Back to back… to back: Calving season came and went.

Father's Day kicked off our calving season with a cute heifer calf from a first-timer, Lil Gin. She didn't need any assistance, but we were on standby, watching the intense miracle of birth.

The following week, Ginny had a cute little heifer calf sometime in the night—her usual. We decided to name her little cutie June.

Lil Gin with Natty post delivery (Clancy looks through Binoculars) and Ginny with Natty and her calf, June.

This week brought us Granger's calving. First, we watched for a few days as Granger's udder engorged with colostrum, her back legs swinging around them but still knocking them as she shuffled around the pasture. Then we saw little mucus secretions. But we knew it was finally game on when she spent most of her morning standing in different places, eating less, and not spending great bouts of time laying around chewing her cud.

Raina, babe, and Granger! Photo Credit: Clancy Potter!

The lead-up to and the delivery of Granger's calf, plus the following weeks after she delivers, is basically the most stressful time of the year for me at Big Rock.

Granger's track record is a bit interesting. Her first calf, PoMo, born two weeks before our wedding in 2019, died days before the big day, leaving me to milk her during this already stressful time as I dried her off on hay in a stall in the barn. It was so unfortunate to lose our first calf and for it to be Granger's.

Her second calf, George, was lucky to have been delivered alive… or at all. Fortunately, we got a vet at the right time of her delivery to help us. The vet had to work hard to get George's head around, and into a diving position with both feet up. They would have likely died if we couldn't have gotten a vet out when we needed him. He had to muscle that calf into position so many times and had a hell of a time keeping him in place.

Meanwhile, I held Granger steady, Clancy watching from a stroller behind me. My mom and Nathaniel used calf chains looped around each calf's front foot to pull on during and between contractions. They looked like wakeboarders ready to be drawn from the water as they used their combined bodyweights to keep George from returning. When the vet finally got the calf lined out and far enough, all three of them had to pull on contractions to get him out! It was traumatizing but gratifying.

Thankful for George and Granger after an emergency vet call calving extravaganza! This is one of my all time favorite ranch photos<3 2020

Last year she finally had drama-free calving. Phew. We came home from a day at the river, it was a weekend, and we had family visiting from all over. Nathaniel spotted in the binos that she was calving in the South pasture. I entered emergency responder mode, and we zipped out with Clancy and necessary calving supplies. We watched as she stood and made progress on each contraction. We called all our family in case shit got real, and we had to take insane calving measures by ourselves on the weekend. The trauma of George's birth and Granger's docility towards being helped encouraged us to assist so no progress would be lost. On each contraction, we would help pull. It was a much more peaceful birth and was efficient with our minimal help. Clancy watched while sitting on the ATV parked next to her. The family arrived just after a little heifer calf was born, and we all clustered together as we watched Jester in her attempts to stand and finally nurse. It was just as we'd like a Granger calving to go!

Clancy and Auntie Robyn watching Jester post delivery and Jester being 'pulled.'

After that blissful experience, we knew there was hope for Granger! This year helped confirm that. Granger had us holding our breath for a couple of days before she actually started calving on a midweek afternoon. Ironically, we had just returned from picking up George in 1-5 pound packages for our freezer when we saw it was finally game on for her.

As the clock ticked closer to 5 pm, when the vet office closed, I began to get anxious. She was definitely taking her sweet time to get those calf feet out. But alas, she did, and there were two little cloven hooves in diver form. It took what felt like forever but was only a matter of minutes to confirm that a nose was nicely placed with the legs of those feet. The tongue stuck out of the nose, but neither was swollen, which was a good sign; active labor wasn't taking too long.

At that point, we could relax a little; the calf was in the correct position, and there was no facial swelling. Then, however, a new worry arose as I noticed the legs and little tongue were discolored and a little yellow-green looking. This meant that pre-labor had gone too long; the calf had pooped inside and had probably tried to breathe inside the fluidy birth sac.

We had all the necessary equipment on standby as we watched this calving unfold. We were ready to glove up and use the chains to get the baby out before she became more distressed.

When we arrived home just after 3 pm, Granger was mooing at me; I knew she was asking me to help her out of this situation. Unfortunately for her, I had to wait for two feet and a nose until I could. I think she would have gotten this calf out on her own if it had happened when we weren't there to help. Still, it definitely saved her and especially the calf from any unnecessary distress. It turned out to be a massive calf! Probably our biggest but definitely our tallest one to date!

Another calving was old news to Clancy by this third calf, so he kept going back and forth between the house and pasture. So, we turned the TV on for him, hoping it would keep him busy enough to stay out of trouble. Instead, upon Nathaniel and I's arrival back at the house, we found him in a state of partial distress, saluting us with a red solo cup.

It turns out he'd gone to the bathroom in his toilet and flushed it but hadn't bothered with clothes--not to our surprise. The refrigerator door was open, and the light and warning ding had long gone off because he got himself a cup of 'milk.' Our milk comes in half-gallon mason jars, so we were baffled at how he managed to open and pour himself milk. To our surprise, he indicated the jug of half and half that was neatly capped and in its place. Nathaniel lifted it from the fridge door; it was all but empty. Clancy then told us that he had a huge glass filled to the brim! Minimal spills occurred. So basically, Clancy stayed out of trouble and even managed to meet all his needs!

We decided to keep with the Harry Potter name theme for this little calf because, as of now, we hope to keep her! So, meet Lily Potter (named after Harry Potter's mom).

In 16 days, our cows delivered three heifer calves, making the tidiest calving season yet!

Lily with chains on being gently pulled. It may seem rough to use chains but a soft rope would cut off circulation to the feet. The links in the chains allow blood to flow. I had to include the placenta/birth sac which is passed after the calf—Granger’s is extra artsy looking. All the lumps are for nutrient transfer from placenta to calf.