Post by Applelonia on Nov 16, 2021 11:25:15 GMT -5
I wondered what it would be like getting adult cows …I figured they’d be very distant and it would take them a long time to adjust and get used to routine and to me….Voila is not used to being handled at all ~ only been a herd cow raising calves but Peatrice being milked for a few lactations at a small dairy is used to people. But at 6 and 7 I figured that bond I form with my cows might be hard or even impossible to form at this age.
I kept telling myself before they arrived, Peatrice will not be anything like Applelonia …and I prepared myself for a cow that might be standoffish and lacking in personality. Maybe not too smart. Or not too thrilled with me or upset over the move. Or maybe would never be able to form that close bond a cow has with their owner. I see how our Guernseys are with strangers and I remembered clearly how our Randalls took to strangers …not well! I would be a stranger. I realized there maybe would be nothing overly special or spectacular about her ….but I hoped …
They have been here one day shy of a month….within a few days I realized Peatrice is a spectacular cow in the way of intelligence and reasoning capabilities and that she has every ability to make me adore her…almost …as much as my Applelonia! Her son Coon was very standoffish like Voila and her daughter and son. Coon is warming up to me - these cows were in a herd unhandled - no real daily interacting with people - he was just a herd calf when he arrived. I was to keep him like this …as his future was beef….but…I am seeing he is possibly quite sharp like his momma. Coon listens to everything ~ just like Peatrice ~ I can see him thinking and starting to process things. He and Peatrice seem to have minds like our original Randalls…I am beyond thrilled.
Voila and her daughter/son are not quite like this….smart cows but they are different…they are not related to Peatrice. They are still super skittish ~ I can stand right by them ~ they come when I call but I can’t pet them 🙁…in time hopefully …
When Applelonia arrived as a 9-month-old heifer immediately we just clicked and got along so well…she was stuck to me like glue from that point forward until I lost her.
I’m already attached to Peatrice as she seems to be to me 🙂 She didn’t seem stressed one bit by the move and was rather stuck on me since day one.
She is so very alert to everything I’m doing. And she listens as I prattle on and in true Randall fashion that I’m used to picks up on words she already knows during my chattering at her. She is exceptionally intelligent…and has super hearing! She hears when I open the inside house door going to the garage with all windows closed when she’s out in her fenced area back to the west of the barn a good 200 feet from the house or maybe she can smell it i really don’t know…she appears to have the bloodhound nose that her two half sisters had. If I open a window immediately she looks at the house from 100s of feet away scanning the windows and sniffing the air quickly and right away locates me inside and then she stares ~ I’ll wave “Hey girl!” And when I leave the window she tracks me along as I pass by other windows and head to the door and then she starts for the gate as I head outside to meet her.
When I tell her I’m going to the loft to get her hay she immediately walks over and positions herself below and kiddy-corner to the barn loft window looking up intently waiting until I pop my head out the window. And she softly moos.
She knows my chore routine and is waiting for me and positions herself accordingly so she can watch me while I do various chores and she changes her location to make sure she gets the best - clear view of me.
She stands in her fenced area in just the right spot so she can look through the barn windows or the walk through door to watch as I milk. If I walk around in the barn, she moves to change her window view to keep an eye on me.
The moment I’m done milking she knows as she starts mooing softly. I think she wants to be milked again. So hoping in the future she can have a calf again and I can milk her.
She’s discovered if she stands up on the hill by the pine trees she can see me in the garden …I’m sure the neighbors within hearing distance think I’m nuts …moo “Hey girl” mooooo “it’s okay sweetie” MOO…
“Give me a Randall minute” a minute or two pass as she quietly waits. And then the super loud MOOOooo “I’m coming” and there’s silence…and as I make my way up the driveway…past the house …past the coops and to the barn, Peatrice has made her way over and is bright eyed and happily waiting for me.
