Thankful Thursday: A bunny in the eagle's nest and a calf-napping...

Spring break is here!!!  I'm up at our cattle ranch with my dad and grandparents.  And all the cows too.  It's been a bit strange.  Two weeks ago our beloved puppy dog, Molly, passed away, and this might be the first time in 13 years I've been here to the ranch without her.  While on the tractor with Dad, I kept looking out expecting to see her running alongside us, barking with her big happy smile.  Here's to the best cow dog and furry friend there ever was:


Yesterday while feeding the cows, Dad asked me if I wanted to see the bunny in one of our abandoned eagle's nests.  "Bunny?  What kind of bird looks like a bunny?"  (One year a goose nested in the eagle's old home.  That was a sight).  I didn't see anything at first, she was so well hidden.  But finally I saw the two bunny ears!  Guess hoo our new neighbor is!  :D

My camera isn't that great, so I borrowed a photo from Lawrence Peregrines.  I'm excited for some fuzzy great horned owl babies to join their mama up there!

Today Dad, Grandpa and I teamed up to calf-nap a sick baby.  Mama cow had been anxiously avoiding us, with her baby stumbling along behind her.  But we finally got near to her and gave her a bucket of grain.  She was more concerned that Dad was sneaking up on her calf than about eating it...  Dad grabbed the baby, hefted it into the tractor scoop, and jumped in with it.  I jumped in too with the cooler of medical supplies, and Grandpa lifted us up off the ground so if the mama got angry and tried to attack us we'd be out of reach.  We fed the calf an electrolyte solution through a tube down to its stomach, gave it penicillin and pills, and tagged it.  Grandpa lowered the scoop, Dad helped the little guy get off on his feet and Mama checked him over and took him away.  We were grateful for a safe and smooth calf-napping, and tonight he seemed happy and well.  :)


I've been struck by how amazing births are.  Newborn calves are so ungainly, yet right after being born they are normally able to get right up and start milking.  Today I wondered how on earth a newborn calf could have that sort of muscle power, while comparing their capacities to the utter helplessness of a newborn human baby.

I'm thankful for springtime.  To be surrounded by the miracle of Life.  We are coming out of a long winter's sleep, with still-dormant buds appearing on trees and shrubs.   Songbirds are singing, and sandhill cranes are heralding the coming of spring!  Even though I still think about Molly and another family member who passed away, I'm grateful to be surrounded by the wonders of birth, the promise of new life, and to be an essential part of healing and rescue.  I am excited for Easter, and to celebrate the promise of eternal life.    

Why are you excited for Spring?