Beth and the heifers

Months ago we determined that we would sell off some of our cows to pay for the wedding coming up. We discussed which cows to sell and which to keep and harder still, which to process (put in the freezer). We decided to sell our mother cows this year and their heifers from last year. And the bull calf. But, Blessing lost her calf, so, as painful as it is to say this, due to demand for beef among our family members and co-workers, Blessing and her calf from two years ago, April, get to go to Gonzales. We won't tell them why. It is humanely done for those of you who are squeamish. That's why we take them that far (there are several places closer). We are keeping my two favorite cows (and one of those is Kevin's favorite, too). Rosa and Lucy get to stay. And Dillon for the time being. But, that meant we needed to sell the two heifers and Beth. Beth is due to calf within a month. It is actually easier on the calf to be born after the cow is moved. If we were to sell them as a pair, we'd need to wait a minimum of a month from birth before transporting them. Even so, moving a young calf has its risks. So, I decided to advertise Beth too. I prayed that the LORD would make it possible to sell the cows for near market value without us having to actually run them through an auction. Auctions are hard on cows. Very. So, I took pictures of the heifers, Dixie and Dorrie, and of Beth. I wanted them to be current photos. I posted an ad on Craig's list. Within an hour of posting the ad, I got a call on my cellphone from a fellow close to 100 miles away who said he wanted the cows and he'd come get them right then! I explained that it would be Sunday afternoon before we'd be home at a time that would allow loading them. So, we set up a time (3:00) and I was ecstatic! The LORD had answered my prayer so specifically! The folks wanted the cows to baby and to have babies. Just as we had. After he'd already agreed to buy them (without haggling at all about the price); I got four more guys saying they wanted them if the first one backed out. I took their contact information. If we'd had a dozen heifers, we could have sold them all in one day! Of course I had waited until we'd gotten rain and there was more predicted so that people would know they would have pasture. Lots of folks sold off their cattle last year because of the drought; we kept ours because I didn't want them to end up in a feedlot. I made it clear in my ad that we'd gone to considerable expense to keep them grass/hay fed and save them from a life in a feedlot. All of those that responded to the ad understood our concern. Yesterday afternoon the couple came and got Beth, Dorrie and Dixie. They seemed satisfied when they saw them. The cows were extremely cooperative and walked right into their trailer! I led them in with a bucket of cubes. The buyers were relieved to see the cows were tame; they'd been eager to buy them because I had described them as gentle, easy to move and accustomed to hot wire.

What struck me today, is that we're selling Beth to pay for her namesake's wedding! And I still have the picture above of Beth as a calf with Kevin's soon-to-be-wed daughter. The other picture is of Beth last week and of the three of them in the trailer which took them to their new home. Not very roomy. Kevin says cattle travel better packed together. The couple that bought them called us when they got them home and into their pasture to say they were settling in well. That was so nice of them!

I am exceedingly grateful for the LORD making the downsizing as painless as possible for all concerned! He took care of every concern I raised to Him!