Wow

I've barely had time to breathe this week - but all for good reasons!  My family is visiting, friends have been visiting, and today we held our annual Anderson Olympics and my mom won.  (She beat my dad and me in a playoff.  She was one of two people there with the last name 'Anderson', so I guess it's okay and I'm over it.  I'm not really constantly replaying in my head how I could have won.) 

Of course everything's been busy on the farm, too.  It's July!  Of course it is!  Here are two cuties (my friend Katie's kids) petting our latest red and white bull.

It's going to get a lot more colorful out on our pastures for years to come.  We bought 23 heifers from another farm, and half of them are red and white!  I like it because it reminds me of when my grandpa and dad had Guernsey cows, and I just like the way they look different than what I usually see.

It rained at the end of our Olympics tonight, which none of us minded, since we need rain so much.  Is there any better end to a day on a farm?

Crazy

What a holiday!  We had a baby boom ... the barn is filling up with calves.

With all the births, we now are the proud owners of not one - but TWO heifer red and white Holsteins! 

Black nose!

To show contrast

I was gone for the week, and while I was gone Kris was possibly more busy than he's ever been. So were my mom and dad. All three of them were taking care of my kids. They've asked me not to leave again - they're just joking, I'm sure! Right? Haha?

The fun/work in the calf barn never stops

It's nice to come home to a place that, to me, is just as beautiful as where you vacation.

Red and white calf

Yesterday after a tire on the rake split, and we had a hydraulic leak on the packing tractor ... we finished the first cutting of alfalfa! As a result, the guys had to cover the pile of newly cut feed with a giant tarp and tires to hold it down. 

Know what's easier than carrying all the tires up? Using a tractor to do it. The tractor drives over the pile pack it down anyway, so carrying some tires in the bucket just runs it over it a few more times.  (They also carry a ton up on their own.  Even though this is a physically demanding job, the guys actually make it look easy.) 

Not only that, but being this close to a running tractor made it one of the most exciting days of my son's young life. 

****

You may remember we got a red and white Holstein bull last year.  Today we had our first red and white Holstein calf!

It's a bull, so it won't be gracing our fields, unfortunately.  He'll be raised Josh, the guy who's buying them.

We went down to see him and I was really surprised by his eyes.  They don't look like our other Holstein calves' eyes.  Theirs are very dark, and his are light blue. 

My dad made the joke that he's a really patriotic calf, because he's - ready for it - red, white, and blue. 

Bulls

We breed our cattle naturally, which means we use bulls to impregnate them.

My dad - whose 67th birthday is today, happy birthday, Dad! - visited my uncle and aunt's dairy farm in New Mexico last week. They impregnate their cattle using artificial insemination. My dad said he joked with them that bulls do the same job, and faster.

With artificial insemination you know exactly when the cow is in heat and when she gets pregnant. Using bulls is not as labor-intensive, but you don't know exactly when. Plus, you can buy bull semen from semen companies with desired characteristics.

Speaking of which, did you see the news story about redheads? Apparently there's not a huge demand for redheaded children, so the world's largest sperm bank can "afford to be picky." Just like people can pick a donor with traits they hope to pass along, people can pick bulls with traits they hope the resulting calves will have. I hope next year using a red and white Holstein will change the look of the pasture a little.

Bulls do their job and move on. We bought a bull in July. Today we sold him to a different farm. Next year, we're leasing out a bull to another farm. As long as they're doing their job, and they don't hurt themselves, they don't really go down in value. Whether they're fast, slow, or red, it doesn't much matter as long as they pass on those desireable traits. And continue to sell for (almost) as much as you bought them!

Red

Kris' dad brought over bulls today to put in with the heifers - because nine months from now it'll be calving time all over again! (Can you believe it?)

One of them was a red and white Holstein.

I was excited. I like when new calves have recessive traits - due to the history of our cattle, sometimes calves show up looking a little Guernsey, some a little Jersey.

But a red and white Holstein! I couldn't remember having a bull like this, or ... really, seeing them around.

I asked Kris about them and why black and white are more popular than red and white. He said that black and white was just sort of the preference, even though they're the same breed of cattle. He said, "Just like all redheads - persecuted!"

He was joking, but there is quite a history with red and whites and their popularity or lack thereof.

I immediately thought of my good friend Julie:



She has beautiful red hair. People always notice it and comment on it.

So hopefully next year, some of our calves will be red and white. And we'll be welcoming and complimenting them. Especially when Julie comes to visit.