Struggle, adversity, resilience and hope affects us all every day.
Farming is a constant reminder of this. The inspiration and strength that’s needed comes from all kinds of places.
I want to introduce our heifer calf Glimmer. Our Glimmer of hope.
Glimmer is our first heifer (girl) calf born on our farm since starting our new herd. We bought her mama from breeders in Saskatchewan and had her shipped here last fall so she could have her baby here. With an exciting show season ahead we had high hopes for this pair.
Endear (mama) travelled well, man was she just GORGEOUS!, and settled right in with our little herd here as winter marched on.
On the morning of January 16th, Endear went into labour and we were on high alert as expectant parents and after 30 min or so we decided to give Mama a helping hand as we most often do for first-time calvers.
I wont get into details but the next 2 hours became complicated and scary as Baby was waaaay bigger than she should have been. Her Sire was chosen especially because he threw small babies for first time mothers so this was totally unexpected. Endear was tired, she was up, then collapsed and layed down, and eventually we managed to pull the big calf out without damaging Mum. Whew!
And we had our first baby girl on the farm!
Unbeknownst to us, the calf sustained some nerve damage to her back legs and didn’t get up to suck so when we checked on her later she was cold and hungry.
We milked Endear and fed baby and brought her in the house by toboggan where we slowly warmed her with blankets and a hair dryer.
Once back in the barn donning her new calf blanket she stayed in the warm glow of the heat lamp.
So began the next four days of calf duty.
With help from us to get up every 4 hours and support of a straw bale, our little girl finally learned how to nurse in the wee hours of the morning on day 2.
That morning she earned her name Glimmer.
Because she was. Our Glimmer of hope.
By the fourth day of helping her stand she had learned how to get up on her own and we had experienced our first real calving lesson about resilience and determination.
Today, over 4 months and a few vet and chiropractor visits later, Glimmer is a happy, healthy heifer calf with a gimpy leg that doesn’t slow her down one bit.
She is teaching her mama how to be a great cow, and teaching us that where there is a will there is a way. When I stop and watch this little calf race around with her pen mates I am inspired and thankful for the opportunity to do what we do every day.
This is one experience that has taught me that resilience, strength, and faith can get you through one heck of a lot!