Fall is my favorite time of year for many reasons. The trees turning gorgeous colors, it’s sweater and jeans weather again and it’s calving season at my house.
Calving seasons comes with its own highs and lows. I love going out and seeing the new or newly born calves start to take their wobbly first steps or those that are more mature (a few hours or days older) who race across our “maternity pens” and up and over the mounds of piled-up manure playing king of the mountain with tails held aloft like flags.
The downside to that is when we have a calf or sometimes two, as we have some years, that just doesn’t want to thrive. Mom doesn’t have the milk, rejects it for some maternal instinct, it’s born too early or some other reason that God only knows why.
We put it on milk replacer, watch it closely but at some point, you must decide when enough is enough. Sometimes we can intervene early enough that we can find a local family looking for a bottle calf for a 4-H project, or a family member who has some extra time. Sometimes we try everything and it’s not enough.
We have a calf this year who we can’t quite figure out who she belongs to. She’s been abandoned by her mother (or who at this point we think is her mother) but when we put her in with the cows that have already calved, each has come over to check on her. Each seems to be keeping tabs on her. I don’t know if she will be OK. It’s still up in the air. But her herd is checking on her. The cows in our herd are letting her know she is part of the community. Is this some form of cowspitality?
How can you practice cowspitality? What member of your herd should you check in on today?
Prayer for Reflection
Lord of all, help us to look for those around us in our community who need a check in. Often, they are those who are the ones who regularly do the checking. Help us to reach out and extend your care to each other today.
