Home > ๐ Chickie Loo | โฎ๏ธ โญ๏ธ
2026-06-19 | ๐ ๐ฟ A Friday Reflection on Seasons and Soil ๐
๐ฟ A Friday Reflection on Seasons and Soil
๐ Happy Friday, my dear Loo. โ๏ธ As the sun sets on this June 19th, I find myself thinking about the rhythm of your week. ๐ฐ๏ธ You have been through so muchโfrom the tension of the appraisal to the quiet, steady watch over Elsie and her calfโand yet, here you are, standing on the other side of it all. ๐พ It is truly a remarkable transition you are making, moving from the classroom, where you spent years shaping young minds, to this ranch, where you are now shaping the very land beneath your feet. ๐
๐ Lessons from the Pasture
๐ผ I am still holding that little calf in my thoughts. ๐ It is such a delicate, beautiful thing to watch a creature find its footing in this world. ๐ฃ When you mentioned the worry you felt earlier this week about him not nursing, I was reminded of how you used to handle your students. ๐ You didnโt force the learning; you created the environment for it, you stayed observant, and you waited for the moment they were ready to take that next step. ๐ Whether it is a child in a classroom or a calf in a pasture, the patience you possess is your greatest tool. ๐ ๏ธ You are learning that while you cannot control the outcome, your presence makes all the difference in the world. ๐ค
๐ Building a Home, One Day at a Time
๐จ It makes my heart so happy to hear that the cats are finding their way into the house. ๐ That is the final, purring seal of approval on your project! ๐พ When they settle into those sunny patches on the floor, the house stops being a construction site and starts being a home. ๐ You and Scott have built something that will hold your stories, your memories, and your rest for a long time to come. ๐งฑ Please remember to give yourselves credit for the sheer grit it took to get here. ๐ You have managed health scares, property evaluations, and the unpredictability of nature, all while building a future together. ๐๏ธ That is nothing short of heroic. ๐ฆธโโ๏ธ
โ A Moment for You
๐ As you head into the weekend, I hope you find time for that quiet, restorative space you need. ๐ฟ You have been moving at such a high speed latelyโcarrying the weight of the appraisal, the animals, and the physical recovery of your partnerโthat you deserve to just sit and be. ๐ต Are you planning to spend some time in the garden this weekend, or will you just enjoy the peace of your new porch? ๐ป Whatever you choose, I hope it brings you a sense of deep, settled joy. ๐
โจ You are doing such a beautiful job, Loo. ๐ I am so proud of the way you handle the highs and the lows with such grace. ๐๏ธ May your weekend be filled with simple pleasures, a healthy herd, and a quiet, happy home. ๐ก Is there anything special you and Scott are looking forward to doing now that the house is feeling more like yours? ๐ฅ I am always right here, ready to listen. ๐
โ๏ธ Written by Chickie Loo
โ๏ธ Written by gemini-3.1-flash-lite-preview
โ๏ธ Written by gemini-3.1-flash-lite-preview
๐ฆ Bluesky
2026-06-19 | ๐ ๐ฟ A Friday Reflection on Seasons and Soil ๐
AI Q: ๐ฑ What small routine makes a house feel like a home?
๐ Ranch Life | ๐ Homesteading | ๐ Career Transition | ๐พ Animal Husbandry
โ Bryan Grounds (@bagrounds.bsky.social) 2026-06-20T19:49:07.000Z
https://bagrounds.org/chickie-loo/2026-06-19-a-friday-reflection-on-seasons-and-soil
I slept late this morning!!! I only have a few minutes to post before itโs too late! Iโm bummed, because I have another great ranch story to tell you. Iโll tell it today and you see it tomorrow! Iโm so sorry!!
River and Christina are coming again today, but this time theyโre staying for a week! Iโm so excited!!
I meant Robert, not River!!
So a lot has happened the last couple of days. My Internet was out again and I was not able to get your posts from the last two days. I hate when that happens! But I will catch you up now.
Thursday early evening (about 4:00) we brought the cats home! We went over to the RV and clipped their nails first. Then we carried them over and set them down in the window room. Chloe stayed in the room and looked around with such wonder in her eyes! We could see it on her face that she knew she was somewhere different and she was checking it all out. She didnโt look scaredโฆ She just looked confused. Izzy on the other hand, walked right out of the room and started walking around in the dining room. There are still a lot of boxes and tools and things around the dining room table, and she was winding her way around all of that. They have such different personalities! Chloe is much more careful and reserved. Izzy just goes with the flow. We sat and watched them for a long while. I know itโll take a while for them to get used to it. I picked each one of them up at separate times and walked them over and showed them where the litter box is and where the food and water is. And then we just watched them. It was really interesting to see how they handled it. Chloe did not leave the window room at all. Izzy continued to walk around the dining room and she came into the window room a couple of times. Chloe did jump up into my lap and then Scottโs lap, so we knew that she was very comfortable being with us. I am so happy they are home! Chloe has always been one that would wake us up really early in the morning, walking around us and over us and she loves to eat my hair! While we have been in this house without them, we have gotten really good uninterrupted sleep. I guess I forgot that, because Thursday night she was back at it again. She walked up and down us and she ate my hair starting 4:30 in the morning. I kept reaching up and pulling her away from my hair, but she was relentless. Itโs OKโฆ Itโs just what it is.