I’ll tell her how wonderful she is and she’ll jump and leap and bounce and puts on horn displays…my happy laughter and hand clapping encourages her as she continues putting on her playful show. Applelonia put on these displays ~ displays that exude exuberant joy ~ and the happiness I feel at seeing such a carefree joy in a cow is immense.
She lets me move her head gently by her horns and will carefully run her horn tips along my hands so carefully checking them over. I don’t trust her in the same way I did with Appy …as I don’t know Peatrice well yet …but it appears she may have surgical precision of her horns. Guernseys do not have this skill. There are so many traits and behaviors that I missed in not having Randalls for those couple of years …and I didn’t know just how much I missed some of these things until getting Randalls back …even simple things like how they drink water compared to the Guernseys …or the other day when I stepped outside and took a deep breath and blocked out the Guernsey smell and just focused on the Randalls smell…how I’ve missed it…each breed smells so different …the Randalls smell so lovely!
I stood in the middle of the Guernsey’s pasture a few days back …about 500 feet from the Randalls. I faintly and quickly cleared my throat to see if Peatrice responded how I thought she might (the Randalls were resting chewing cud) she did! Peatrice immediately jerked her head over and her eyes locked on my face from the moment she heard the first sound from my throat. Alert and fully aware of the sound I made from 500 feet away. She’s super aware of everything.
Last week, I was milking outside up on the hill...Peatrice was standing on her hill to watch me as she almost always does. I heard her moo in a certain way - that Randall moo warning that Appy and Dazzle had ...I froze. It’s funny how so much is just there from years ago with my original Randalls and my reactions just come without thought. She mooed and I knew something was off. France and Cordelia were still chewing on hay. I looked at Peatrice, she looked at me and then sniffed the air - horns up to the south and she looked at me again and then pointed to the south with her horns. I leaned against France’s hip and looked around. I saw nothing. I sat back down to milk ..warning moo again. I stood up again ...she didn't want me sitting. So, I stood up and she continued to look at me and then back to the South woods a good 1000 feet away - keeping an eye on the distance. I didn't question Peatrice as I never questioned Appy or Dazzle ~ they were never wrong in their alerts. There was something but I just didn't know what. She continued sniffing to air and was slowly moving her head/horns with her laser focus way off in the distance watching for something ...five or so minutes later I heard voices - France and Cordelia at this point knew something was up - horns up from their hay ..on alert…then I heard voices closer "Is there someone there? Yeah. I see someone. There she is." She was me! I have no idea who they were - never seen them before as they walked right towards me coming towards the fence and then when they got 25-30 feet away they went behind/in the woods.
Guernseys went back to eating ...Peatrice went back to keeping an eye on my milking (rearranged my stool so she could see me better) and she continued watching the woods the people had gone into closely. When she stopped sniffing the air I knew they were far enough away, but I knew their location as they walked along the woods unseen by watching Peatrice track them with as she slowly turned her body and head to follow them as they walked north.
When I go back to the house from the barn she often follows along in her area trying to stay as close as possible…when I enter the house she’ll be looking directly at the back entry/pantry window…then she moves to the west to get a clear shot of the kitchen window as she knows I’m going there next …she stands in her area tracking me through the house windows…when I’m in the sunroom she often shows up on the hill kiddy corner from the wall of windows to watch me and softly moo.
The other day when I came back from chores I told the husband Peatrice’s moos sounded mighty close …I shown the flashlight out back behind the house …there she was with the four others they’d (i suspect Peatrice) somehow figured out how to open the gate latch!! The latch is not an easy one to open - need to balance a lever and turn it just so.
