Stories of life on our farm in Northwest Georgia where every day is an adventure in this beautiful spot that God has entrusted to our stewardship.

Sunday, March 30, 2014

Signs That You Might Have a Serious Disease

While I was finally cleaning up my kitchen this morning, I was thinking how much I would rather be doing something else.  I began to add up all the signs that I might have caught a serious disease, one that's incurable, actually.  So here are some signs to help you tell if you might have caught the same thing . . .

You'd rather be cleaning your barnyard than your house, and shoveling manure beats out washing dishes any day of the week.

You are seriously in love with a bovine.

You spend a lot of time with your head under your cow's belly shooting photos of her udder . . .
. . . and looking under her tail to see if she's about to calve.
The sight of a mama cow with her newborn calf just thrills your soul.

This isn't gross, it's good news.
When your first calf has her first calf, that makes you a grandma.

You mount a four-person team effort to go out in the pouring rain and rescue a newborn calf.
A milking stanchion is at the top of your Most-Coveted Wish List.
Your cows get more attention than your horses.
A slimy, slobbery kiss makes your day.

You think nothing of making a ten-hour round trip to get a new cow from an excellent breeder.

When you go on vacation and your host asks what you would like to do, the first thing you say is, "Visit a Dexter farm!"
Milking your cow is your favorite part of the day, and you never cease to marvel that God has created this cow to produce milk for her calf and yet, in His plan, she generously shares it with you.

A jug of milk fills you with joy and satisfaction.

You get seriously excited over the arrival of a cow-related package.

This makes you smile.

You buy a brand of whiskey you've never tasted because your new bull has the same name.
The sound of milk hissing into your pail is music to your ears.
This doesn't make you gag, it makes you smile.
You have hugged and kissed a cow today.
You've taken "felfies" of you and your cow.

You're out there every day, no matter the weather, to make sure your animals are taken care of.

You ship a bull clear across the country so that you can add the best genetics to your herd.

You're willing to do whatever it takes to get your cow well when she's sick.
Your life-long fear of power tools goes out the window when your cow needs something.

You can't ever have too many!
 
Yellow fat on your beef makes you happy.


You bore your family and friends talking about cows and wish that just one of your cow-loving friends lived closer.

You happily break up your beautiful view with fences because that means more pasture for your cattle.

Green is your new favorite color because it makes your cows happy.

Your new vocabulary includes words like teats, udder, quarters, top line, conformation, heat, and AI.

Genetics has become a fascinating subject, and you draw Punnett squares to figure out what your next calf might be.

You have come to think that a cow is one of the most beautiful animals God created, and you wonder how it took you so long to discover that.

If you have several of the above symptoms, you have probably caught the same disease I have . . . Dexteritis!  It's incurable--but go ahead and try to cure it by getting some more.  You might as well enjoy it!

14 comments:

  1. Great post.I have the same problem and I hope I am never cured.
    Paul

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    1. Glad you liked it, Paul! It's a great problem to have, isn't it?

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    1. Thanks! Now I'll be looking for some on your blog!

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  3. Yep, you have the worst case I have ever seen. I hope to catch this disease some day soon.

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  4. Ah Susan!! As usual, you have a wonderful way with words and pictures! It is sooooo true. Wish we lived closer. I'm gonna come visit you one day.... be warned... :)

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    1. Oh, please do, Fran! We'd have so much fun!

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  5. Dexteritis! I love it! Your post made me smile so many times! Come back anytime and we'll visit another Dexter farm--we had so much fun that day! Funny--I read this post the day after working in the garden--you guessed it--side-dressing my asparagus with cow manure!! The real black gold--a gift from a friend down the road. Now my asparagus "babies" will be happier. . .and so will I. Yum!
    Barbara

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    1. You remind me I need to go check our asparagus. We're not putting in a garden this year, but hopefully it will still do something--and the berries, too.

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  6. I love it! You had me laughing so hard...it's so nice to see others out there in the cow world thinking the same things as I do each day.

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    1. Thanks, thisbarefootfarmer! It's a different way of seeing things, isn't it?

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  7. Oh my gosh, I have that! Now I know the name for it - dexteritis. Thanks for the great post with great pictures.
    Karen (petaddict on kfc)

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    1. Thanks for letting me know, Karen! Always glad to meet a fellow sufferer! :) I'll keep my eyes open for you on there.

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