I Would Like to Be a Lady Again

Random writings of the goings on at vet school Down Under

I Would Like to Be a Lady Again
Ha ha ha...yes I know many of you who know me have always thought of me as a tom boy, or one of the guys. I think my friend Eric described me best when he said I am the person who will be helping you change a tire one minute and can throw on a dress and do dinner and dancing the next. Well, I am over the tire changing for a moment...and the fence mending, and the calve wrestling, and the tractor driving, and horse catching. Time to clean up and dance LOL.

Lets see here, my second week is almost over at the farm and it has been a great experience, but as you can tell I am a bit over it. I have been kicked by calves in the shin, smashed my finger in a gate, kicked by calves on the outer thigh, bruised my hand in a race chute, kicked by calves on the inner thigh, dragged through the mud, kicked by calves in the elbow, major rope burn on my hand, kicked by calves, fiber glass splinters in both hands from cattle prod pole etc...

Monday, Ian and I tried to catch a baby foal that has not really been handled. Just the two of us, one on each end of the rope walking towards the little foal in the round paddock. Now plan is: foal runs into rope, wrap around foal, and hand my end to Ian as he wrestles it down. NOT EASY...foal runs into rope I run as fast as I can to Ian, but I am ripped to the ground about four times. I hit the ground so hard I have uprooted plants in the top of my pants when I go to change later and I have a strange limp from a very bruised hip...and OW rope burn. Finally get my end to Ian, twice even, and he is dragged to the ground, foal bashes head. All of us bruised and battered and he eventually justs lassos it Texas style. She is suprisingly good once you start handling her. It is the catching.

Tuesday, the calves we were marking were soooo big, they were almost as big as their mums. Most went up the adult race even to be marked. Mike and I decided one rather large calf was calm enough to go in the calf pen...oops. Calf panics, comes climbing over fence jumps on me...kicks me in elbow and inner thigh and smashes me in fence. No more leaping calves please...I took great pleasure in castrating the buggers on Tuesday he he.

Today, more mustering in the freezing freezing cold. Tomorrow, more calf marking and apparently, in the pouring rain. The other vet student has arrived and I am more than glad to pass the torch and let her take over most tasks if she would like

Ok, nap time, I need a vacation...or maybe just a tiolet actually INSIDE the house