Each time I go to do chores …or when she comes running and jumping and leaping to greet me with eyes sparkling …or as I stand there petting her or giving her scratch, I am so very happy The Lord has allowed me to care for her. Since July 11, 2018, when I lost Applelonia, I’ve had a bit of sadness… many days …especially when I first go to the barn in the morning ….missing Applelonia’s greeting…missing that bond with a cow that has intellectual abilities beyond what is often thought of as normal for a cow and being able interact with them …all those times spent in prayer and feeling broken heartened …little did I know He had a cow 1,500 miles away that would over three years later replace my sadness with sheer gratefulness and thanksgiving! I hope to have her for many years, but how ever long it ends up being will be a gift …🙂
I kept telling myself before they arrived, Peatrice will not be anything like Applelonia …and I prepared myself for a cow that might be standoffish and lacking in personality. Maybe not too smart. Or not too thrilled with me or upset over the move. Or maybe would never be able to form that close bond a cow has with their owner. I see how our Guernseys are with strangers and I remembered clearly how our Randalls took to strangers …not well! I would be a stranger. I realized there maybe would be nothing overly special or spectacular about her ….but I hoped …
They have been here one day shy of a month….within a few days I realized Peatrice is a spectacular cow in the way of intelligence and reasoning capabilities and that she has every ability to make me adore her…almost …as much as my Applelonia! Her son Coon was very standoffish like Voila and her daughter and son. Coon is warming up to me - these cows were in a herd unhandled - no real daily interacting with people - he was just a herd calf when he arrived. I was to keep him like this …as his future was beef….but…I am seeing he is possibly quite sharp like his momma. Coon listens to everything ~ just like Peatrice ~ I can see him thinking and starting to process things. He and Peatrice seem to have minds like our original Randalls…I am beyond thrilled.
Voila and her daughter/son are not quite like this….smart cows but they are different…they are not related to Peatrice. They are still super skittish ~ I can stand right by them ~ they come when I call but I can’t pet them 🙁…in time hopefully …
When Applelonia arrived as a 9-month-old heifer immediately we just clicked and got along so well…she was stuck to me like glue from that point forward until I lost her.
I’m already attached to Peatrice as she seems to be to me 🙂 She didn’t seem stressed one bit by the move and was rather stuck on me since day one.
She is so very alert to everything I’m doing. And she listens as I prattle on and in true Randall fashion that I’m used to picks up on words she already knows during my chattering at her. She is exceptionally intelligent…and has super hearing! She hears when I open the inside house door going to the garage with all windows closed when she’s out in her fenced area back to the west of the barn a good 200 feet from the house or maybe she can smell it i really don’t know…she appears to have the bloodhound nose that her two half sisters had. If I open a window immediately she looks at the house from 100s of feet away scanning the windows and sniffing the air quickly and right away locates me inside and then she stares ~ I’ll wave “Hey girl!” And when I leave the window she tracks me along as I pass by other windows and head to the door and then she starts for the gate as I head outside to meet her.
When I tell her I’m going to the loft to get her hay she immediately walks over and positions herself below and kiddy-corner to the barn loft window looking up intently waiting until I pop my head out the window. And she softly moos.
She knows my chore routine and is waiting for me and positions herself accordingly so she can watch me while I do various chores and she changes her location to make sure she gets the best - clear view of me.
She stands in her fenced area in just the right spot so she can look through the barn windows or the walk through door to watch as I milk. If I walk around in the barn, she moves to change her window view to keep an eye on me.
The moment I’m done milking she knows as she starts mooing softly. I think she wants to be milked again. So hoping in the future she can have a calf again and I can milk her.
She’s discovered if she stands up on the hill by the pine trees she can see me in the garden …I’m sure the neighbors within hearing distance think I’m nuts …moo “Hey girl” mooooo “it’s okay sweetie” MOO…
“Give me a Randall minute” a minute or two pass as she quietly waits. And then the super loud MOOOooo “I’m coming” and there’s silence…and as I make my way up the driveway…past the house …past the coops and to the barn, Peatrice has made her way over and is bright eyed and happily waiting for me.
I’ll tell her how wonderful she is and she’ll jump and leap and bounce and puts on horn displays…my happy laughter and hand clapping encourages her as she continues putting on her playful show. Applelonia put on these displays ~ displays that exude exuberant joy ~ and the happiness I feel at seeing such a carefree joy in a cow is immense.
