Adventures on Zephyr Hill Farm

It's been a long, hot, dry summer, and we're more than 15" short of rain for the year.  We've been feeding hay to all our animals since mid-June--in a year when the first cutting wasn't up to par and the second cutting was very scant.  An oak tree right...

This is a follow-up to Siobhan's story from last year.  That story told how Siobhan got Pseudomonas mastitis in her right rear quarter and nearly died.
I was a day away from putting Siobhan down to end her intense suffering when my son and our three grandchildren joined me in the milking parlor.  They prayed over and sang to Siobhan while I stripped her swollen, painful quarter.  They also fed her treats...

We're in a bull market here at Zephyr Hill Farm.  Ebby's calf was born today, a black, horned bull.  He may not be the red, homo-polled heifer I was hoping for--but he is healthy and lively and sweet, and we're very thankful for him.
Last night at the 3 am check I could tell Ebby's pins had gone, so I figured today would be the day.  Ebby's restless pacing of the pasture all morning confirmed it.  By 2:30 all she had done was get up and down in various places for the last half hour...