Semi sorted

For one reason or another I haven't been posting much lately.  I'm one of those people who goes quiet while I'm processing things and I've had a couple of things on my mind lately, hence the silence.  

I've overcome the first so now I can talk about it.  For quite a while I've had a sort of fuzziness of the mind.  I was struggling to cope at work and had almost reached the conclusion that I was past my use-by date in the working world, it was time to pack it in.  I've had a few stressful jobs in my working life and my current job wouldn't really rate but I was feeling stressed to the max, constantly worried that I wouldn't get things done on time when most of the time the only person to worry about that would be me.  

Then I hurt my back and my regular massage lady, Lisa, was out of the country.  I went to a doctor, my back got better, no problem.  But I made an appointment with Lisa for a massage when she returned from her holiday.  In the meantime, I started thinking that Lisa, also does Body Talk.  When I first asked her about it, she invited me to a seminar to learn more and I thought it was interesting but wasn't about to trust some alternative, way out treatment to fix my back when I'm in pain.  But I always thought I'd try it one day.   So, instead of having a massage when I went for my appointment, I asked for a Body Talk treatment.

Don't ask me to explain how it works, check out the link if you are interested, but I can verify it does work.  I can't say how long it took, it just dawned on me a week or so later that I was feeling less stressed and on top of things.  And within a few weeks the stress had disappeared and I felt on top of the world again.  Rather than feeling like I was sinking in a puddle of mud at work, feeling panicky that I'd forgotten something, by the time my next appointment came (last week) I actually felt that my workload had lessened (it hasn't).

And that horrible fuzziness is gone.  I don't know how else to describe it, or if other people ever get it.  My thoughts were constantly muddled, jumping from one thing to another in a mild panic, with a total lack of concentration.  All gone!   I still have something on my mind (a family matter) but am coping and have re-discovered the joy of life.  I'm so thankful to Lisa and Body Talk for sorting me out.

Yesterday evening when I went to the kitchen to prepare my dinner, my attention was caught by the strange light outside.  A scraggly old pine tree in the paddock at the back of the house was bathed in soft, beautiful light.   I see this tree countless times a day; I love trees but this is not a fine specimen and I have never once had a kind thought towards it.  Yesterday it had its moment of beauty.

Now is what farmers call spring.  Not according to the calendar but it's calving time, the time of birth.  When the real spring arrives the weather will be terrible but for now it's perfect.  Well, this week has been perfect.  A couple of weeks ago we had five frosts in a row (a rarity) and twice there has been snow up in the mountain -  an event so rare, it made the papers.   There will probably be another cold snap but who cares, I'll happily take what we are being given right now.

My son's cows that are due to calve are in a paddock near the house.  Yesterday I was amused as I watched a young cow as she was in labour.  Cows often keep looking at their rear end leading up to birth, as if trying to see what is causing the pain.  This one didn't just look, she kept chasing it, round and round in circles.  And when she wasn't doing that she was backing herself up, as if trying to back over it.  I was worried she would never actually give birth if she kept getting up to chase her tail.  But in the end instinct took over and all was well.  

This morning's birthing did not go so well.  The birth was taking too long and the cow was "down", unable to get back up again with just the calf's legs in this world.  Farmer Dan and the girls to the rescue.  I won't go into detail because I realize not everyone is familiar with some of the less sensitive methods used on a farm.  Let's just say with the help of ropes and a quad bike, the calf was delivered, thankfully still alive.  The calf was dragged and placed beside the cow's head and she rallied enough to do what cow mothers do to their newborn.  That was less than an hour ago and now both cow and calf are on their feet and the calf has found the end that gives it milk.  

The girls were helping, then keeping an eye on progress.  The little blob in front of the cow's face is the calf.  Notice Georgia is staying out of harms way, she's not as confident around calving cows as the older girls.

And when she does venture closer she makes sure she is armed.  I love the older girls' arms akimbo in true farmer fashion:

The rest of the herd had been slightly unsettled by the activity in their paddock and had a bit of sorting out to do when they left.  Now, which calf is mine?  Is it this one?

Or maybe this one?

No, I think it was the other one back there.

They sorted themselves out in the end.  All sorted on both sides of the fence.