It's Like searching for a needle in a haystack when hunting for a calf

Not in this field

Or in the woods

Did find a ferral cat

Not here

Or here with the herd

There he is

Saturday morning we had the first calf of 2016 arrive to a first time mum. if I hadn't seen her licking it I would of said it was a deer in the field (it was far away and my eyesight is starting to deteriorate) but no farmer J went to check it was OK and a calf, which it was and a male.

Role on Saturday evening with farmer J ready to place its ear tags in while mum was far enough away. It is best to get the tags in sooner than later as when first born they are a lot easier to handle and if done really quickly they haven't enough time to call out alerting mum, who may be an angry cow and the rest of the herd come running to see what's going on. However this calf was not having any of it, he was really lively already. Best left a while till he calms down and sleeps again.

Sunday morning he was no where to be seen, not with mum or in any of the fields or woods. Farmer J looked, I looked. He went one way I went the other. We looked again before lunch, scouring the edge of the fields where they usually can be found or in the woods. No calf, now usually when mum sees you she immediately will look in the direction of where she left the calf, giving you an idea of where it may be. This mum didn't, we didn't hear her calling it or looking at any time for it. It just seemed to of disappeared. Later on we looked again, up and down the three fields they have access to and the surrounding woods even on the road and in neighbouring fields. No calf and no mum searching, thinking the worst we left it for the night.

This morning another search, this time me taking Sorrel, who had a whale of a time searching over fields and woods she had never been in. Legs scratched and lead tangled we still couldn't find it dead or alive. Having to move cows over at La Contie this morning we left the search to re look after walking with cows.

When we came back just before lunch who should be with the herd by the hay, the calf, no idea where he had hidden but he wins first prize for hide and seek. This afternoon farmer J managed to sneak up on him to tag him oh, and he managed to put the band on him to save castrating him later. This evening his in the open field with the herd where hopefully he will stay.

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2ENJ093 - FRANKLIN

Eight years ago today Franklin came into our family, a rescue dog from the SPA in Rodez we drove to see if they had a dog to re home. He had been there a month after being left tied to a bin in the town centre, chosen because he didn't bark, he came to us to say hello and was completely different from the dog we had lost days before Christmas. 120 Euros he cost, a young boy still a pup, very thin but with a look of take me home please. A collar put round his neck, forms completed, cheque handed over and a kiss from the manager and he was ours. Five minutes down the road in the car he threw up. Five minutes in the house and he had weed up the settee and collected an assortment of treasures including socks, toilet roll inner tubes, tissues and soft toys all placed in a pile under the table and garded. He ate at an amazing speed, fearing he would loose it to our other dogs. Then he started to bark, he has a fine bark on him. He barks for his tea, when a visitor arrives, the

Parisot lake

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The English Paysanne

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