As our only two faithful readers will recall (you know who you are and we love you), Tom, Rhonda and I braved a couple of blustery, cold days in February to introduce Bessie and Rosebud to the soon-to-be father of their calves, Son of Fat Louie. This exercise was performed after a protracted learning curve during which Tom and I learned to spot both the subtle and not-so-subtle signs of bovine heat, which include: fence pacing, mounting, cologne from CVS, and gaudily uncoordinated shades of lip pencil (or lápiz de labios *snicker*).
The girls were bred a week apart, and if you count exactly 282 days, this makes their due dates November 24 and December 1. Of course, we know this is total nonsense. Neophyte cow owners we may be, but we have fully internalized Rule #1. Rule #1 is that all of the other Rules are entirely subject to your cow’s opinion of them. In our experience with Bessie and Rosebud, their opinions on everything are largely tied to the item’s association with food, the availability of brisket scratches, and the degree to which their opinions correlate with our inconvenience. Especially that last one.
If we start with that assumption, we can precisely narrow down their due dates by identifying the two days in the months of November and December on which the most of the following factors apply: night, a week night, or a night before a holiday that involves substantial preparation (extra points for that one); temperatures below freezing; wind chill greater than 20 degrees; following a day of unusual effort or exertion on our part; conflicting with an important event; measurable precipitation (more extra points); one or both of us sick with the flu; house on fire, regional thermonuclear event in progress and one or more horses developing symptoms of colic. The more of these conditions are present, the better the likelihood of the blessed events.
This simple exercise should determine, with complete accuracy, the date of our new arrivals.
We can hardly wait.
Triskelion Farm in the snow, but only a few inches, and nowhere near as bad as some of our friends along Rte 81 who got 24 inches! We have little to complain about as, apart from the usual frozen hoses, the trough heaters are working, and we haven't had to deploy our new emergency generator connection (thank you Jack Ryan). 
The cows were not impressed with the lack of green stuff, but Star strutted his stuff, glad to be outside.
The horses were all pretty pleased to throw off their "cabin fever", and many were the horse "snow angels" as they reveled in the feel of the snow on itchy coats.
The pond has frozen over completely since the photo, I think for the first time since we came here, and looks pretty in the early morning sun.
However, spare thought this Christmas for the family farmer and homesteader. Animals still have to be fed and watered, milked and cleaned out. Farmers rarely complain as it is a way of life, and the advantages usually outweigh the disadvantages - no commute, you are your own boss, and you get to live in delightful scenery. At least that is what I tell myself in the milking parlor early in the morning, with a blizzard howling round the door!