She lets me move her head gently by her horns and will carefully run her horn tips along my hands so carefully checking them over. I don’t trust her in the same way I did with Appy …as I don’t know Peatrice well yet …but it appears she may have surgical precision of her horns. Guernseys do not have this skill. There are so many traits and behaviors that I missed in not having Randalls for those couple of years …and I didn’t know just how much I missed some of these things until getting Randalls back …even simple things like how they drink water compared to the Guernseys …or the other day when I stepped outside and took a deep breath and blocked out the Guernsey smell and just focused on the Randalls smell…how I’ve missed it…each breed smells so different …the Randalls smell so lovely!
I stood in the middle of the Guernsey’s pasture a few days back …about 500 feet from the Randalls. I faintly and quickly cleared my throat to see if Peatrice responded how I thought she might (the Randalls were resting chewing cud) she did! Peatrice immediately jerked her head over and her eyes locked on my face from the moment she heard the first sound from my throat. Alert and fully aware of the sound I made from 500 feet away. She’s super aware of everything.
Last week, I was milking outside up on the hill...Peatrice was standing on her hill to watch me as she almost always does. I heard her moo in a certain way - that Randall moo warning that Appy and Dazzle had ...I froze. It’s funny how so much is just there from years ago with my original Randalls and my reactions just come without thought. She mooed and I knew something was off. France and Cordelia were still chewing on hay. I looked at Peatrice, she looked at me and then sniffed the air - horns up to the south and she looked at me again and then pointed to the south with her horns. I leaned against France’s hip and looked around. I saw nothing. I sat back down to milk ..warning moo again. I stood up again ...she didn't want me sitting. So, I stood up and she continued to look at me and then back to the South woods a good 1000 feet away - keeping an eye on the distance. I didn't question Peatrice as I never questioned Appy or Dazzle ~ they were never wrong in their alerts. There was something but I just didn't know what. She continued sniffing to air and was slowly moving her head/horns with her laser focus way off in the distance watching for something ...five or so minutes later I heard voices - France and Cordelia at this point knew something was up - horns up from their hay ..on alert…then I heard voices closer "Is there someone there? Yeah. I see someone. There she is." She was me! I have no idea who they were - never seen them before as they walked right towards me coming towards the fence and then when they got 25-30 feet away they went behind/in the woods.
Guernseys went back to eating ...Peatrice went back to keeping an eye on my milking (rearranged my stool so she could see me better) and she continued watching the woods the people had gone into closely. When she stopped sniffing the air I knew they were far enough away, but I knew their location as they walked along the woods unseen by watching Peatrice track them with as she slowly turned her body and head to follow them as they walked north.
When I go back to the house from the barn she often follows along in her area trying to stay as close as possible…when I enter the house she’ll be looking directly at the back entry/pantry window…then she moves to the west to get a clear shot of the kitchen window as she knows I’m going there next …she stands in her area tracking me through the house windows…when I’m in the sunroom she often shows up on the hill kiddy corner from the wall of windows to watch me and softly moo.
The other day when I came back from chores I told the husband Peatrice’s moos sounded mighty close …I shown the flashlight out back behind the house …there she was with the four others they’d (i suspect Peatrice) somehow figured out how to open the gate latch!! The latch is not an easy one to open - need to balance a lever and turn it just so.
Each time I go to do chores …or when she comes running and jumping and leaping to greet me with eyes sparkling …or as I stand there petting her or giving her scratch, I am so very happy The Lord has allowed me to care for her. Since July 11, 2018, when I lost Applelonia, I’ve had a bit of sadness… many days …especially when I first go to the barn in the morning ….missing Applelonia’s greeting…missing that bond with a cow that has intellectual abilities beyond what is often thought of as normal for a cow and being able interact with them …all those times spent in prayer and feeling broken heartened …little did I know He had a cow 1,500 miles away that would over three years later replace my sadness with sheer gratefulness and thanksgiving! I hope to have her for many years, but how ever long it ends up being will be a gift …🙂