Princess in the Country , livre ebook

Balboa Press - Rochelle Barker

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122 pages

English

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A cattle rancher that pets and names the animals more than work them, this is Snow White living in Green Acres.
Every animal has a story to tell and a personality to match. Come learn about our little herd of Fritz the German bull and his group of Sister Wives. The herds of deer can't be ignored either, especially when they pull on your shirttails begging for treats.
Whether you know a thing or two about cattle or are just curious if girl cows have horns or how playful a 500 pound calf could be, then come meet our gang and discover your favorite baby moo.

Sujets

Sciences et techniques

Animals

Nature

Informations

Publié par	Balboa Press
Date de parution	04 août 2022
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9798765230886
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0200€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

Copyright © 2022 Rochelle Barker.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Balboa Press
A Division of Hay House
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Bloomington, IN 47403
www.balboapress.com
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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 979-8-7652-3087-9 (sc)
ISBN: 979-8-7652-3088-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022912321

Balboa Press rev. date: 08/04/2022
Preface
A little bit about me.
I wasn’t raised in the country. I don’t use the right lingo. And I definitely don’t meet the definition of a rancher.
I’m a purple-haired, tech-loving, Zumba-dancing city girl who fell in love with a cowboy. He patiently lived in my world, waiting until the time was right to fully immerse me into his. Occasional weekends and holidays were enough to pique my curiosity, but my fear of that intense quiet with only my thoughts swirling between my ears was enough for me to postpone the Big Move.
Then life happened, and the move was on. Yet I didn’t hear the scary silence I was expecting. While my Cowboy steps outside to enjoy the quiet whispers in the wind and the cedar creaking like empty swing sets in the park, I hear stories that need a voice and the daily drama of one bull with a bevy of food-obsessed bovine gals.
Every animal has a story to tell and a personality to match. Come learn about our little herd of Fritz the German bull and his group of Sister Wives. New baby moos (#NewMooNews) are the highlight of my day, especially when I get to be their surrogate momma during weaning periods. The herds of wild (?) deer can’t be ignored either, especially when they pull on your shirttails begging for treats!
If you know a thing about cattle, I just might stress you out or you might scoff at my attempts at ranching. That’s okay with me. But if you didn’t know girl cows could have horns, or you’ve wondered how playful a 500 pound calf could be, then come meet our gang and discover your favorite baby moo.
My Cowboy
Meet Big Daddy

