Early October with Sonny in repose

find October pleasing

Sonny and Holly together

The Brahma Sonny and 12 year old heifer Holly have been extraordinarily lovey-dovey of late. It must be spring!

Palomino paint Jack has moved to a space adjoining Buff, the Charolais-Angus bull who has been spending time up against their shared fence.

Sweetest of all, chestnut Bebe, whose leg was injured the end of April, is nearly healed. She began prancing about as her grain was served yesterday. New tissue has filled the gouge and a sulfur-oil antifungal crème is being applied to complete the repair. Soon her bandage will be reduced to expose the edges of her wound to the air.

Tiger stripe kittens Ty and Mimi turned one year the end of May and both are solicitous of affection just like their mother Nikki. Tab, Alma, Gordy—orange tabbies—and sister Audrey enjoyed their first anniversary the beginning of June.

The only long hair in the group, Gordy, goes everywhere including the kitchen counter despite my admonitions. He is quick, whether leaping in the air on fly-catching missions or escaping capture jumping from the loft to the living room below.

When storms arrive, which have been occurring frequently, Peek, an all-American canine, panics. So she, and another canine Sam, and 17 year old feline Patches join me in the living room where we watch through the glass door tree branches sway and listen to the rain and sometimes hail spitter-spat on the metal roof.

Watching nature’s showy display with some trepidation we see lightning strikes and hear the thunder on its heels.

By grace we are settling into our new home.

Dead trees loom

Removing dead limbs has become a major project getting higher ground prepared for the horses. Yet it is the broken glass with sharp edges the light catches and glints back at me, as well as dying trees looming overhead that are problematic.

Removing dead limbs is a major project in clearing upper ground

Despite this, I expect to meet my target date of April 18 in having the horses moved.

The plan is to lime their area and plant Bermuda grass seed, as well as have The Brahma Sonny and the heifer Holly moved up the hill in May.

This week I will order a package of flowering trees from the Arbor Day Foundation in time for spring delivery. The transplanted shoots of mock orange have begun to bloom. I have been watering them in the morning recalling from childhood that it burns the roots if they are watered later in the afternoon when the sun shines most directly on them.

Life is good albeit with a dab of minor irritations, but still good. And, I am grateful to God for this minimalist lifestyle we now enjoy—not minimalist in a complete sense since there are 18 pets to be cared for but close enough to know simple living manifests peace within and understanding the concept that less is more.

Quiet just before dusk and onset of storm

I am so happy, so relaxed and so grateful to God for where we are with all of us safe and all of us with our own small living space, especially when one considers where we might have been at this juncture were it not for a series of miracles alluded to as well as mentioned in The Brahma and me.

Peek, my 13 year old All-American canine and the runt who out survived all her littermates, spends an inordinate amount of time looking at her reflection in the mirrored closet doors. This has been since she first arrived in the cabin.

There is a lot to be said for small living spaces. It takes minutes not hours to tidy—sweep, dust and clean surfaces. While I have yet to receive a utility bill from the electric cooperative, we have a small, one-and-a-half ton, HVAC package unit that heats and cools our 400 square foot rustic abode.

Specific to this recreational park trailer there is wood throughout with rough-hewn window and door frames and light pine cabinets that replicate the out-of-doors. Out the glass door windows cedar boughs wave with the wind above horses Jack and Bebe.

Jack with Buff in background

At dusk last night all was calm. Then lightning and a thunderstorm descended and has continued through the daylight hours. It is our first storm since moving here a week ago.

We are acquiring a routine. The cats and kittens have an order to when they leave the loft for the living room to feed and play. The dogs go and come in between. Then the horses and cattle are fed grain, hay and water.

The Brahma Sonny and heifer Holly

We need the outdoor faucet replaced. So in the meantime I continue to haul water in buckets but not the distance I used to carry them. And steps remain to be constructed although some materials have been purchased. Bro. Jim suggested using railroad ties to create the platform beneath the steps.

Then there is the skirting. The HVAC installer suggested a two-three foot high cedar fence around the perimeter, and that sounded good.

With the cabin behind them up on the hill Sonny and Bebe share a meal

This weekend is filled with joy and sunshine. Our move completed by day’s end Friday all tasks ahead seem lightweight by comparison.

Jack

Oh there is a creosote post to place, some wire to tighten, contents of plastic containers to sort, writing, photography and advertisers to obtain to sustain us.

Holly at her new home

Most importantly all 18 pals are safe and becoming acquainted with their new surroundings.

Jack and Bebe with Buff in background

Life is simple, and we are simply living.

Nikki is learning the window sill is off limits

Tiger stripes Ty, Mimi, Nikki and orange tabby Gordy inside the cabin

Thanks to you, God, for peace now.

It took two and a half hours of coaxing on Saturday to load The Brahma Sonny into a rented cattle trailer. He sniffed the door jamb and walls but would not enter until we opened the swing gate that was twice as wide as the sliding door with the step up, neither of which appealed to the Brahma.

Pushing his big head against two pine trees and following the fence line, at first he was not too certain of this new arrangement. The familiar was gone. By Sunday morning he had located the one weak spot in the fence at the four-foot gate and proceeded to knock the brace off the post.

Sonny eats hay in his new space

Quickly before church I nailed it back after double wrapping a heavy chain around a nearby tree and the gate. He left it alone after that.

Sonny is becoming acclimated to his new space

He has subsequently discovered that he can follow my comings and goings from the cabin, similarly to the way he did when we lived in Mississippi and he was just a whippersnapper who bedded down in the front yard outside my bedroom window.

It is probably good that he has had this time to become adjusted to his new surroundings before the other two bovines are moved.  We are now waiting for the ground to dry before bringing Holly and Buff. And I will be grateful when everyone is safely settled.

