Delightful Arrives! Josh

Today, Delightful and her now four week old calf Bella made the journey from Kamiah to Garfield with minimal malfunction, but with plenty of stress for a family of newbies. This arrival was long anticipated. Our first cow ownership in 2009 was to precede property ownership, but alas, gratification would be deferred until today. Two weeks ago we mowed pastures and began watering.

Two days ago we modified the trailer with a calf crate and narrow stall - thanks for the help Scott. Last night, a friend arrived to return the tractor and drop off a truck able to pull the Lewiston grade with a horse trailer; the van was going to be a little under powered. And this morning, we left Garfield at 7:00, did some errands in Moscow, arrived in Kamiah at 10:00, and made it back to Garfield by 2:30.
So what caused the stress? The calf had doubled in size in the last two weeks and was liable to jump out of the constructed crates, so two boards were added to the top immediately before loading. Then, after loading Delightful, she showed that a cow can believe itself capable of exiting a horse trailer through a window despite the tethering suggested by the sellers. We then tethered tighter, and boarded the window.

This allowed the trip to be relatively uneventful, though as the driver, my guts were in knots until Delightful finally relaxed after unloading. The image taken out the back window shows some images seared in my mind by the anxiety. To an experienced rancher with a proven stock trailer, this would seem trivial I suspect. To us it was pins and needles, with every bump triggering gastric constriction.

But the final result is something difficult to describe, as I told Courage when she asked me, "How does having Delightful here make you feel, Dad?" It is like the feeling of holding a new baby. Delightful and Bella bring to our household nourishment for body (as we tasted fresh out of the udder while she ate crab apples and fresh grass) and an earthy, overwhelming sense of reality, like becoming a parent for the first time. Her tolerance to six kids grooming and ogling immediately after a stressful trip in 100 degree weather (with a chaffed tail) was astonishing to me, having worked with ranging beef cattle. She let us milk her while she nursed Bella, and she's never officially been a milk cow. She's as beautiful as she is sweet, and she is already a contributing member of the household.