Grace x 2

Where would 'Grace x 2' come from?

An earlier blog was about an unexpected surprise that showed up in our pasture. My neglect of not checking on a new momma cow caused much embarrassment when it was finally learned she had twins. I felt like I'd let her down, and not done my part to make sure she had been taken care. Feeling blessed beyond what I deserved, I gave the name 'Grace' to the smallest calf. At the time she seemed weak, and her mom didn't seem to be taking care of her. Grace was taken to the barn and became a bottle calf. To update on Grace; After a few days of giving her added nourishment I reintroduced her to her mom. Grace is a fighter,  and chased her mom down to nurse. It seemed to work, and Grace looked like she was getting fed. I hoped the extra days of added milk would give Grace the added boost she needed, and could continue with her mom's milk. 

Preparing for the sell of the farm our son agreed to let us put our cows with his herd. Getting the cows up, it looked like Grace needed more groceries once again. Her stomach was bloated, and again she didn't look as healthy as her brother. I kept Grace separate instead of moving her with the cows. I figured Grace would need bottle fed again. This time I figured it would be permanent arrangement, and Grace would be bottle fed until she could transition to calf feed. Our youngest son recently had a friend who'd been successful in a technique, and he mentioned it to me. We agreed to let him give it a try. He thought it would work for Grace. Our son had a cow who'd given birth just a few days earlier. The cow had an enormous amount of milk, much more than Grace's mom. Our son hobbled his cow, so she could not kick Grace away. The cow, her calf, and Grace were put into a pen together for a few days. Have I mentioned Grace is a fighter? Grace's persistency with the cow soon worked into forming a bond with a new momma for Grace. After a week it appeared Grace's tummy was less bloated. The additional milk seemed to be improving Grace's appearance. It had worked! Grace is currently still nursing from her adopted momma. We will probably leave Grace with her new momma, until she is large enough to be weaned and put on feed. At the time of Grace's discovery, and even now, I felt blessed to have twins. She was completely unexpected and undeserved. That's an update on Grace. God was good to give us Grace.

Now for Grace x 2. We moved the cows from a pasture behind our house to a pasture in front of our house. We moved them a few weeks in advance of actually moving them away from the farm. Moving the cows closer to our working pens made it easier on the cows and calves once the decision was made to move them. Shortly after they were moved, I noticed one cow still in the pasture behind our house. I hadn't counted the cows when I moved them. When I saw her, I figured she had a calf hid out, and had stayed behind with it. Being the terrible farmer I am, I didn't give it much thought. I figured she would eventually come thru the gate with her calf, and go to the other cows. Our cows knew the routine of moving between pastures, and how to get there. All gates were left open for her. I wasn't concerned about her leaving or wondering off. My only concern was our Pyrenees. If they decided to bark at her for being out of the pasture, it might aggravate her. They would do no harm, but with a new baby she didn't need bothered. I felt she knew the way, so she was left to fend for herself in getting back with the herd.  

It had been a few days since I saw the cow standing alone in the pasture. I was leaving our house heading to the title company to sign papers to sell our house. Pulling away from the house looking down the driveway, I saw a cow. She was standing next to the pasture where the other cows were. I figured the cow had finally made it out of the pasture. As I got closer, my eyes did a double take. There was 2 calves standing beside the cow. WHAT? TWO? Could it be? I told myself, 'no I don't see how it can be'. I took a few pics with my cell phone. It was a drizzly day, and I was dressed for a closing. There was no time to ponder and study over the cow and 2 calves. I quickly opened the gate, got behind the cow and calves, and put them in the pasture. Earlier I heard another momma in the pasture bawling. She was acting as if she were looking for a calf. I thought perhaps the extra calf belonged to her. I questioned if we could indeed have another set of twins. I teared up at the thought of being blessed with a second sets of twins, and on this day which we were selling our house. The first set of twins was an emotional rush of gratitude, but two sets of twins? It's hard to explain what I was feeling. I was giggly, teary, happy, humbled, and more. I didn't have time to investigate at the time because I was going to be late to the closing. I could hardly believe it, and questioned if it could actually be real. Part of me wanted to justify it, and say perhaps one of the calves belonged to  the other bawling momma in the pasture, and had gotten out. Another part of me wanted to shout for joy at the prospect of having a second set of twins. You see, we only have 11 cows. What's the probability of having 2 sets of twins, in the same year, in a small herd of only 11 cows? 

I went on to the closing not sure what to think. At the closing I told the buyer I 'thought' we had another set of twins. In my mind I tried to rationalize the other calf as belonging to one of the other mommas. That made more sense than actually having a second set of twins. If the land we were selling produced twins, the buyer was getting a heck of a deal! 

For a few days I questioned the second set of twins. I drove thru the pasture a couple times trying to locate the 'mysterious twins', but didn't have any luck. I could locate one calf that looked like it fit the description and belonged to that momma, but I never could locate a second calf. It was June, and the grass was tall because it had not been cut for hay yet. I was afraid to drive around too much, and run over a calf that had been hidden by it's mom. My schedule was hectic and any available time to look for a mysterious twin was small, so I had to let it be. I figured it would show up eventually, or not. 

As time got closer to moving the cattle I continued to watch for the 'mysterious twins'. Several days in a row, as I counted calves, the number of calves in the pasture confirmed my suspicions. There definitely was a extra calf in the pasture. I could pair up every single calf with it's mother, all except one. There had to be another set of twins. When we got the cattle up to move them, my confidence was solidified. The momma of the twins had a large white udder. Both calves had a white spot on their belly confirming they were twins belonging to this momma. The momma had plenty of milk, and was taking care of both calves.  

The calves were so beautiful. What a joy! What a blessing! How good can God be? For me, this was all I needed. This was a second dose of Grace. It was 'Grace x 2'. We didn't name one of these calves 'Grace', but I was reminded of God's grace in our lives. The calves served as a sign. God is full of unexpected surprises for us. God can bless us more than we can imagine. 

I think I always want to be a terrible farmer. See what happens when you don't check on your cows? LOL! God takes care of us when we don't take care of ourselves. The only reason I can think of why God would do this, is because He can. I don't recommend being so neglectful of your cows. Maybe God needed to show me He's there. He cares. He blesses. He provides. His ways are better than my ways.