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Hey guys I need your opinion.......

MN Farm Girl

Well-known member
I wrote this essay for english a while back and was wondering what you guys think.

THE CALVING BARN.

The yard light casts shadows on the 1930's style barn. I walk up and stretch my arm past stretching point to reach the light switches on the wall over the gate. I flip the dull, white switch to the “on” position. The light casts a glow brighter than the sun, and friendlier than a dog. The sight of cows and calves paints a mural in my mind. Cow and calves means hard work, but I don’t mind. As far as I’m concerned, if you like what you are doing, the physical labor doesn’t matter. If I had to choose a word to describe the calving barn it would be; calming.
The crackling of corn stalks, and the light reflecting off the oat straw is my carpet. The walls of aged douglas fir, my security blanket, and the beams of days past my ceiling. A cow lays down in the straw to have her calf, and lets out a “Whoosh” of air. We watch as the minutes trek slowly by and soon the water bag emerges. Dad and I sit on black, plastic, five gallon buckets against the cold, ½ inch square tube metal cattle paneling. The bull becomes bored in his pen on the west side of the barn, and itches his head on our backs through the gate. As the water bag pops, sending a flood onto the dry, fluffly straw. Two little white hooves appear. Dad sighs in gratitude that the toes on the hooves are pointed up, a sign that the baby is in the right position. The cow strains, and still no progress. Now we are up against time. If the baby isn’t born soon, he will die before he gets to breathe. As the seconds turn into minutes Dad wraps the thin, 12 inch chain around the feet and pulls as the cow works through another contraction. A slimy roan colored bull calf slips out of his watery home and into a dry cool island. We step back and watch them bond, mother and calf. A sense of pride wells within me at the sight, and a calming effect of a new little life that made it safely into the world. Ordinary noises fill my ears, a calf nursing, a cow playing in the water bucket, and a cat chirping her desire to be picked up and held.
Wind whistles through the cracks and creates its own tune. The cobwebs, and bale strings hanging on nails sway in the breeze. Pitchforks stand as soldiers under the light switches. The gates show evidence of a barn swallow nest of the summer gone past. A calf tries out his new vocal cords. “Braw,” he says. Everything settles down and peace sweeps in, spreading itself like a blanket around the building. It’s our own little paradise.
It’s getting late, but there is one more cow to calve. It just gets into you. Dad says that I can go the house and go to bed, but I stubbornly shake my head no. I’m so tired I could lay down in the corn stalks and sleep, but the anticipation of another little miracle is almost too much to bear. This time the cow has the calf all on her own. A fine, white bull. We watch in silence at the beauty of it all. Even all the manure we will have to clean out come fall is a small price to pay for the miracles of new lives being born. It is a mute testimony of the hard work, and determination that dad puts in every year to make the animals comfortable. The sound of water running into a bucket creates the base, a calf nursing adds the melody, and the spring wind is the harmony. All of the sounds blend together in a song of miracles and promises.
After having a bad day, talk to the cows and they don’t talk back or laugh at you. It calms me to know that I have someone to talk to and share all my problems or fears. The cows sound smelly and dirty, but in reality they are friends only some will be fortunate to have. I confided more in my show heifer during the summer, than I had to my parents.
All the memories that are in that barn are like a book. All different, yet a learning
experience. After all the time I’ve spent in there and the memories I’ve shared, it could be called my biography, written seven cows and seven calves. Each year a different chapter. As the cow cleans the calf off and the baby seeks nourishment from his mother, I walk to the gate, not wanting to leave, but I have to go. As I shut the lights off on another calving season, I say hello to a summer to come full of calves and the cows.
 

MN Farm Girl

Well-known member
Thanks I got made fun of when the teacher told us to pick a favorite spot and describe it. All of my classmates, said why don't you do your room or something. Well I went ahead and did the calving barn, and I just needed another opinion. Thanks again, Soapweed. :)

MN Farm Girl
 

MN Farm Girl

Well-known member
If an A counts then I did good. Dad thought it was okay, but the nagging about something like that for a graded paper got old. You guys are always really good for imput so I thought I'd ask.

MN Farm Girl
 

nr

Well-known member
Putting any creative effort out in public takes some guts. So right away, you get an A for daring self-exposure.

I've never been in a calving barn or seen a calf being borne except on tv but you described it so clearly it felt like I was there. Another A.

You not only described a place, you described an activity so you should get some bonus points, too. :!:
 

MN Farm Girl

Well-known member
That teacher doesn't believe in "creativity points" But still 96 out of 100 is real good. I really appreciate your guys' opinions and thoughts. Thanks :D


MN Farm Girl
 

the_jersey_lilly_2000

Well-known member
You've done a very nice job of writing that paper. Not only do you have good writing skills, you've painted a picture. I myself have never been in a calving barn, but I could see inside of yours. All ours calve outside in the open. But even tho we do things a lil different here, the base of the story connects all ranchers. It's what we do, because we love it. It's part of who we are, what makes each and every one of us what we are. And without it, none of our lives would be the same.

Thanks for sharing your paper with us. I'm glad you got a good grade on it.
 

Jassy

Well-known member
Sure glad to hear that you got an A on this essay...I thought it was awesome! It made me think that we are so busy during calving that we forget sometimes the miracle of it all, and you brought that to my attention. Nice job...
 

greg

Well-known member
MN Farm Girl said:
Thanks I got made fun of when the teacher told us to pick a favorite spot and describe it. All of my classmates, said why don't you do your room or something. Well I went ahead and did the calving barn, and I just needed another opinion. Thanks again, Soapweed. :)

MN Farm Girl
8) YEP
 

MN Farm Girl

Well-known member
I can't say enough thanks to you guys. It really means alot to me to get your opinions. I like having the input from you guys, because you understand where I am coming from, unlike most around here. The thing is I am really the only "farm girl" in my group of friends, and they don't let me talk about things i do on a weekend or when we work cows, because they think that when I get on that bus in the morning i change and leave the "country" behind. On Sunday we all went to church then shopping, and i really wanted to stop in a RCC Western Store. I was looking for a new pair of boots, and they have the Ariats that we like around here. But what my "friends" don't understand is that boots is what we wear. They didn't let me go in the store. I guess you could say that I really don't fit with my group of friends. They are nice and all, but they don't understand what we do and why we do it. They like steak and hamburger, but don't understand the hard work and pride that it takes to get that steak or hamburger. I guess I better stop babbling, but I love this outlet to people that UNDERSTAND!!. And I thank you guys and gals immensly. :D :D :D

MN Farm Girl
 

Sundancer

Well-known member
I enjoyed your creative writing. Some very good word pictures are used. I was blessed to have very picky English/Grammar teachers in high school and college. I did note one punctuation error in the first paragraph and one incomplete sentence in the second paragraph. I'll let you find them in order to sharpen your skills :wink: Keep up the fine writing :D
 

Richard Doolittle

Well-known member
Hey MN Farm Girl--Good job on having the courage to be who you are! That's not always easy to do with peer pressures in teenage society. My son is great help with the farm/ranch stuff, but when he goes to school there is no way he wants to be portrayed as a farm/ranch kid because he doesn't see that as "cool".
 

MN Farm Girl

Well-known member
Yeah I know that there are mistakes in there somewhere. I just don't catch them when I read. Then when someone else looks at it, they catch all the mistakes and it doesn't bother me. I like constructive critism. The teacher is kinda picky, but not as bad as some.

MN Farm Girl
 
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