Linus' Darlin'

Unfortunately not very much to post this time around because the weather has been up and down. Its been pretty mild but to put it lightly; I would be a millionaire many times over if I could sell mud!! So I have kept it to some minor manners lessons with Linus. Mostly things like standing still while tied, behaving while asking him to pick up his hooves and I have done a fair amount of grooming too to help all the loose hair away. I love grooming, something I always enjoyed with the show cattle too. People always joke because my mother is a barber...so I am the livestock equivalent!
I really wish I would have been able to capture the following on camera. Monday was an absolutely miserable day here with regards to the weather. When I got to the farm after doing the mail route Linus looked as miserable as the weather and it was only supposed to get worse overnight. I have a first calf heifer who is due any day now in the barn (do not want her calving in the mud!). She was in a large pen which can be cut in half by closing a gate. I cleaned and rebedded the heifer (her name is Darlin'; named after a Johnny Reid song and he dam's name was Lassie, so it fit) then I brought Linus in and put him on the other side of Darlin's pen. I was very pleased with him for walking through two narrow-ish doorways and down the feed alley without batting an eye. He got into the pen, shook the excess water off and investigated the new surroundings. These pens are normally used for calving in winter and creep feeding in summer. So, during the winter, we seal the door with a tarp in case we need to turn the heat on. I haven't done any desensitising with Linus yet using tarps. I don't imagine it will be difficult though because he grabbed it pulled it down most of the way. I took it the rest of the way off and folded it up in front of him not sure what to expect. Certainly did not expect him to try to grab it back from me!! What a boy! During all of this, Darlin' was finishing up her meal. Then it was time to meet her new roomy over the gate. To my surprise, the youngster who is normally pretty passive with the cows actually tried to nip her nose. She reacted by snorting and shaking her head then stamped her feet and tried again. I kept a close eye on the bickering pair in case I had to swap Linus with the weanling heifer who was also inside, but in a different pen. I carried on with the chores, they settled in munching their respective piles of hay and I went home. When I went back the next day to put Linus out in the now nice, sunny weather his face was all wet and so was his neck. I couldn't figure it out, thought we must have a leak somewhere by the now untarped door. Once I got him to his round pen, I could better see the pattern to these "wet" marks. Darlin' had been licking him on his face and neck!! It amused me to no end....yes I do live in a very rural area, there isn't much excitement! Sometime overnight, the two had made up and became buddies.
Writing this post has actually showed me that Linus has overcome much more than I thought in the last week. Good stuff!