Burn Out

Some boys have dogs as faithful companions.

Tristen has a cow.

Black Out is Tristen's 2 year old bucket calf. He has fed her warm delicious bottles, and loved her, and walked her,  and scratched her since she was 3 weeks old. I can't figure out if she thinks he's her mom, or if he is just her BFF. Whatever it is, its really something to watch. Her eyes light up when he enters the lot, and she follows him everywhere he goes.


Tristen and Black Out, the day he brought her home, and first time feeding a bottle.


The pair, later that same summer.

Just recently I watched her waddle her fat swollen body up to the barn, to play hide and seek with Tristen. He would pop up in a window, she'd go look to find him. Then he would pop up in the door way, she would waaadddle her way over there, back to the window, back to the door. 

Anyway, back to the story...Black Out is OFFICIALLY a cow, since she is now a momma.

We have been checking Black Out, and Charlie, Jacob's hiefer, for about 2 weeks. Black Out had been showing all the signs, but yesterday we KNEW she was getting close. So exciting except...we had to be in Dodge for wedding reception. (Danny's brother, Tony and his new wife, Stacey's celebration..not something we would have missed!)  I knew my brother would check on her while we were gone, and make sure everything was going ok. We checked on her as we were leaving town. She was still with the herd, munching around a little on grass so things weren't getting too serious yet.  I was just crossing my fingers she somehow would wait for Tristen.

She didn't.

We left at 3. By 7 my brother was calling to let us know that a tiny little black calf that had just arrived into the world.

Tristen was so upset he had missed it, and was worried about Black Out, and immediately grabbed his hoodie and asked to go home. Promises of cake and dancing don't mean anything when there is a new baby calf to go meet. We got him talked into staying for a little while, and then finally just gave in just as the dance was getting going and headed home. We went pasture driving at 11:30 at night, in the dark, trying to find a BLACK cow, and her BLACK calf.  After a long search, we finally found them, and stayed just long enough for Tristen to make sure the baby was warm, was a BOY, and to scratch Black Out's head.  We were awarded with new momma warning moo's when we messed with her new baby. Tristen was awarded with sand paper tongue kisses. I  sat and smiled as I watched them together-She would gently nudge her baby, and then nudge Tristen, as if to say "Do you see my beautiful baby? Do you see him, Tristen?? Do you see what I did??" That kid would have probably slept in the plum thickets with the pair last night, if he thought his parents would have let him.

 
 


So, Tristen now has a Black Out, and a baby Burn Out. If all goes well, the pair will go to the fair this summer as a cow/calf pair, and the year after that, Burn Out will go back as Tristen's steer project. 




“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened.” Anatole France