Sunday 21 August 2011

What a surprise!

Every morning whilst sitting up in bed drinking tea I like to gaze out of the bedroom windows at the surrounding countryside.
There are usually at least three or four Normandie heifers in my line of sight. The field next door is home every year to a small herd of 11 of them.
A heifer in case you didn't already know is a female bovine between 2 and 4 years of age who hasn't yet given birth to a calf. Then she's a cow.
So you can imagine my delight not to mention shock, on Friday, when I spied this little chap running across the meadow.

All that chasing soon tired him/her out and so it was time to head back to mum for a rest.


Later that day we caught up with the farmer who owns the heifers and asked him about the calf.
"C'est une erreur"! he said.

It seems one young heifer met up with a neighbours taureau, quite unchaperoned, and this little guy only 3 days old, was the result of their romance.


After rounding up the rest of the herd the farmer with his wife and sons caught up with the mum and her little one, loaded them into the trailer and took them up to the farmyard to be better cared for.



Au revoir Tinkerbell! (it may be daft but that's the name I gave the calf as soon as I saw it flitting around the field!).



Joining The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sundays #62
with this bucolic tale from rural Normandy.

21 comments:

  1. What a sweet story and beautiful pictures. The dorm room I lived in during my college years looked out over lathers where cattle often grazed. I miss the pastoral scenery.

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  2. Fun pics Maggie! Aren't surprises great, love the look on the Mom's face as they're getting the calf into the wagon:@)

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  3. Wonderful story and wonderful pictures. Couldn't resist a comment.
    Carol

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  4. That was a sweet surprise! It's nice to know that in the world of genetically-engineered-everything there is still room for an 'erreur'!

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  5. What a wonderful surprise! I love the babies and their big brown eyes! Fun story and gorgeous shots. Have a great week!

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  6. Oh Maggie, I just loved this post! It literally made me laugh out loud :) "C'est une erreur." I didn't even need my French/English dictionary to translate that one. The first photo is so funny; photographer on one side of the tree, and the cow looking at you through the tree from the other side. Too cute! I would love to have that view out my bedroom window. And the heiffer is just adorable.

    Thanks for visiting my blog and taking time to leave a comment. I'm sure Mike and Maury would love to have you visit The Blue Waters Lodge anytime. Au revoir.

    Denise at Forest Manor

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  7. I just love the photo of the heifer looking through the tree, brilliant.

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  8. Cute, cute and more cute! I love it!

    --d'Artagnan
    www.livinginiowa.net

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  9. I love this! Thanks for sharing with us! :-)

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  10. Oh, I liked the picture of the cow spying on you through the trees! :-)

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  11. I definitely would have spilled my tea! What a cutie!! Great pictures, Maggie!

    XO,
    Jane

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  12. Sweet story, Maggie. I'd say a sweet "erreur" too. Nature at its best! ~ sarah

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  13. WOW Maggie that was fun. What great pictures you captured too. Thanks so much for your very sweet comment on my FIL wine cellar. Have a great night.

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  14. What a cute story! Reminds me of my Grampy's farm. What a delight it was to be around the calves and cows. Thanks for sharing and stopping by for a visit.

    Blessings,
    Sandi

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  15. What beautiful countryside!! And what an entertaining way to spend your morning with your coffee. I don't have anything quite so interesting in my backyard....just the birds that we feed!
    Have a great week.
    Jane

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  16. Lovely to meet the newest member of your neighbourhood Maggie. It must have been a day you couldn't stop smiling. Sometimes what we need is a wonderful accident of nature...a little calf, a rainbow or dew on the grass.

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  17. I love surprises! That is a great one. What a fun day for you. xo Jenny

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  18. So sweet. Great pictures. Great to have you being a part of Seasonal Sundays. Sorry to be so late in getting to visit.

    - The Tablescaper

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  19. What a lovely story and how wonderful you can see this when sipping your cup of tea in bed.
    I thought I followed your blog Maggie but then I saw that missed some posts from you. I am a follower now.
    Have a nice day

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  20. OMGoodness, that first photo is priceless, LOL! This is a great post....

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Thanks for stopping by, your visit just made my day!