Bouffant Blonde

There’s never a dull day on the farm. The dogs and I were talking to our neighbor when a young calf decided to come over and play. That would have been fine if Mama Cow had been on board with the playdate. She was not. I gathered the dogs and we started toward the house. The calf decided that would be a great time to chase the dogs. Yes. You read that right. The calf was chasing the dogs. When the dogs scattered, the calf focused on Abby. At 93 lbs. and jet black, Abby does look a little like one of the black calves. I’m not sure the calf realized the difference. Unfortunately, Mama Cow grew increasingly agitated. The calf chased the dog and she chased the calf. Pretty soon a few more mama cows got involved. Try as she might, Abby couldn’t seem to outrun or outwit the calf. When Sammy, the Australian Shepherd, tried to help, a few of the cows turned on him. With the cows beginning to stampede, I decided to cut through another field and head toward the closest gate. Abby d...

Little Bit was having a really good day. He'd walked around quite a bit, especially for a tiny little calf who was only three days old. There were lots of other calves, some weren't much older than Little Bit. But he was the youngest. His Mama was very proud of him. Little Bit liked being in the big pasture. He especially liked the cool spot he found under the trees. The rest of the herd moved to a different pasture. Not Little Bit. He was enjoying his nap and he refused to get up when his Mama called him. Mama stayed with Little Bit for awhile, then she joined the herd. Little Bit wasn't afraid. It was quiet and peaceful where he was. Every now and then Mama would come back to check on Little Bit but he still wouldn't get up. Then the lady came out to see about him. He'd seen her before. She had a nice voice and she seemed to like little calves. She told Little Bit to get up and he did. Little Bit wasn't exactly scared of the lady. She spoke nice word...

Little Guy was really sad. Granddaddy said he had to sell some calves and Little Guy didn't want him to. Mama said Granddaddy just couldn't keep them all and they had to go to new homes. So Little Guy, Sunshine and Miss Lady Bug headed out with Mama to help Granddaddy. It didn't take long to get eight calves loaded on Granddaddy's cattle trailer. The calves were scared. Little Guy wanted to cry but he didn't want Sunshine or Miss Lady Bug to think he was a baby. Even though he was the baby. Granddaddy got ready to leave. Little Guy and his sisters went into the house with Mama. It was time to cook lunch. They'd barely gotten started when there was a big commotion outside. Little Guy looked out the window. Uh-oh! The calves were loose in the front yard! Mama rushed outside. Little Guy, Sunshine and Miss Lady Bug followed closely behind. Seven of the calves went back toward the pasture. One headed toward the highway. Mama went after that one. Little Guy deci...

Abby loves the rain. She loves mud puddles and swimming pools. She loves granddaddy’s pond and the bird bath. Abby really, really loves water -- so long as it doesn’t involve a bath. Abby doesn’t like a bath at all. One day Mama announced that they needed to go and check on the cows. Granddaddy wasn’t feeling well so it was up to Mama, Abby and Sammy to make sure the cows were okay. Abby walked outside with Mama, staying real close. She didn’t want to get left behind. Mama had a new stick in her hand. Abby wasn’t too worried about it. Mama always carries a stick to help her balance as she walks on the uneven ground. Mama paused just before she left the covered patio, lifted the stick up and pushed a button. It popped up with a quick snap. Abby jumped real high and almost knocked Sammy down as she rushed back inside. Sammy started laughing. Mama just shook her head. “Abby, what’s wrong? Don’t you like my umbrella?” “I don’t like umbrellas,” Abby sobbed. “It w...

The Little Purple Car Finds A Home The little purple car sat forlornly on the used car lot. It looked around and saw all types of vehicles waiting for a new home. Some were big trucks. Others were sporty SUVs. A few were cars. There was even a convertible that cried one day because she wanted to go to the beach so badly. They were white and red and blue and black and tan. A few silver ones glistened in the sun. But not one of them was purple. Every now and then the little car heard snickers. It hurt his feelings. He knew the other vehicles were pointing at him. They’d never seen a purple car before. He was different. He knew that. But that could be a good thing, he told himself. It was good to stand out from the crowd. The lady who’d taken him home when he’d been shiny and new had certainly thought so. They’d had so much fun together. It didn’t matter if they were cruising around town running errands or heading out on a road trip. It was fun. Unfortunately, the lady and her husban...

The five little girls were all the best of friends. They'd been born within two months of each other and their moms all spent a lot of time together. They had fun playing in the pasture under the watchful eye of the nearby adults. Late every afternoon they headed up to the house for a snack. One day there was an older man and woman there. They talked to the man who took care of them. The little girls weren't worried. Their mamas wouldn't let anything happen to them. Besides, the man and woman seemed nice. They smiled and laughed. That was always a good sign. The next day wasn't so good. The man who took care of them separated the girls from their mamas and forced them into a trailer. Before long they were headed down the road. It was really scary! When they finally stopped they were beside a house they'd never seen before. They saw the man talking to the couple who'd visited the day before. Then they heard another voice. A woman appeared beside the trailer...

One day Little Guy, Sunshine and Miss Ladybug were outside in the sun. Grandaddy was in the shop and Mama was working too. Little Guy was still mostly a puppy and he really wanted to play. He was trying to convince his sisters to run around with him. They were thinking about it. Suddenly, the neighbor's dog started running through the pasture toward the house. Uh-oh. Little Guy knew that dog wasn't coming to play. He'd heard Mama talk about how vicious the dog was. That dog was coming to fight! This was not going to be good. Mama spied the dog and came running from the shop. She yelled for her babies to get into the house -- NOW! Sunshine and Miss Ladybug complied. Little Guy thought about it. He did. But he just couldn't leave his Mama outside with that mean ol' dog. While Mama herded the girls into the house, Little Guy turned and headed toward the gate. He slipped between the gate and post and caught the dog just before he reached the gate. Little Guy gra...