last season, between Brian and Ken we had 32 calves. Nothing pleases Brian more than looking up at the pasture and seeing all the little black calves. I hope he likes the gray one too as it is his. It is a wonderful system and all we have to do is cheer. And we sell enough calves to pay the taxes!!

First thing this morning the bird feeders were busy. Many doves eating from the ground, 20 at a time, all coming and going in unison. We saw tufted titmouse, bluebirds, and one very loud red tailed hawk, screaming at me when I went outside. The snow is melting at the farm. The next time we go up, we should see green grass in every direction. Ken and I were pleased with the weekend, although on our arrival we would not so sure it was a good idea. The amount of snow was remarkable. Our fire pit is surrounded with benches and chairs and tables. When you look at it today, snow is the only thing you see. It is quite a sight.