Saturday night For much of the
populous, it’s an evening of relax
ation. Maybe dinner out with
friends. A date or a movie. A few
hours at the mall.
But in numerous professions,
Saturday nights are business as
usual. On duty are restaurant
retailing, convenience store, and
service station personnel. Police,
fire and emergency crews. Far
mers with calving cows.
Our gal laboring in a boxstall
couldn’t care less that it was
Saturday night A first-calf heifer.
Cherry, was making little progress
toward her delivery. She was in
considerable discomfort and the
calf was perhaps in trouble.
The year’s first invasion of arc
tic air had settled in, bringing
single-digit temperatures. Water
fountains needed periodic thaw
ing. Tractors grumbled and balked
at starting. Every time the barn’s
large doors opened, the clashing
cold outside and warm inside air
created instant, interior fog.
Edges of a newborn calf s ears
can freeze on a night like this. In
fact, a newborn calf, if not clean,
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dry and sheltered under such con
ditions. could even die of expo
sure. Thus, this about-to-be
mother has been confined in a
warmer, drier, safer area.
Cherry didn’t understand any of
these facts ... or care. New heifers
are unpredictable with all the
strange things happening to them.
Some settled down quickly and
allow help to be given. Others go
scatterbrained. (Rarely, one may
even come after the caregiver, as
one recently did to me when I tried
to help her newborn.)
Knowing that Cherry had some
sort of problem, it was necessary
to get her standing still long
enough! for The Farmer to check
the position of the calf. But Cherry
did circles around the pen. She
danced around the stall. She
sniffed at the pile of silage in the
stall’s feed trough, then tried to
shove out through the open side.
And got herself stuck.
Ever try to back up a
1200-pound animal, on her knees,
when she wanted to go forward?
After some pushing, pulling and
plodding, she was finally backed
out Only to return to Amr-ing, cir
cling, and trying to repeat the
escape attempt. I grabbed a
shovel, stood it on end across the
opening and parked myself beside
it
And hoped she didn’t realize
how useless that would be if she
really put her mind to crawling out
that spot But it provided enough
of a visibility distraction to give
The Farmer a few moments to
confirm that the calf was indeed
twisted out of proper position.
Cherry seemed to sense that she
needed help and stood still long
enough to be tied and the calTs
body straightened. Ropes were
slipped over the calf s protruding
feet and we began to slowly pull.
Though we had both shed outer
layers of sweatshirts and were
down to our matching brown
twill, insulated, bib overalls, we
were still sweating.
“Must be warming up,” figured
The Fanner, echoing my earlier
observation about the weather on
this frozen Saturday night.
Because of her earlier prob
lems, Cherry needed a little time
to dilate. She cooperatively stood
still, while we kept a steady pull
ing pressure on the calf. Her sides
heaved periodically, as she
pushed, and slowly the calfs wet
body came into view. With one
final push from her, it plopped
down onto the soft sawdust.
“Bull,” groaned The Farmer,
disappointed.
Steam rose around us as we put
away topes, gathered up the dis
carded sweatshirts, gloves and
hats and exited the milk house.
Outside, the stars twinkled and the
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hand stuck to the metal door. The bom httte fcUow
thermometer reglitered rir All in A eot , bed wy to
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Conservation District
SUNBURY (Northumberland
Co.) The Northumberland
County Conservation District has
announced its 1997 tree sale has
begun and customers can now
place their orders. Trees are to be
picked up at the district office in
mid-April, weather permitting.
Actual date of pickup will be
announced later.
The conservation district is
again selling a wide variety of
evergreen and ornamental tree
seedlings, ground covers, shrubs,
fruit trees, and small fruits. Wild
flower seeds will also be available
as well as planting and mainte
nance supplies, such as fertilizer
packets, tree protectors, and weed
control mats.
New items this year include
Sargent Crabapple, Purpleleaf
Sandcheny, Scarlet Curls Willow,
Bankers Dwarf Willow, Dwarf
Bumingbush, and Yellowberry
Holly.
The goal of the annual tree sale
is to make reasonably priced trees
and plants available for purchase,
thereby enabling customers to
contribute to the conservation of
valuable natural resources on their
land, such as soil, water, wildlife,
Little Prices on Big Bedding!
Luc—l»r Farming, Saturday, February 1, 1907-B5
Tree Sales Begin
and forest resources, while at the
same time beautifying their
property.
It is the belief of the board of
directors of the Northumberland
County Conservation District that
planting trees and other items is
one way we can make an invest
ment in the future and be environ
mentally responsible.
Proceeds from the tree sale are
used by the conservation district
to spread the conservation mes
sage with educational programs
for children and adults and to
assist landowners in solving con
servation problems and applying
conservation practices.
Anyone who placed a call into
the conservation district office
within the past six months
requesting an order form and who
has not received it by now is asked
to again contact the office. Also, if
your address has changed since
last year, please give us a call.
To receive an order form for the
1997 tree sale, you may call (717)
988-4224, or stop by the North
umberland County Conservation
District office on Plum Creek
Road, RD 3, Sunbury.
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RECLINER
Reg> Re< - 1
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OUR CASH I
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1 OUR CASH
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1 $129.88
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Armoire, dresser, headboard, and mirror
Reg Ret $469 95
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