Friday 20 November 2009

A Little Surprise!











This morning when we got up we found a little surprise in the loose housing shed - you can see her in the photograph above - sorry about the cow-pat directly in front of her but Mum was being protective and the farmer didn't want to get any nearer. Usually the heifers leave here and go home to the farm next door two or three weeks before they are due to calve, so that they can have special rations - but this lady decided to calve a bit early. Our neighbour came round immediately with his land rover and trailer. The heifer went into the trailer and he carried the calf into straw in the back of his land rover - and off they went home.
I have a friend moving house this weekend, so I have made her a card by sewing a house shape on to a piece of card. It is not finished yet but thought you might like to see the idea.
The Western side of the country has been greatly affected by the very heavy rain. Sadly a policeman has been drowned - there is always a run of very sad stories in this sort of weather - our sympathies go to his family. It has been a showery day here today but as you will see from the photographs taken just as it was getting dark, the storm clouds seem to be gathering again. The poor people who have been flooded out of their homes must be in despair as many of them have experienced it before. Our rivers are all very full but not overflowing today. Now we shall have to see what tomorrow brings in the way of weather.
Have a lovely week-end.

36 comments:

Jinksy said...

From cows to cards and back again! Can't be bad!

Heather said...

A beautiful calf and the heifer managed all by herself. Your patchwork card is delightful Weaver, and a very fitting design, I'm sure your friend will love it. Dreadful news of that poor policeman - we are only just getting news of the appalling floods in Cumbria.

Leilani Schuck Weatherington said...

I have always felt rather sad for milk cows who produce a calf which they bond with and then it is abruptly taken away from them and fed out of a pail. Deaths during heavy rains are not uncommon here because people will try to drive over low-water crossings when the creeks are at flood stage and they get swept off.

Reader Wil said...

I saw it on TV that the western part of GB is terribly flooded, which is terrible. Two or three years ago it was also the case.It is a shame. I hope you will be high and dry.
Wonderful to have a little calf on the farm, even if it went to the neighbour.
The card is beautiful! Have a great weekend.

Reader Wil said...

Oh yes! About skating! You meant The 11 towns'ride(De Elf Steden Tocht). That is seldom done nowadays, for there is hardly any ice.

Tess Kincaid said...

Aww!!! What a beautiful new addition!! She's precious.

Sad to hear about the death of the policeman. They so often bravely give their lives.

Hildred said...

Lovely little calf, and a sweet card, - so sorry about your disastrous weather and the worry and tragedy it brings to so many.

Leenie said...

The new baby is a beauty! Your morning light photos are too.

Anonymous said...

A second year of major floods - Cornwall in '08 and now Cumbria - begs questions. An elderly lady in the supermarket queue stated with great authority that floods of this severity happen every thousand years. I'm hoping for something a bit more scientific in the way of an explanation.

steven said...

hi weaver - i've been following the weather story in britain over the last week and a half and it's been very nasty. powerful winds, tremendous volumes of rain and yes, loss. but then a calf appears magically and it gives a small amount of balance, joy even! have a lovely evening in the dale. steven

Raph G. Neckmann said...

What a lovely little surprise!

Your card is beautiful and I'm sure your friend will greatly appreciate it.

I have been so sad to read about all the floods, and the tragedy of the policeman. My heart goes out to all those who are suffering in the floods.

Elisabeth said...

Your weather amazes me. So much a contrast to our drought. Is this rain and flooding unusual, a feature of climate change perhaps or is it, as you imply, a normal event every autumn?

Golden West said...

What a great little calf! All new and wobbly.

Your card has inspired me to get busy on my Christmas cards. That's a clever idea to incorporate fabric!

So sorry to hear of the loss of one of your policemen. Life is so fragile.

Amy said...

aww what sweet photos, gosh do you get lots of rain there in the winter?

CHummelKornell said...

Great post and beautiful baby!

Dinesh chandra said...

Hi what a surprise I watch the liitle new boarn calf . The darkness in weather showing the danger, but the life is always going on .

regards

Dinesh Chandra

Dinesh chandra said...

Hi what a surprise I watch the liitle new boarn calf . The darkness in weather showing the danger, but the life is always going on .

regards

Dinesh Chandra

Liz said...

Well wasn't that a lovely surprise much like one of my cows having a calf in my garden a few weeks ago.

I see winter is coming on for you now Weaver. I'm very sorry to hear about the policeman dying in the floods. Like you we get them here in Northland most years. That little heifer makes up for it.

