dogs in my bed 8

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carolyn dewrance
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dogs in my bed 8

Post by carolyn dewrance »

By now Lightening was crackling across the darkened sky, followed by the loudest thunder I have ever heard, it was frightening, We had never experienced a storm in the open country before, We then ran to our tunnels and closed the side doors so as to stop the rain blowing a draft through, and possible ruining our crops, as we finished we ran back to the house, just as the first drops of rain started to fall, they were big drops, and by the time we got under the shelter of our little house the rain was really falling steadily, it looked as if the sky had opened and were really soaking the land, As the rain hit our tin roof, it made such a noise that it was hard to hear what we said to each other, the drops got harder and harder, and then it sounder as if all hell broke loose as it started to hail, the stones were as big as golf balls and they hit the ground with a terrific force, bouncing back into the air as they hit the roof and falling again to the now covered ground, I now realized what destruction a hail storm could cause to the small farmer's crops. Suddenly we heard the sound of glass breaking and realized that the wind had changed position and was blowing the hail right through the windows of the house, we ran around like a couple of crazed creatures trying to find anything that would do to be able to close off the windows, so that if any more broke, they would not let rain into the house, we used tea trays, even the baking tin from the oven and as many newspapers as we could lay our hands on, With all windows securely blocked, I then found time to make us a cup of tea, only to find that we had no electricity, and we had no wood or coal in the house with which to build a fire in the old stove, Rick looked at the weather, and waited for a slight break in the storm before he ran to the cow shed near the back door to get what we needed, he was soaked to the skin in just a few seconds.
Once we had had tea we set about lighting paraffin lamps, as the house was now as dark as midnight, even thought it was only midday.
Shortly after two the rain subsided and I opened the door, to see how much damage had been caused, through the dull light, I could see the chickens sitting in their houses, with damp feathers, but not much damage had been done, from where I stood, the farm looked llike one wet muddy field, with pools of water in some places inches deep. The tunnels appeared to have stood up well to the storm, and when we went to check on the dogs, they were all dry and safe, the only damage was to the potato crop, which had been slashed to pieces, by the hail. The two cows appeared to have faired fairly well in the storm, but Clair was moaning ever so softly, and I could see that she was not her usual self. Of all days, I said to her to pick to have your calf. Yes my little cow had gone into labor, I had no idea how to deliver a calf, and knew that I would have to help her as best as I could, because the phone lines were also down, and the vet would never be able to reach us because of the impassable roads. Rick went back to the house, to boil some water, and said I was not to worry, that if I could deliver puppies, I would be able to deliver a calf. As her labor proceeded Clair groaned and mooed louder, and louder. Poor thing I thought this must be very painful for you, and I don't suppose you know really what is happening to you. She lay down in the soft hay and then stood up again, I just did not know what to do to help her, she was to big for me to rub her back, like I had rubbed the dogs, and anyway she was to restless. Rick returned with the hot water, and said that it would be better if she lay down to have her calf, but I was sure that all cattle calved in a standing position, so we just sat with her, bearing her labor with her, eventually just as the storm started to return, with a massive clap of thunder she gave an almighty moan and a tremendous push, and a pair of legs appeared, slowly she gave birth to her calf, each labor pain was stronger then the first and she pushed and panted until suddenly it was all over, and a little animal so like it's mother appeared into the dark world. She turned around and started to lick the membranes from him and severed the cord, with in minuets she had disposed of the placenta, she stood up and nudged the little calf, to its feet as Rick and I sat and watched, if was a male calf, so now we had our very own bull. Suddenly she let our a long low moo, and her body started to shake and push once more, " I don't believe it I said to Rick, but I think she is going to have twins," twenty minuets later the second calf arrived, it was small and very much weaker then its brother, and it was a 1little cow. The mother did not seem to be very interested in this baby and after cleaning it she turned back to her other calf, I looked at Rick and realized that he was thinking the same as me, that if she was not going to accept the youngest calf, we would have to bring it up on own, with a bottle. But where were we going to get a babies bottle, in a storm like this, and miles away from town, "I know what lets try and see if Daisy wont accept it, she had had calves of her own and may be prepared to foster this one, and she has plenty of milk to feed it," We carefully wrapped a warm blanket around the small calf and carried it into the next shed where Daisy lived, I took the calf to her and held it on its feet while she made acquaintance with it, I then put it to her nipples, and gave it a teat, to see if she would allow the little creature to suck, for a moment she looked bewildered and wondered where this strange new baby had come from. Knowing that she had not given birth to it, and then she turned around and licked it, and nuzzled it towards her nipples once again and stood while the baby started to suck at her 1life giving milk. She accepted that baby calf, but it's own mother would not have anything to do with it. By the time they were two weeks old, we were teaching the calves to drink milk out of a bucket, and had started to feed them on a special calf food, which had been recommended to us by a nearby farmer. For the following weeks as the summer progressed we had a storm every afternoon, and soon the grass was looking greener than we had ever seen it. Our crops were reviving after the battering they had had, and we were able to dig our first baby potatoes from the potato patch. Our puppies were now big enough to be sent to their new homes, and we were very sad to say good bye to then, as we knew that we would not see most of them again, it's always sad when you breed something and then sell it, as you never know what its going to turn out like. We kept the two little bitches, for they would broaden our breeding plan.

Now back to the start of my story, We have been on the farm in Shongweni for 3 weeks now, the house is more or less sorted out just the shelving to put up, I have found homes for my two puppies even though I had to give them away, Sharon had to be spayed as she developed pyrometra and was not well at all, denim got Biliary but that was very quickly brought under control with an injection of Berenil 1ml which I got from the farmer who owns the property, I then ordered my own from my chemist and now I am prepared to attack the ticks if they bite my dogs, I unfortunately was not so lucky and came down with a sever dose of Tick Bite fever, and had to get medication from my doctor, this laid me flat for more then a week. I am happy to say that the animals have all settled down very nicely and Luke who was just not flourishing in Waterfall has gained weight and is blooming into the lovely Doberman that he was when he was younger. The property in waterfall was not the right environment for my chows, being damp all the time, and a cesspit for breeding all sorts of viruses.
The garden boy I hired has built the Chows a small run which will be enlarged when he has time to do it, or maybe make another run attached to the original so that they can all be out in the sun during the day, as I cannot let them all run together in case of a fight, and I don’t want any of them hurt. We are a long way from town and have a lot of land on which I can start growing my own vegetables, once the winter is over and I am able to afford labor to help me hoe the soil and get rid of the weeds in preparation for Spring growing.
Carolyn Dewrance
4 Fernwood Close
Richwood
Cape Town 7441

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