Fritz admiring himself
Welcome to Crossbar Ranch! I had – and continue to have – many country lessons as a newbie rancher, which means I’m sure I’m leaving out really important details and providing some generalizations that will cause my Cowboy to cringe, so consider the source and the fact that some of my musings came from an education only a few months in.
Ranching. What little I paid attention to on television typically showed dairy cows (we don’t have those here) or huge cattle operations with cowboys riding horseback and making sure the calves stayed with their mommas. Our operation is MUCH smaller, our horses aren’t for riding, and the calves don’t arrive all at once.
Which brings me to one of my early lessons. When ranches have calves all about the same age, that’s because of planning and some artificial assistance going on. No love-struck bull, no romps in the woods, no romantic music.
We, however, have a small herd of Herefords led by a single bull, Big Daddy himself: Fritz. He’s not actually German, but he was born on another ranch with a German owner. Surely he learned a little German in his early days? I like to think so.
He’s got a sexy mop top of curls and doesn’t mind a few friends with no benefits. At various times throughout each year, we have calves being weaned (more on that later), calves with their mommas, and my ever-present, rarely-accurate Calf Prediction Chart of new moos to come. And if calves are arriving pretty much year round, it means Fritz has a very active social life. As active as one can be with more than a dozen Sister Wives. More on the Sister Wives later, too.
Fritz is gentle and slow moving, yet somehow, he is usually first to the trough. I think it’s just the ladies giving him his space out of respect and love. Most days, he’s focused solely on fresh grass or a few snacks.
Everything Fritz does is very systematic and predictable, like an accountant going through tax receipts meticulously, first looking for one thing, then another, but never going out of order for what’s needed on the various forms. Only Fritz is a bull, and he doesn’t care about taxes. He does, however, care about food. And when it’s time for a fresh bale of hay, he gets first dibs. Before the hay ring can be place around it, he gets in a good head scratch or two, which also tend to push the hay out of its intended spot, before grabbing a mouthful to confirm to the ladies that it is, indeed, delicious hay.
When it comes to the weekends, he is all about those one-on-one dates with a special lady with a branded bottom.
On Friday nights, you can find him with a baby moo or two. He’s not one to watch the entire day care, though. He’ll just pick out one or two calves and hang with them for the evening. Come back the next night and you’ll see that these were not random calves he was watching. Rather, he did a little recon babysitting to slide on up to said-calves mommas and score some Saturday night action. Given the regular cadence of calves, he has a high success ratio with this!
One evening during our feeding rounds, we noticed that our Mr. Love Muffin was being especially attentive to one of his lady friends. Not overly attentive... just following her around a little closer than normal before he became distracted by fresh grass. At 2000 pounds (give or take a few hundred), he has to carefully weigh his options: grazing or lady-loving. And we’ll just say he ain’t missin’ no meals.
Apparently, he eventually tired of grazing and tried to woo his gal. Again, he’s a big boy. The next evening, he was the last one to arrive for some dinner and we noticed he had a slight limp. Nothing bad, nothing call-the-vet-now, just a his-back-legs-can’t-fully-support-his-weight and now he has a sore ankle. He was also not showing any interest in his ladies.
So when I came across Fritz later, lying in the grass and just watching his growing family graze, we had a chat. We discussed the importance of wooing, taking things slow, and yes, sometimes it’s okay to just cuddle. I think he appreciated that. Sometimes there’s just too much pressure when you’re the only bull around.
Another evening, I captured Fritz as he casually strolled by a temporary pond and caught his reflection, only to wonder who that handsome hunk of a bull might be. Then, in a thick German accent, he quietly declared “Das bin ich!” (That’s me!) before strolling off towards his lady friends.
Sister Wives and Baby Moos
Before I begin the introductions, I probably should add a few clarifying points and beg for forgiveness from those that know better.
I do know the proper terms for our cattle. Well, I do now. I didn’t at first and made some horribly wrong assumptions. My Cowboy has lovingly educated me through the years and continues to chuckle when I make up my own terms.
One of my first naming conventions was Sister Wives. When I first met Fritz and the gals, I admittedly wondered what was going on around here. A few educational conversations later, I began calling the gals ‘Sister Wives.’ It works, and none of them have been offended by it.
As I got to know the girls – identifying each of their unique markings, picking up on their personality quirks, learning their birthing cycles – so much personality came through. Just as our kids each have their own style, so do these girls. We’ll begin with the matriarch of them all.
Stray Horn
Stray Horn needs – and deserves – her moment in the spotlight. She is ... unique. Her horns are not symmetrical at all. Her markings give her a distinctive scowl-like appearance. Her bobby-socks fold and roll around her hooves, some days looking like a quickly-dressed cheerleader, other days they are simply cankles. The round lumps on her backside, from year after year of providing Fritz with strong offspring, give new meaning to the phrase “You could brand that!” (Plus, she’s already branded.) The most awesome thing about her, however, has nothing to do with her features. She is simply Fritz’s best friend, best girl, and full time companion. She typically walks near him and always feeds by his side. When he makes his rounds, she babysits as needed. She is that special.
This girl is the stereotypical matriarch, organizing the young ‘uns in front of the camera but trying to scoot out of the way so she herself can remain in the shadows. Yet Stray Horn shuffles slowly, making her one of this shutterbug’s favorite girl to feature.
Since we transitioned to the ranch, she only had one more calf, Minnie. You’ll meet her in a bit. The beauty of a small family operation is that you learn to love each of these awesome creatures, and while we recognized Stray Horn was past her prime, we honored her role in the herd. Until nature decided it was time for her to rest, we made sure she had fresh hay and plenty of company.
Stray Horn said her goodbyes in November 2020, and even after her passing, she remained Fritz’s #1 girl.

Harvey
What was that about work to do? Oh, yes. Living on a ranch is not just strolling around the property to find picture-perfect moments. Although a girl can dream! There are fences to fix and windmills that need repairs from old age and high winds. The pathways ne