Valley to Valley to Valley: Update

It has been hard to sit down and write for the past few days. I keep saying this, but there is a lot going on around here, and by the end of the day I'm pretty tuckered out. I do feel an obligation to write something occasionally versus just posting pictures of my activities. I appreciate everyone who takes some time to look/read my blog because your support helps me keep going.

This adventure I'm on is not just this years "trek", but rather an exploration into the life I want to live. Whether cattle are in the picture will be highly dependent upon the land I partner with in the future. I have many aspirations most of them involving food and feeding people, but also tangents that do not include working directly with a specific piece of land or herd/flock. For the past four/five-ish years I have been rooted to an agricultural rhythm. At school, the cadence of the college's farm intertwined itself into my daily schedule. It often dictated my study habits and my conversations with friends. I had several non-farm crew friends who would sometimes get exasperated with us (farm crew members) because our lunchtime and most any other occasion led to conversations about farming and what was on the farm's docket. This additional element of work-work was the cherry on top of my college experience. My five semesters and a summer on the college's farm has really helped me transition to this operation, and of late, has given me something to compare and contrast.

I am tentative to explore some of these possible "tangents" because I do not want to miss out on the seasonality of this life. Working in an office would sort of be a challenge. I am curious to see how I would handle not being around livestock and the tasks of running such operations. At the moment, I'm sure I would miss it all greatly...hmmmm

Things to ponder and see where I end up.

Pulling the fence through the cattails

With fall comes weaning, preg checking, sorting, moving...etc. It is a vibrant and active time before the "calm" of winter. For the past week we have been handling a pinkeye outbreak in the mother herd. On Sunday we doctored many cows and calves. There are several reasons for why pinkeye has reared its ugly head this year: 1) drought can cause vitamin A deficiencies in plants and consequently cows; 2) our herd is on leased ground that has had many many herds on it before and Moraxella bovis can live in the soil for many years; and 3) tall grass can scratch eyes allowing the bacteria to take advantage of the wound and compromised immune system. George has not had to handle many cases of pinkeye before and especially an outbreak like this. We treated and quarantined the group to stop the spread of the infection. I have spent every day this week gazing into the eyes of every single cow/calf (256 animals x two eyes = 512 eyes). It looks like the spread of the infection has been slowed, but we're keeping our eyes peeled for anymore teary/swollen/cloudy eyes. Pinkeye can also be caused by a virus Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis (IBR).

Okay I think that's enough for tonight. Thank you.