On the farm, we celebrated much the same way many of you did. Primarily with our immediate family. Parents came over for outdoor socially distant visits to see what Santa brought the kids. Due to 30 degree weather, those visits were even shorter than they otherwise would have been. I must admit, it hit me as a little sad. The togetherness that we have missed this year, was noticeably more pronounced during the holidays. I tend to use the busyness of the farm to insulate myself from the turmoil of things going on outside the gate, be that popular culture, political rhetoric, or otherwise. But during Christmas when everything slows down, I felt a little more of the pressure and anxiousness that 2020 has delt to us all.
Fortunately for me, the farm didn't want me dwelling in that place for long. At 9:00 on Christmas morning we had 2 young heifers that wanted to spread some Christmas cheer. Overnight a Limb had fallen on the fence of a nearby pasture fence. These two heifers had found the hole in the fence and escaped. I was not nearly as amused as the person that called to inform me that, as she was laughing, I think one of your cows is standing in the middle of the highway. 😲
Unfortunately, Julie had to work at the hospital on Christmas. So I had all three kids at home and heifer in the middle of the highway. Everybody grabbed a coat and off we went. I've never been more thankful for Ricky, a farm employee that was already aware of the situation. Ricky had started to wrangle the heifers back into the pasture, and I was able to help him finish the Christmas capture. Luckily traffic was light and everyone was returned to their proper place unharmed. One thing the farm is really good at is keeping your attention focused on IT, and not all the other distractions of life.
