Eastern Iowa Farmer Fall 2020

straw while I started CPR on his chest.
That’s when “do what you have to”
came into play.
James said, “Push it back in!”
I looked at him and questioned his
request.
He said, “Do it!”
So, I did! I shoved my hand up inside
of her girl parts in hopes of stopping any
catastrophe should it arise. When a heifer/
cow gives birth sometimes they don’t quit
pushing, and, as a result, they expel their
“calf bed” aka a uterine prolapse. It’s a
bad deal, usually resulting in the cow
dying from internal bleeding or infection
as a result of pushing everything back in
that touched unsanitary surfaces. So, I did
what I had to and thankfully the worst did
not occur! I’m happy to report both mom
and baby are doing well this morning.
While I know this pertains to our current
farm life, it also pertains to all of us as we
adjust to the new norm. Please, keep your
chins up and keep doing what you have to
stay healthy, quarantined and remembering
what’s truly important, life! Hugs, friends
and family, this too shall pass.
Wednesday, April 1
#6 You Fool!
I’m sure I can’t be the only one who
had these thoughts, but one can
only hope! I woke up today with
excitement. It’s a fun day to pull
a few pranks on anyone possible.
Well, my list was extremely short this
year given our current situation. So, I
began early, 6:30 a.m. early, when James
awoke for the day.
I came up with my idea the evening before
as I laid in bed thinking and rethinking
the day’s events and preparing for the
days to come. We had moved a group of
cows and calves out to cornstalks, and
they have a huge water tank that needs to
be filled every couple of days. James ran
the hose out to the tank last night, and he
instructed me to shut it off in an hour.
As I lay in bed, I giggled to myself at
how perfect his set-up would be to pull
the perfect April Fool’s prank! I even sent
out a Snapchat to my closest friends and
family to let them in on what I thought
was the most epic prank ever!
At 6:30 I said good morning,
I love you and good bye. And
then, I remembered what I was
supposed to do. So, it began.
“James, did you by chance
shut the water off last night?”
James, “No, I didn’t. Didn’t
you shut it off? I told you to go
out in an hour and shut it off.”
I responded, “No, oh my
gosh, I completely forgot to
shut it off. It ran all night!
We are going to have water
everywhere and we are
going to have to move the
cows and calves back into
the barn. I can’t imagine
how muddy it is around the
water tank. Oh my God,
really, you didn’t shut it off
last night?”
James, “No! No I didn’t
shut it off. I swung by the
hydrant when I got home
last night, it was off. I
know it was off.”
86 Eastern Iowa Farmer | fall 2020 eifarmer.com