I've determined that cows are no fun for midwives or nervous owners. We have no calf yet. Now we do have all the signs of labor -- up and down, up and down, no food, can't get enough food, cranky, discharge, hugely full milk bag, and so forth. I can't say I'm disappointed because the storms have arrived. Again. For two days we've had storms that have left nearly 5" of rain to an already saturated ground. Last night was the worst - at one point the two foot high water tubs for the livestock were only showing about 5" above water. You could see it just rushing through the property. Moo was out though. I think she enjoyed the relief from flies and the bath - heaven knows she needed it. She stayed right under the kitchen window most of the time and would come to the garage door so I could pet her.

Yesterday afternoon I was trying to quickly get my chores down before the storms returned and a car pulled in the drive. The driver was an older man who walked on in after stopping at the cable. "Hi! My name's Ennis Unruh and my dad built this house," were his first words. It's a common occurance when you live in a century old farmhouse that previous owners or their children will show up. Some people may consider this an intrusion, but we relish every minute of it. So off we went, the chores could wait - I've got slickers afterall.

We walked the property and he showed me the old barn locations. He noticed the horses in the front pasture and said that's where he always kept his ponies too. He said he laughed at the cable across the drive because when he was little he turned his cow into a pet and he remembered his father blocking the driveway off so she could graze around the house. Now how funny is that? When I started laughing I think he thought I was making fun of him - until he looked in the chicken coop (which used to be his dad's blacksmith shop parked at the end of the driveway). He admired the pond and looked at all the trees he helped plant. Most interesting to me was the description of the first floor inside the house. The upstairs still has all the original woodwork but the downstairs was "updated" in the 70's so it has modern windows and such. I loved hearing about what the downstairs used to look like. After about an hour of visiting he said his wife's card game was probably over so it would be safe to return home - bridge, I think, was the game. It was such a nice visit.

Then I ran into Goessel quickly for an errand and on the way noticed my neighbor trying to herd his cow back to the pasture. Apparently she'd realized the open trailer was going to transport her and promptly jumped the fence to greener pasture - literally. His son in law was under saddle and the poor man was trying to help get the cow through the trees. I asked him if she'd come when called, follow, or come to a grain bucket and the man looked at me like I was from Mars. But, two of us stopped on the road and the another guy showed up so between us all we herded her back into their pasture. See, this is why you should tame your cow and spoil her with grain! I mean, Moo will come back home at a run when called - just like a dog does! She'd be positively horrified to have a horse and all those people trying to herd her somewhere.

Today is the kids' last day of school - if it's open. I have a feeling we'll have sporadic bus service and mud routes at best. Kenny is devasted with worry because he's due for the "perfect attendance" award and scared to death they'll cancel.