Hope you are well
Love and hugs to you
Liz

ArtPropelled said...

I DO love your card! Darling little calf too. Weaver, the weather seems to be turbulent all around the globe. We've had rain and winds that blow rooves off houses. Friends in Canada and Australia have mentioned similar weather.

Sal said...

I cried when I read that sad news.
My hubby was in the same job and had some hairy experiences too.
I am glad that the floods have not affected you badly.I hope they don't.
Lovely to see the new calf!
Have a good weekend.
;-)

Pondside said...

What a pretty little calf!
We are having a lot of flooding near here too - watched the late news this evening and floods in Cumbria and here in Duncan were the big news. Winter is here!

Arija said...

So sorry about the floods and the poor policeman. Looks like your waterway was cleared out just in the nick oftime.
Nice little wobbly calf, mum looks competent and bviously had no problems.

I have left you a little something on my blog it you care to pop over.

Mistlethrush said...

Love the patchwork house - what a good idea.
Cumbria has had a dreadful few recent years with the weather. We seem to be lucky where we are - we never get the best of the weather but we certainly don't get the worst either.

Unknown said...

Hello Weaver,

Dark and very wet at the moment even though the day started off OK. But we still have a great deal to be thankful for compared t Cumbria. Cute calf and card!

Grizz………… said...

Hope you escape further weather/flooding problems. I'm sure you'd like to have a week of sunshine to warm up and dry out.

What a nice little surprise to find in the stall. That old saying that babies can come any time also applies to calves. Glad to hear mother and offspring got hauled off with no problems.

Sue said...

Brilliant Blog! I visited for the first time today and loved it!!

Gorgeous calf, something Hubby says we should have but we've only got chickens and pigs up to now!!

Sue xx

The Weaver of Grass said...

Yhank you to everyone for visiting and commenting. Today it has been very foggy and has rained all day but we are at present not in a flood alert over this side of the country. The pictures coming in from Cumbria are awful, bridges washed away, homes destroyed - luckily only the one loss of life - but that is terrible too. I can;t imagine what it must feel like.
Have a good weekend.

Country Girl said...

What a lovely post, well except for the trouble with the flooding. I heard about the policeman who drowned from another blog.
Your card is special. I think your friend will be touched.

Jenn Jilks said...

Our west coast has flooding. My sympathies. Terrible weather all around the world.
BUt life carries on. Lovely shots, even with the punctuation marks!!!

Elizabeth Musgrave said...

I used to live in cockermouth for a while and have been watching the coverage of the floods. Such a great town, so much damage and then the loss of life. And to a questioner earlier, no, this is not our usual weather I don't think.

Unknown said...

Your idea for creating a card is just beautiful, Weaver! The texture of the fabric will add such a genuine warmth to the sentiment. It is sad to hear about floods in places where they are so unexpected. South of Winnipeg, in Canada, the area floods every year and the residents expect it and know how to deal with it. It is especially sad to hear about the constable loosing his life while on duty. Your new little cowpoke is very adorable! Congratulations.

ChrisJ said...

I thought about you when I heard about the flooding. Hope you are keeping safe and dry. What fun to find a calf just born. I do think I would have loved farm life. I know it's hard work and I have never had much stamina, but I do love life around animals and out in the country side.

Anonymous said...

Hi Weaver. A lovely surprise story (heifer) to counter the sad story of the policeman. His poor family! Your card is lovely - love the patchwork. We had a month's supply of rain in the last 24 hours in Melbourne. This after a couple of weeks of days in the mid thirties Celsius.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thank you for your comments - glad you like the card. I think we are all full of sympathy for the family of the policeman who lost his life - and for the people of Cockermouth who are now beginning the clear up operation.
The Times headline said that this kind of rain (12 inches in one day) only happens once every thousand years - let's hope they are right.

Woman in a Window said...

When is death not sad? It is always, but when someone dies at the mercy of the every day, rain, even if excessive, I find I've a very hard time accepting that logically. So sorry for that man and his family.

And then a new life arrives as unexpectadly. And so it is.
xo
erin

BT said...

What a gorgeous little calf Weaver and a lovely photo. It was awful about that policeman, wasn't it? I believe he was a father of 4 too. We have had dreadful flooding in Ireland, though none of it has been reported in the UK. Ennis, a town near to us, has been badly hit and many houses flooded. It must be so awful.

We are at least above the floods, though flash flooding can occur anywhere. I did manage to get Jim to Shannon airport and back today. We have one route left open. Phew. A lovely card too.