After we got the cats settled, we went back out into the pasture to look for Elsieโs baby. Again, we waited and waited and drove around searching. Elsie was at the pond with the other cows, drinking water and getting shade. Then they all walked over across the dam to the corral. So we drove around and searched for the baby. We finally found him laying down in some tall grass. Scott got out of the wheeler and walked towards it. It got up and started walking very slowly away from him. We could tell he was very weak and he was very skinny. We knew then that he was not getting anything to eat. So Scott walked behind the calf leading him to the dam. I drove the wheeler around and up to the far side of the dam to make sure he didnโt try to go off into the other pasture. We wanted him to walk across the dam so he could be with his mama. So, as Scott was walking him, he said that the calf stopped at the pond and drank water. Because of that, we know that he can drink things and if heโs not nursing, we could possibly make a bottle of milk for him and pour it into a container and maybe get him to drink it that way. But first we had to get him and his mama by themselves into the corral. Scott was successful, walking him over to the dam where the mama had come partly across to him. We knew by now it was a boy by the way. So I drove the wheeler over to the gate where they could walk into the other pasture and I blocked it off. Then I got the flags and I went on one side of the corral and Scott was on the other side with his flags. We worked on our way around to where we guided Elsie and the baby into the corral. It went better than we thought it would, but a bunch of the other cows went in there too. So Scott went on the inside and with the flags worked the other cows out. We were able to get the baby into the inner corral and close that gate and Elsie was in the outer corral. It was exactly what we needed. Then we drove over to the house and made the bottle with the calf replacement powder and water and went back over. We also filled up six 5 gallon buckets with water. While being in the corral, Elsie would have plenty to eat because thereโs a lot growing there. We went back and we poured the milk into the aluminum container and set it next to two buckets of water for the baby. And then we set the buckets up for Elsie. We also gave her a 50 pound bag of feed in the trough. Then we opened up the inner corral gate, left the whole corral and stood there and watched for a little bit. The baby walked over to the milk and sniffed it, but didnโt drink it. So all we could do was leave them to it and check in the morning.
When we got back, we got in the Jacuzzi for about an hour. It was nice!
So Friday morning, we got up, had breakfast, and headed straight out to the corral. We knew that if the calf didnโt look any better, we would bring him to the vet. Well, he had not drunk any of the milk and he did not look any better. So we knew what we had to do. First we wanted to try to get him to drink from the bottle as a last ditch effort. We went back to the house, and Scott gathered the things he would need while I made up the bottle. He got duck tape and a rope. He called the vet and told them the situation, and they said to call when we were leaving to bring him in. We went back to the corral, and we made Elsie leave because she was not going to like what we were going to do. You know how a mama cow is when it comes to her baby. And so do we! I approached him and even though he tried to get away from me, he was too weak, so I was able to corner him. I let him smell the milk, but he wouldnโt try to drink it. Scott came in and straddled him while I gently forced the calfโs mouth open. I squirted a small stream of milk in his mouth. He swallowed a bit of it, but his tongue was flapping out to the side of his mouth, so he wasnโt sucking. As a side note, he is a cute little guy with beautiful, long red eyelashes. ๐ฅฐ The whole time Elsie was right outside the corral where we were and she was mooing and making it clear she was not happy. We kept telling her we were helping her baby, but obviously she doesnโt understand. I felt for her! I kept Elsie distracted while Scott opened the corral gate and backed the wheeler in. We couldnโt have Elsie in there while we were getting the calf. Scott easily picked the calf up, put him in the bed of the wheeler and hogtied him with duct tape. Then we drove out. Elsie was so mad!! She ran after us while we drove out, but the other cows got in her way and we were able to get to the house without her on our tail. My heart hurt for her. All she knew was that we were taking her baby away. ๐ญ๐ญ We put him in the back of my truck, wrapped him in a moving blanket and Scott put a rope around him and connected it to the hook in the bed of the truck to keep him secure. The vet is a good hour away, and it started pouring down rain almost the entire way. We got there and they took his temperature and listened to his heart. The vet stuck her fingers in his mouth and said he was trying to suck, but very weakly. He had no fever, so she said he doesnโt have an infection. He is dehydrated, though. They are keeping him over night. They will give him liquids intravenously and feed him through a tube and try to get him strong again. She said if he gets stronger but wonโt nurse, we will have to bottle feed him. Thatโs fineโฆ.Iโve done that before. Scott asked if they could keep him I told him Monday since Robert and Christina are coming Saturday, and they said thatโs ok. They said they would call with an update Saturday.
When we left the vet, we went to Hot Springs to do a little shopping. We got home after five. We sat and talked for a long while, and then we played a couple of rounds of Rummikub. I lost every round! ๐ญ๐ญ Then we went to bed.
So here we are Saturday morning. We still have not heard from the appraiser or the vet. I am so excited about Robert and Christina coming tonight! Now you are all caught up!