Farm Life: A Jersey Calf Is Born!

Meet "Honey".  We bought her, 6.5 months pregnant, from friends.  As a new "farmer" I was anxiously awaiting her new calf's arrival.  Cows are pregnant for about 9 months, (a gestation time of about 283 days).  Of course, like a human, it can be earlier or later. Here is a gestation calculator:  http://www.cattletoday.com/gestation.shtml  Today was the day we have been waiting for. I got to see the entire delivery from start to finish.  It was amazing.  I wanted to share it.  There are pictures of the actual birth below.  If you don't want to see graphic pictures.....don't continue!

Signs that labor is near:

 

About 1 week before she had her calf her vulva began to swell, her milk sac (udders) got HUGE.  (This was probably her 5th calf.  I have been told that first time heifers will not always show these same signs.)  Along with those 2 things I noticed her "attitude" began to change.  She was a grump to everyone- the other cow, the donkeys, the dogs especially.  About 2-3 days before the birth her teats began to leak and there was an occasional discharge from her vulva.  My vet and others all recommended that I pen her in a confined area alone as she got closer to giving birth.

 

Day of birth:

 

Honey was "mooing" smalls sounds continuously.  She seemed a bit anxious.  I checked on her about an hour later and I noticed that her mucus plug was hanging from her vulva.  Once that happens the birth is soon to follow.  I quickly changed into "farmer gear" and went to her side.  First thing I saw when I got there was her water sac hanging out.  (She was up standing and laying down several times during the entire birth process.)   

 

 

 



From that point, if the calf is not breech, things go FAST.  With in 5-10 minutes she had delivered her calf.  The calf just kind of lays there at first, blinking.  Mom gets to work licking and cleaning.  This takes some time.  She also eats the afterbirth....all of it.  (I'll spare you those pictures, they eat it to keep predators from being drawn in). 

 

 

 

Mommy and calf are healthy, tired, and hungry.  It was a boy! Meet Rib eye!

Baby Shower!

Baby showers are fun.  I learned  that ladies love to buy baby "stuff".  (I think that Target and Babies R Us need to restock their shelves after yesterday!)  I have never seen so many gifts.  We even had people that could not attend dropping gifts off! 

Through this shower I have been taught a valuable lesson about God's love:
I wanted Ashley's shower to be great. I wanted it to be a beautiful celebration. I wanted a lot of people there.  I wanted her to feel special- because, she is.  Out of the 24 that attended- Ashley only knew about 5 or 6 of the ladies. These amazing ladies showed up with gifts, hugs, words of advice/encouragement and LOVE!  I put a call out to close friends and boy was I surprised (and brought to tears) at the response!  I invited people to attend a party for someone they have never met- and they THANKED me!?!?  That is God's love in action.  I will never find words to describe how amazingly blessed I feel to be surrounded by such selfless love.  So- THANK YOU to all that prayed, drove 2 hours, helped, brought tables,cooked, cleaned, sent gifts, attended, brought gifts, and most importantly- showed Ashley, (and ME) such Christ-like LOVE.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  Here are some pictures from the party:

This was taken before the party

Here is Mommy-to-be

Side View

Me, Ashley, Traci

Mommy & Daddy (Chris)

 Awe

Let the games begin

 Present Time

 Yes, He will fit in those!

 One of my favorite games: guess how big her tummy is

Oh, Christina!!! You won the game!

 Buffet lunch

So, to Ashley Jackson (baby Zeik) and Chris Santana- God Bless you three!  I love you all.  I will always pray for your family and thank God that He created it.  The shower was the fun, easy stuff- now on to the hard, enjoyable stuff!  Ann

Sock Monkey Mania!!

I love Sock Monkey's!  They are fun  and easy to make.  Here is a step by step tutorial following my making of a sock monkey.
Supplies needed:

(Stuffing, socks, buttons, heavy thread or embroidery thread, scissors, needles, sewing machine, patience)

• First, you will need a pair of socks.  They need to be mid calf length, (or longer).  I have found that the heavier winter socks work best for the sock monkey.  (There are websites were you can order the "original" sock monkey sock- they are pricey though- so I stuck with socks purchased from Marshall's).
• Turn both socks in-side-out.
• flatten one sock out, with heel down.
• draw a line, i use sewing chalk, down the center of the sock - drawing away from the heel all of the way to the toe. Start the line about 1" away from the heel.

• Sew down both sides of the line and connect the stitching at the top of the line (making a "U" shape).  I use the presser foot as a measure for the perfect seam.

• This is what it will look like after you have sewn both sides of the line.

• Cut down the center on the line.

•  Flip the sock right-side-out. Stuff the legs and body.

• Find the area where you would like your neck to be.
• With the heavy thread, stitch around the neck area 1/4" spacing all of the way around the body.
• When finished, pull both ends of the thread tightly and then knot the ends together making a neck.

•   Now finish  the top of the head.  
•   There are several ways to close it up. In the pictures I have chosen to leave a "crest or "crown" on my monkey. 
• Gather the top of the sock up using the same 1/4" stitching as before. 

•   After cinching the head, stitch closed the left over sock top.  (If making a rounded head, just stuff the head all of the way, cutting off any extra sock, and stitch the sock top flat and round.)



•  Take the other sock and flatten it, folded in half. 
• With the sewing chalk, draw your arms, ears, mouth, and tail on the sock.  (on the picture below I mislabeled the arms as "legs"- but, they are ARMS!)



•  Cut the ears and mouth out of the sock, set them aside. 
• Using the same guidelines as with the legs, sew around the line for the tail and arms. 
• Cut them out. 
• Flip them right side out and stuff them.

•  Ears: Fold the ear pieces in 1/2 with wrong sides touching. 
• Begin to sew them shut, leaving a small area open to stuff. 
• Once stuffed, sew shut and attach to the head of the monkey.

•   Begin to attach the mouth.  I start by aligning the mouth piece on the face and sewing the top first and leaving a space big enough to stuff the mouth. 
• Once stuffed, sew the mouth completely on.

• Now attach the stuffed arms and tail.
• Add eyes by sewing them or putting on buttons. 
• You are finished! 

I also made some clothes for my kids monkey's.  I will add instructions on that in my next blog entry.