August 18, 1988 - A Cow, a Calf, the Coming WinterAugust 18, 1988/The Suffolk Times /Page I I A
A Cow, a Calf, the Coming Winter
By Paul Stoutenburqh
We surely haven't had any great
amount of rain here on Long Island, yet,
just across the Sound from us there has
been a continuous line of downpours.
We can vouch for that since we've seen
and heard the rumblings of thunder-
storms moving eastward to our north.
Connecticut seems so far away but in
reality it is just about 15 miles across
the water. The little rain we've been al-
lotted has been spotty. At one time it
traveled along the Main Road and we,
down the lane, never got a drop. We
surely could trade off some of this hot
and humid weather we've been having
for a couple of overnight rains.
Just at the time when all of the num-
bers of the calendar fell in line -- 8/8/88
-- our cow decided to give birth to a
baby calf. We had it inseminated twice
and waited but finally gave up in
desperation for we were now almost a
month past the given date. Yet she was
big and her bag was getting full. We
even thought it might be the crazy
weather we were having and perhaps she
was waiting for a better time. I guess,
when you come to think of it, things
just don't work that way. But there's the
armadillo we've been reading about that
can suspend development of its embryo
and delay birth for up to two years.
With stories like that you can see why
we sort of figured the cow had delayed
birth with the heat. Now we've been
told there was an error in calculating and
she dropped her calf on time.
Missing Cow
When we returned after being away
from the house for a while we could
only find one cow in the pasture. This
was unusual for the two of them usually
grazed side by side. Besides, they'd often
wait for us at the fence when the car
came in, thinking we might bring them
leftovers from the neighboring farm
stand. I started to look for her.
We have a pond down in the hollow
and with this dry weather the water level
is way below normal and the sides are
muddy and soft. My concern was that
perhaps she'd wandered in and gotten
stuck. But, no, she wasn't there. I kept
looking.
A visual search of both pastures
showed nothing. Then as I walked by a
low spot on the far side of the pond
hidden by some bushes, there she was --
lying down and right behind her was the
shiniest, big -boned little calf you ever
saw. She still had a veil over her which
Focus on
Nature
meant she must have been born minutes
before I came upon them.
I squatted nearby and watched. The
mother had picked a cool spot in the
shade. She slowly got to her feet, a bit
messy and walked over to sniff her
newborn. Then immediately she started
to clean it up, veil and all. Everything
was assimilated and soon the little one
was bright and clean. We've been told
that any of the excess afterbirth, etc. is
cleaned up by the mother so that noth-
ing remains to attract a predator. That
makes sense in the natural world. Any-
thing left about would eventually create
an odor and attract who knows what.
Call for an Audience
Of course, I had to call Barbara down
and she in turn called our daughter and
the kids and then the people next door
came over. All were elated to see the
new arrival. We had a gallery of people
looking at the miracle that had just
taken place. Others continued to arrive
when they came home from work.
No matter how often we talk about
births of any kind, there's nothing that
rocks you more and forcefully tells the
story of wonder than being right there at
birth. Robby, now almost eight, was
full of questions which were answered
frankly and truthfully. None of it
seemed to bother him a bit. After all,
what better education could we have
than what was taking place right before
us?
The little heifer was lying down and
still petty weak. We left her with the
mother, still mooing softly over her and
licking away.
About two hours later Robby came
charging up from the pasture to tell us
the latest events. The little calf was up
and nursing. Well, of course, the troops
were all called out again and we had to
go down to see that operation. The calf
was a spitting image of its mother and
knew just where to go for dinner. The
mother stood proudly as the little head
butted and the calf suckled the way it
had been done since time began. After a
short bit the legs of the little calf
seemed to buckle and fold under and she
lay down to rest. After all, she'd been
through quite an adventure. Again the
soft mooing, sniffing and licking. I
think we all walked away a bit prouder,
Main Road, Mattituck •298 -4180
Featuring
mz
Mussels, clams, shrimp, scallops,
/2 lobster over linguini with fra diavlo or garlic butter.
Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh
NEWBORN CALF - -No matter how often it occurs we are all cast under
a spell of wonder at the miracle of birth.
each with an air usually reserved only
for fathers.
Feed for Winter Ahead
Most animals and birds by this time
of the year have had their offspring.
From here on learning takes place and
the building of strong bones and re-
serves of fat will be acquired from na-
ture's bounty of summer.
Birds gorge themselves with insects
and fruit of all sorts, for most will
journey south for the winter and their
flight will take a lot out of them. The
animals will stay but they must build
themselves up for the long winter ahead
when food supplies will be low. Nature
plays a hard game of survival for those
who fail to learn and prepare for the fu-
ture. Some will pay dearly -- the others
will survive.
It's now that the baby birds will have
to learn what to trust and what not to
trust along the way. A cat or fox might
snatch a fledgling that doesn't pay
attention to its mother's alarm call.
Once the lessons have been taught,
many are on their own and the parents
will never see them again. Others, like
geese and ducks, stick together for a
good part of the year, but then eventu-
ally all must strike out on their own.
August is the time for ripening for
the climax of growth. We were starting
a little late with 'our calf but seeing we
can supplement the winter food, our calf
will be all right. We were all grateful
for the opportunity to renew our faith in
the miracle of life.
9
LRNORTHFORK
RESTAURANT
North Road, Southold, N.Y. 765-2111
("'gyp f
JhE te.9ionaf eui.s,ine and Win&i OI ?yam"
✓ JOHN C. ROSS
-onpp9 _Ysfand made f zom sxiatpg, / Chef /Owner
cooLd to OtdEt and S.E3lJEd wag #,Lid&.
ROSS'
- GREENPORT 4
-2w. k. noon - 2:30
30 UTHOL0
�iaaca: 5 - 9 cSwiday z - 9
Cfcud'v..Ly _ MAMTUCK
a