FOUR LEGGED DAY

CHA-CHA- CHIA PET. Think someone needs a hair cut.

My three deductions wondering why I keep getting up so EARLY. What, you mean I can't claim my pets as deductions? Well that has to change.

CRIES OF DISTRESS

For the past few days I have had to listen helplessly to the wailing of a baby animal screaming for its mother. The crying , stomping, pacing and shoving continues all day long with only brief periods of quiet. You know I am Patti Soft Heart so this is very hard for me to take. This beautiful young filly is being weaned and not happy about the whole situation.

She is a strikingly beautiful young animal and her heightened state on anxiety only amplifies her beauty. Her head is up, ears are cocked and her tail is out straight as she prances about her small confine. She is alone for the first time and desperately misses her mother. She wants that milk and the comfort that goes with it.

Periodically the mother returns to the baby, they nuzzle but then Mom wanders off again, seemingly enjoying her new freedom. I quickly googled how long this process would take and google said maybe months. Yikes. I hope I get hardened to this.

CHARCOAL

I sometimes wonder about nature's intent. Too often I have seen calves born in very inclement conditions. They leave that nice warm body of Momma's to plop on to the hard ground, wet and steaming from the cold. Really had to feel for this little darlin for that is what he had to endure. He is my neighbor's (same neighbor who is weaning the filly) calf that I am calling him/her Charcoal due to its soft color. Most likely, the baby will be black in time like its daddy.

This was so soon after birth that the mother was still eating her placenta. Yuck. What we don't do for our off spring. Though, I was 50 yards away and behind a fence, I was making the mother nervous. Her eyes never left me.

Dad was giving me the fish eye also, so I backed off.

Birth is hard enough without strangers gawking. In an amazingly quick time, Charcoal was on his feet, looking for that nice warm meal. Would like to have captured that but her nervousness was not eased by my backing off so I moved out of range of my camera. I caught it with my binoculars but that doesn't help you. Trust me, it was special

One thing I love about living here is that I get to enjoy my neighbor's livestock and never see a feed or vet bill. Wish I had thought of this way to enjoy animals years ago.