Filed under: Cows
Tiddles
Whew!! What an ordeal! I’ve been trying since last summer to line up the availability of the guy who does AI with Tiddles’ ovulatory cycles. We finally had a date, confirmed that she was in heat and ready to be bred. When the guy got here we were all ready to go and, due to a misunderstanding (he thought I had the semen, I thought he was bringing it), it looked like it would fail again. Another cycle would come and go and we would have to wait another six months to try again, because I didn’t want her to calve in the winter.
Bovine semen isn’t something you can just run to the store and buy, so I called my neighbors and nobody had any. I had recently got the name of a guy (first name only) and his number and had been told that he does AI too. I called him, explained my predicament and it turned out that he even had Jersey semen. He kindly trusted me with his semen tank and we got the job done and had the tank returned in a hour. I am so relieved. If all goes well, we should have a calf around Halloween and a refreshed milk supply.
Filed under: Cats | Tags: Cats, family pet, pet, seal point Siamese, Siamese cats
A basket of kittens
Our favorite cat (and that’s saying a lot because we have many if you count the ones populating our barn) died on January 12th at 7:00 in the morning. He was a seal point Siamese and I can remember the intense anticipation with which we awaited his arrival into the world. I am generally not a purebred snob, but I love Siamese cats and so he was ordered in advance of his birthday, December 23, 2002. The breeder sent us this picture of a basket full of kittens which we printed and posted on our refrigerator while we endured another two months of waiting.
Bringing Sam home
We finally got word that he was available to be picked up and Thomas and I made the trek up to Fort Collins to retrieve him. He (the cat, not Thomas) cried all the way home. I still remember that. He has been around since the kids were little (they’re big teenagers now), always ready to warm a lap or to play and there is a hole around here that is empty because he is gone. He was a sweet, affectionate and intelligent cat. We will miss him so much.
Sam's grave
The City Girl Farmer 