Just one of those things...

A quote from the Cantankerous Farmer (C.F.) this week is a good way to dive into my first blog topic: “I know he had two of ‘em a minute ago.”

Castration. It was time to help the Grandparents’ with their cattle yesterday, and I am glad we did it before lunch. Since the Grandparents didn’t get around to banding six of the bull calves when they were first born, they grew too big to band, and we had to castrate them the old-fashioned way. By that I mean, Granddaddy had a pair of scissors and some rubbing alcohol. And when the scissors weren’t doing the trick, the pocket knives came out (note: NEVER borrow a pocket knife from a farmer to cut food you plan to eat!!). And when the balls were tossed to the dirt, if everyone wasn’t grossed out enough at this point, the dog started gnawing them with that spark in her eye dogs get when they’re really happy.

It was a beautiful day, though. In the 60s, blue sky, not too windy. I had spent the first part of the morning making piles of really good rocks to face our house with. For months I’ve been going on rock-walks—strolls through the woods that I don’t return from until I’ve found an above-average rock for the house. Excellent exercise. And after the cattle-working, I spent the afternoon with the women of the family, on a horse-back ride around the farm. I’ve explored the farm on foot from one end to the other, tramping around the woods and fields and across and through the creek. On horseback, oak leaves crunching under their hooves, the view from the high perch was markedly different. From a horse’s back, the feel of the farm changed--being on a horse is a low-tech form of time travel.

Most of my farm experience has been limited to vegetable and berry growing, and some dairy-goat work. Cattle wrangling is completely new to me, and I didn’t get too close when we worked them yesterday. I filled needles with vaccines, wrote down weights, and handed Granddaddy and the C.F. what they needed, but I kept well back whenever it came time to castrate. Not because I disapproved of what we were doing, I was just completely grossed out by it. What I learned from this day is that I think it is best to follow up the gross, hard work with something that gives you a little distance. Each small part of the day might not be elegant, but hopefully, it adds up to a worthy whole. A horse-back ride refocused my attention from dull blades and blood out to the woods, the pastures, the animals grazing.