Calf Stuck in Snowdrift

Sunday morning the weather became worse by the hour, till it was like a blizzard, blowing snow into heaps at gusts up to 50 mph.

Saturday morning the boys had gone out....

to romp with the dogs before chores and breakfast...

but Sunday morning was a different story. 

And then our neighbor, who happened to be far away in Dallas, TX, texted us to ask for help with getting his cows and calf into his barn and out of the weather. 

The lady who was house sitting for their family couldn't get the cows to cooperate.

When the boys went over, they discovered a second calf, evidently just a day old! 

The neighbor had no idea his second cow had just had a calf, too, although he had hoped for a calf earlier. The lady at the house had pulled the poor newborn calf out of a snowdrift that morning,

covered with ice clear over its eyes!

The boys tried hard to get the cows and calf in, to no avail. They were very cautious with the mama cow, because from experience we know not to tangle with some mama cows.

Finally Rose dressed up warmly and went over, too. 

Finally Sam picked the poor calf up bodily (probably about 60 or 70 pounds)

and carried it most of the way to the barn, and after a bit the mama came, too.

Timmy got a bale of our straw to make the shivering calf a nice dry bed in the barn, and now a few days later it is so great to see the calf healthy and flourishing. 

Our rooster thought he was king of the mountain later that day after the storm cleared away.

Inside was cozy as we listened to an outstanding testimony by Dave Roever,  a Vietnam War vet who lived through having half his face blown away and burns over most of his upper body. He has an amazing sense of humor, which he has learned to use well. He has spent much of his post-war life sharing his testimony to injured soldiers, in hospitals and schools, and elsewhere. We sat screeching with laughter or wiping shameless tears.

In the evening, we had a home "youth service" with Sam in charge, Rose leading singing, Carrie accompanying the four hymns on the piano, and everyone participating in quoting Scripture and having a sword drill using verses that all had the word "dog" in them.

That was an interesting study--finding a number of Scriptures and what they had to say about dogs.

To keep our new flooring from getting scratched with the multiple chairs scratching across it, Jonathan bought this cozy area rug (above) with a bear and lodge theme. 

Yeah, I never wanted a rug under the kitchen table (someone spilled a bunch of cider this very afternoon!) but the floor is getting scratched already sooo---

Even though it means I'll have to do a bit of redecorating, I just loved how soft it feels.

 I was walking the floor praying one evening after the children went to bed, and I just enjoyed the softness of that new rug under my feet so much!!

One night after Jonathan's right hand was injured, he was helping me with dishes, and I got such a kick out of how he "built" a stack of pans and bowls and dishes--

just like the builder that he is!!

 

Yesterday, one of our neighbors with whom we have been sharing extra goat milk came over with her empty jars which I refilled, and she brought two dozen duck eggs! Their ten ducks she said are giving them 70 eggs a week!

I made these scrambled duck eggs for breakfast. 

That was a sweet blessing!