The Sun is reluctant to show itself this morning, but I see clouds in the west with highlights so I know it is there. Finally the a red patch hits a distant mountain and I know we will have a sunny day. The shortest day of light has passed us by so I look forward to more light and the highlights of snow in January.
Yesterday I took a morning trip to visit my once baby, Footstep, now a grown cow, at a nearby farm. Unable to keep her I sold her to a family with a good farm and a daughter who takes good care of her. It has been hard to let go. Footstep was a tiny premature calf who took a tremendous amount of care to bring her to the age she should have been born at. I had not seen her for a long time and when I looked at the group of jerseys, was not even sure who she was. She had calved for her first time and being winter all the coats were long. I stood looking and examining and one cow near me looked back at me also looking examining. Something in her face was familiar, but her face was mostly black, unlike the Footstep I knew. I spoke questioning, "Footstep?" and she came right over to me. I scratched her under her chin and brushed her, talked to her, telling her how good it was to see her. It came time to leave and I told my once baby I loved her and then drove away. The soft light snowflakes of Christmas Day fell on the quiet farmland and set a mood of peace in our pastoral town.
I also stopped to see her mom, Steppin Up, in the barn where I help feed baby calves and gave her a special brushing. Then home, back to our little plot on the hill where our small tree had gentle lights cheerfully welcoming me home.
