Even though this morning was chilly and crisp, the sunshine toward mid-day made it a perfect day to welcome Ruby’s calf.❤️ Uno had been early with Mary Kate by 7 days, but Ruby’s been overdue by 4 days, lol.🤷🏻‍♀️

We noticed yesterday that Ruby was looking close, so we brought her into the barnyard thinking she’d have her calf before the end of the day. WRONG.🤦🏻‍♀️ You can see in the next 3 pics that her tail was doing a lot of twitching, she held it out a bit, and she was doing a lot of turning and licking…all signs that a calf should be appearing soon! Granny & Tilly were just on the other side of the fence…😆

Since there was still no calf this morning when we came over to milk, Mike opened the gate so Ruby could be with Granny & Tilly. He thought maybe she wanted to be able to get out further and be a little more secluded. Ruby went directly to the low area that makes it hard to see her.🙄 And Tilly was SO INTRIGUED!!😂

I had to run to Carrollton for a bit, and on my way back, Mike txted that he thought Ruby was finally getting ready to have her calf! I pulled in by the oil well road and walked toward the middle of Eisengard on the outside of the fence. Tilly spotted me and came to greet me. Then she led me toward Ruby, lol.🥰

I had to really zoom in to see Ruby’s calf…🧐

…but Mike headed out from the barn and was inside the fence for a much better view. He was kind enough to take a pic for me before he checked to see if it was a boy or a girl.👍🏼

It’s a boy!!👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 Meet Jake! (Think John Wayne movie – Big Jake.🤠) This is Ruby’s 4th calf for us. <Click here to read about when Ruby was born.> <And click here to read about her calf from last year.> We bred Ruby to a Hereford bull in hopes that she’d have a boy, so we were super excited that this was the case!✝️🙌🏼

Next you’ll see Granny and Tilly practicing their sleuth-like skills as they nudge closer and closer to the action, lol.🤣

We decided to give Ruby some time to get Jake all cleaned up and fed, so Mike and I headed home for coffee break.☕️😍 Then we came back over to make sure everybody was doing ok. Tilly was EXHAUSTED!!😆😴

Jake got right up and was a good sport about his photoshoot.📷

Here he is questioning Granny’s curiosity…🙃

And feeling comforted with his mama’s protection…🙂

Notice Tilly trying to sneak in from behind for an extra meal…🤫🥛

But her mama set her straight, and I think Jake was relieved, lol.👍🏼

We decided to leave Ruby and Jake together for tonight. We’ll separate them tomorrow morning before milking.👍🏼

When I came back over to feed Mary Kate her afternoon feeding, Granny & Ruby had both their babies with them by the water tank. It was another good time to snap a couple more pictures.😏

What a full day! Thank You, Lord, for another calf on the ground.✝️🙌🏼

New tally is 2 girls, and 1 boy. Lord willing, 2 more to go!🙏🏼