About the cover photo: It took me three attempts of between 4 and 5 days each to get into the spot where this photo was taken. On the first two trips I suffered some very painful injuries. This spot is in the Baker River drainage in North Cascades National Park. Do you know the name of the mountain?

Converse hightops on my feet, I traverse the North Cascades in pursuit of my life project to walk into every high lake or pond mapped in the Skagit River watershed. The upper Skagit Valley near Marblemount, WA is my home and has been home to my family since 1888. I have come to feel that the culture of this place, like the culture of much of rural America, is misunderstood by an increasingly urban population and threatened by economic depression. I would like to share the stories of this place and the people who call it home. Through my stories and images of these mountains, my goal is to help others understand and respect both the natural resources and the people of the North Cascades.


Sunday, January 19, 2014

First Calf of 2014


We had our first calf of the year last night, January 18th or early this morning, rather Grapeleaf had a little heifer. This is quite early for her. She usually calves in late March or April, which is better because the weather is milder and the grass is coming on.

Some day I need to fix things so that I can keep the bull out of the herd when I want to and be able to wean calves properly. That would go a long way to ensuring the cows are calving more under conditions of my choosing.

That being said, it has been a mild winter and the calf appears to be healthy so I’ll take it and not complain. 
Mother Grapeleaf and new calf. 

New calf feeding. Vashti was with me when I went to do chores and saw the new calf. She was quite excited. When the calf started feeding I said, "She's getting some milk." And Vashti said, "She's nursing". We had explained to Vashti where the cow's milk we drink comes from but not that calves (and all other mammals for that matter) nurse like humans. The kinds of connections young children are capable of making on their own are quite amazing to me.  

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1 comment:

  1. beatgrlJanuary 20, 2014 at 10:03 AM

    I noticed lots of calves in the valley this past week, and particularly enjoyed visiting the longhorns in Corkindale. Early births seem to be a theme this year in your neighborhood, eh? I'm not surprised that Vashti is a pro on the topic of nursing already. Best wishes to you guys!

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