Me and Nicolas

For those that have followed our vineyard, and winery, on this blog, they know that there is more to this blog than just grapes. It is a working farm too. It wasn't something we just happened to fall upon when we bought the property. It was a conscious decision to return White Oak Farm to being an operating farm (within reason). The original farm, run by Harry Spratley, had raised carriage horses. Opting not to fall completely in his footsteps, primarily because taking care of a horse is much like a sailboat with its never ending desire to suck money out of your pocket, we (meaning me, since Diane says all the animals are my doing) decided to go for cattle and goats.

Many of my hair-raising tales include these ruminants, and so it continues as we approached the end of the 2018 year.

Wow! Back up the clock 20 months (from August 2020). I started this blog in December 2018 and never finished it. A lot has happened since then.....2019 being one thing, and this COVID19 pandemic being another. The Winery did well in 2019, and like most businesses who are in the tourism industry, not so well in 2020. But this and many of the upcoming blogs will be about Nicolas. "Who's Nicolas?" you might ask.

Here is is.

As the story begins I do my walk up to the cattle pasture generally twice a day. Only out of habit do I count the cattle; I primarily visit to make sure they haven't escaped or somehow broken the water hydrant which can lead to flooding. So on this morning of December 14th, 2018, I went up and walked through the herd, only to find D44A hovering over a newborn calf. It was her first calf, the one one that "graduates" her from being a heifer to a cow. It was cold that day, and as a new mom she was a bit perplexed. The calf was dropped in a pool of mud, and it was the coldest day of the year so far.

I knew enough to give it some space. New mothers tend to be a little testy when someone  is around their new calves. Doesn't really matter how well they know you; you come across as a threat regardless. After seeing this new arrival I went back to the house and made the birth announcement and went on with my daily chores. It wasn't until late afternoon when the newborn's future was to be determined.  (TBC)