Sometimes, Life is Just Hard

It's been a flurry of activity lately. Last weekend was consumed by the Annual District Holstein (aka the "Black & White" show). Since we don't have a trailer load full of cattle to get ready, Brent & I help organize and staff the show. We have to organize all the entries, figure out all the animals that made it to the fairgrounds, collect the entry fees, and then make sure all the cattle get to the ring. However, we had some additional stuff to get ready.

Brent's cousin, Addison, is 4, and her parents bring her by the farm now & then. She reminds us that Kawasaki mules & cats are WAY cooler than all the cows on the farm, and that the word "Why?" was invented just so 4-year-olds can use it every 30 seconds.
A typical conversation:
Addison:  "Where are you going Brent?"
Brent:  "To get cows"
Addison: "Why?"
Brent:  "So they can get milked"
Addison:  "Why?"
Brent: "So we can drink the milk"
Addison:  "Why?"........get the picture!

So, back in May she came & picked her calf out of the baby barn. "Hello Kitty" was the only red calf in the barn at that time, hence she got picked (and, yes, Addison named her). Hello Kitty therefore became the peewee showmanship calf. At our show, we have a peewee class, where all the little kids get to show, and everyone gets a trophy. It is the highlight of the day for many people. (As evidenced by the 6-person entourage Addison had when she showed last weekend!)

So, she came & worked with her calf after day care. Her attention span didn't always last very long, but, hey, it was about as good as you can expect from a 4-year-old. She was really excited about showing. However......  

Farming teaches kids many lessons. Unfortunately, one of those lessons is that bad things do sometimes happen. That happened to us Friday morning, when Hello Kitty died in an accident. Addison didn't take this very well, but neither did the rest of us.  It never gets easier, no matter how old you are. Addison was even more upset when she was told she might not get to show in peewee showmanship because she no longer had a cow. Never fear though, all of our wonderful dairy friends were more than willing to lend us a calf. Big thanks to Brock who stood in for the day.  

It was all ok, when the day ended with a trophy!

Here's praying a little rain comes our way this week! The dust is getting ridiculous......