Charlie and Leo

Meet our newest additions to farm! Charlie (the Brown Swiss) and Leo (the black and white Holstein) came to us from the farmer down the road.  Charlie is a brother of Ferdinand and I chose his name just because he  looked like a Charlie.  He's just as sweet as Ferdinand but Art and I agree that he's cuter than Ferdi was at that age.  His eyes are just so big making him look perpetually surprised.  The other one, Leo, is an Angus-Holstein steer, and we came about his name because his back legs are sickle-shaped (I guess you normally don't want this on a cow, but we're not showing him, we're eating him).  I was trying to find a synonym for "sickle" and read that the constellation "Leo" (the lion) is marked by the sickle or crescent shaped line of stars.  I suggested the name to Art and he loved it, so Leo it is.

This brings our herd up to six- Ferdinand, Blacky, Socks, Betty, Charlie, and Leo.  I think we're done for a little while (I hope) but when it comes down to it, the feed is free (or almost free) and if we're feeding four it doesn't take much more to feed six.  Of course, the last few weeks Art has been talking about taking Ferdi to the sale barn as he's getting so huge.  He's not really beefy, but he's so tall! He's still sweet but it bothers Art that Ferdi is kind of a bully to the other cows.  I understand Art's argument for sending him down the road, but I just don't know if I can do it.  The best thing would be for me to come home and Ferdi not be there anymore. It wouldn't be so bad if we just sent him to the locker for our freezers, but to send him into the unknown makes me sad.  I know, it doesn't make much sense, but that's how I feel. So, we'll see, and I'll keep you posted!