Tuesday Update

Introducing: SCRUMPY!!




Named for the terrific woman over at Scrumpy Baker's blog!

Born early this morning, the Bag Lady had to wait until there was a little more daylight to take a picture, and even then, with the cloud cover, the flash went off!

Here is a really short video clip of how bouncy and energetic she is, much like who she is named for...

Tuesday Tales

Here's another comparison shot for you. This is Pegasus and Dawn. You remember Dawn, right? She was the tiniest of the twins, born 9 days ago. She has grown, but still isn't anywhere close to Pegasus, who was born Friday evening! (The Bag Lady had quite a time getting them close enough together to take any kind of picture - they don't care that they are famous!)


The Bag Lady has been quite busy with all kinds of this and that. There is always so much to do in the spring! And why is it that, in spite of the longer daylight hours, the days seem to go by so fast?!

May have to add an update to this post later on, but this is it for now!

Flower Power

Yesterday was fairly quiet on the ranch - no calves were born, so the Bag Lady put some time in on her flowerbed. Here is a picture of her first daffodil to bloom. Unfortunately, the second blossom was broken off, probably by one of the cats or the dog. Sigh.


On the left are the beginnings of one of the peonies, and behind the daffodil is a hollyhock just starting to appear.

The Bag Lady did a lot of weeding, which entailed a lot of bending over, so she really stretched her hamstrings. She can feel them a little bit today, but is sure that with a little more weeding they will be fine. Thank goodness for yoga!

Saturday Update

Here are some little video clips for your enjoyment.
The first clip is FARLEY, taken not long after she was born. She is up and looking for some milk.
She was born yesterday around noon.






This next clip is PEGASUS, and it was taken today around noon. He was born last night around 9 pm. Take note of his size in relation to Princess (the dog)!!

Saturday Report

We had another calf last night, but the hour was late and the Bag Lady was tired, so she didn't get the photo published.
We think he is the biggest of this years' calves yet! His mother had quite a time giving birth to him, so the Cowboy eventually had to give her a little help. Mother and calf both seem to be doing well this morning.
Named in honour of Reb (the Bag Lady's sister) here is
PEGASUS:
He may not look very big in this photo, but he is quite a brute!
The Bag Lady will update this post if anything else exciting happens today!

Up-dated Friday Round-up

Presenting.....FARLEY! Named for Terrie Farley Moran, who blogs over at Women of Mystery
This calf was up on her feet in about 10 minutes, and didn't even fall down! She is very strong, and very tenacious!





The last fading light of a prairie evening.....



The Bag Lady took this photo a little after 10 pm last night. Click on it to enlarge it and see the little sliver of moon up high in the sky. (Please ignore the spot of whatever in the top right corner - her camera does that whenever the flash goes off...)

It's still cool in the evenings, although the days are getting longer and the temperature during the day is quite mild.

Not too many miles from here, they had an incredible amount of snow yesterday - something in the neighbourhood of 14 inches! The Bag Lady was out and about yesterday and saw a vehicle with snow on the hood. Must have come from closer to the mountains.

The Bag Lady is waiting to see what the weekend brings in the calving department. There are a couple more cows looking quite close to calving. Of course she will post pictures of them whenever they arrive! Don't be silly.

Have a great weekend!

Almost a Rant

There was a documentary on television the other night that has stuck with the Bag Lady. The program was about a Canadian family undergoing an experiment. The family of four had agreed to live on the rations provided through a relief organization to people in need in disaster zones or third world countries. The rations consisted of a bag of cornmeal, a cup of lentils, half a cup of oil and what looked like about a tablespoon of salt. (The Bag Lady may not have the exact portions correct, but that gives you an idea.)

The traditional family (mother, father and 2 young daughters) were willing to live on these rations for three days. Only three days. The mother was a little unsure of how to cook any of the rations, but she did her best. She made cornmeal mush and cooked the lentils. The only one who did not complain was the father. The mother, partway through the second day, was ill from hunger. The younger daughter finally cheated on the afternoon of the second day and had a cup of tea and a scone. Her rationalization was that she was doing gymnastics and wasn't getting enough energy from the rations.

Their rations were cut in half the third day. Apparently this is what has happened with the aid agency - the high cost of food and fuel, etc. has had a detrimental effect on their ability to provide even those meagre rations they had been supplying. The parents in this case did what most parents would do in those circumstances, and gave the children the lion's share of the food.

The Bag Lady found the program interesting, but has to admit, she was perhaps a little disappointed in the family. There were tears, and complaints, and the Bag Lady couldn't help but think; "But, but... you agreed to do this, it was your choice!" They threw away the portions that they didn't eat! In a strange way, it embarrassed the Bag Lady that they would choose to do this experiment, then whine and complain and waste the food.

For breakfast on the day their "ordeal" ended, there was such an abundance of food on their table, it again was almost embarrassing. Eggs, pancakes, fresh fruit... Almost as though they were rewarding themselves after this terrible ordeal they had gone through. That they chose to go through. It was an experiment, a chance to experience what so many others have no choice about.

Here in North America, we take so much for granted. Could any of us survive for 3 days on cornmeal and lentils? We live in a land of abundance; food, fuel, clothing. Our concerns are trivial in comparison to what others are suffering. We make our choices based on want rather than need. Our nations waste an amazing amount of food - just look at what is thrown into the dumpsters behind any restaurant in any city. Stop and think of what you yourself have thrown out in the last week. That last bit of leftover whatever that was turning green in the back of the fridge, or the apple that was a little soft.

And then we donate a little bit of money and pat ourselves on the back for helping those in need.

The Bag Lady finds herself a little confused about how she feels about the experiment. Could she have survived through three days of cornmeal and lentils? She is pretty sure she could. She has survived the cleansing procedure one must go through for a colonoscopy, which is far worse than cornmeal and lentils, she can assure you! Well, unless you have a deep and abiding love for clear broth and jello, and very strong laxatives. (Oops, was that too much information?) Makes cornmeal and lentils sound pretty appetizing!

So, is the Bag Lady totally off the wall? Is she being too judgmental? She admits to being a little confused as to what these people expected out of this experiment, and she wonders now what they learned. She also wonders, a tiny bit, what the point was.