So Many Trips

I've never seen it take so many trips to work cattle. (Getting the big calves ready to ship and little calves their shots). We went to the ranch three times for different reasons Saturday and John went two times Sunday with me along once. Today he went twice. Now the big ones are at auction down the street and the little ones didn't get their shots as the cowboy with his horse didn't show up at 7 A.M. He has never been a no show before so he must have forgotten. John happened to be behind two guys with their trailer so he followed them and turned out to be someone he knew. He was able to hire them to haul his. On the way out Saturday morn. we saw a young deer cross in front of us on the farm to market road. John said the mama had probably already crossed and the young one was following. We rarely see deer on this road but they are coming closer for water. We saw a roadrunner (chaperell bird) near the farmhouse house and we rarely see that either. We saw a dry land turtle and we rarely see them anymore. They have become few and far between like the horned toads. We were out looking for a cow who should have had her calf. I could see something black in the distant field so we drove out and it was the cow. She had given birth but her calf was no where in sight. It was too hot in the middle of the day to walk looking for it and probably not have found it and one of us have a heat stroke. We don't dare drive through the tall dry grass looking as we could run over the baby. The mama did bring it up next morning. One little calf was born with something wrong with it and it didn't make it. John and his son were able to get the pair into the pens but baby was dead when we went out again late afternoon. The night before cattle working John wakes up early and can't go back to sleep. You would think he would be used to it by now. Guess he worries about what can go wrong. He was up at 4 A.M. this morning so he went out to dispose of the baby calf. Came back to wash his hands, eat breakfast and out again. It was very hot Saturday but there was a hot breeze blowing to cool off the sweat on our bodies. Boy! Did a shower feel good.