That is my prayer: The remainder of the move this week go smoothly and safely for all.

Tommy had just delivered a fresh roll of hay to our new farm and was headed back on his tractor when I hailed him to ask about the halter, and he offered to help me walk the horses through two yards and next door.  Talk about Divine Timing!

While ready to go on halter as soon as it was presented, Jack who is usually the tamer of the two horses balked when horses across the street rushed up to their fence and began snorting and prancing about. Bebe who had been more reticent to accept a lead pressed ahead of Jack and was on for the adventure. Calming her with talk each time her eyes widen and she looked like she was going to bolt, we made it to the new space where hay and grain awaited her.

I returned to help Tommy with the Palomino paint who when he saw Bebe eating was ready to join her. Today master fencer Edward and I are hoping to finish in four to five hours the younger bull’s space, as well as secure the path for The Brahma Sonny’s exit.

Bracing going up on fence posts

Please guide me as to which bull should be housed to the north and which one to the south, I petitioned God.  No sooner had I set down my pen and a schematic began coming to me. As I drew it the trees and landscape came into view on paper. Later outdoors I was struck by how closely the sketch replicated the actual terrain and growth.

Since Sunday I have been working with a friend fencing to bring the sketch into real spaces for The Brahma Sonny; Holly, the heifer; the younger Charolais bull Buff; the filly Bebe; and Jack, the Palomino paint.

Earlier I used twine saved from rolls of hay and tied the pieces to trees and temporary posts delineating where fence would be erected. Then for several days the land was cleared of dead trees and shrubs. Finally we were ready to fence, and posts began going into the ground.

Many of the trees along the irregular space for Sonny will be used as fence posts with sturdy creosote ones placed where no live trees exist, creosote posts and gates I had left from our former farm. Unlike most spaces reserved for cattle and horses that are barren of trees and set out in perfect rectangles or squares these spaces are onion-like with layers. Later we will add more grassy areas for pasture.

Fencing for Sonny will have three gates to allow for grooming

Bracing has gone up and surrounding Sonny in a circle will be where Jack, Bebe and Holly are so they may continue grooming one another.

Under some cedar trees to the left of the cabin porch is a holding area for the horses and Holly, as needed.

Buff will have two connecting spaces just beyond the cedar enclosure. One will be a small open area with some grass for grazing, and the second will be among the evergreens providing shelter. Eventually, Buff’s space will have a common border with the horses and Holly.

Out walking and taking in what we have accomplished in the last three days, weaving in and among the trees, I am in awe of the beauty and perfection of God’s space for The Brahma Sonny and his pals.

Electricl Co-op crew connects cabin to grid

Despite early delivery of the cabin-on-wheels February 10, a day after a six-inch snowfall, the setup, installation and hookup took another three weeks, and steps still must be constructed to easily enter and exit the cabin porch which rises three feet above terra firma.

In preparation for moving The Brahma Sonny and his pals to our new digs, Brother Jim and neighbor Tommy  brought down five dead trees with a chainsaw this week. Then my minister returned to complete the job making it safe to fence for the critter crew.

Although the plumbing and electrical systems were installed the end of last week, the cabin was connected to the electrical grid only yesterday.

We had one small leak at an outdoor faucet, not installed by plumber Chris who came back last evening making the necessary repairs and testing the plumbing throughout. He also explained that the consumer needs to flip the electrical breaker located below the meter at the pole to be operational—a new piece of information that makes life with electricity possible.

Lights came on in the living room and bedroom, and I was able to wash my hands after a long day of working dawn to dusk outside.

Dead trees brought down to make spaces safe for large pets

Needing to be completely moved by March 18 at 5:00 p.m.,  I planned to clear ground for five days (already used six), fence for five, have the horses and cattle moved in five and move indoors in five, and I am hopeful that some tasks will be accomplished more quickly than others.

More dry weather to harden the muddy pasture for moving the cattle is my sincere prayer. They are a challenging group to entice into a trailer under perfect conditions. Yet I am reminded that there is no order of difficulty in miracles.

Whether it is the haiku and birder communities on twitter or the thoughts and prayers of former colleagues and my Unity family, I am encouraged by all of them. Yet it is the support of the community I sought to leave that has most surprised and delighted me.

I have long known the kindness and generosity of my next door neighbor who has been there for me when pipes froze, the water heater went kaput and the electrical connection to the trailer hitch began to spark sending smoke into the ethers.

Then there is another neighbor who has been supplying me rolls of hay at cost and who has helped me at crucial times like when Sonny’s horn was broken. This friend sprayed the bleeding remnant at intervals allowing it to heal without infection.

Since my first pink slip two and half years ago I have received support and encouragement from a cohort of librarians at our local library, my haven from home where the Internet connection far surpasses an air card and where computers were available to me before the purchase of my laptop.

This library and the women who work there were my lifeline whether it was during  job searches, house hunting or writing. Through the years they have become dear friends providing ideas, connections and always hugs.

But the real dawning came when members of my local church gave me an assortment of holiday foodstuffs at Thanksgiving that brought home the meaning of community.

Affection is always appreciated

Kicking up his heels

A racer on lead

On dairy farms newborns are separated from their mothers immediately and bottle fed mother’s milk. It takes three days of mother’s milk with colostrum to develop their immune systems. After being present for his birth I could not wait to visit him in his pen on the dairy farm. On lunch breaks I would drive the 20 minutes to visit him, then return to work.

Chestnut and white with speckles (photos by MJ Branch)

It took me 11 days to convert a country garage into a barn with a stall for him. One of the reasons Sonny is so uniquely social is because he did not grow up around other bovines, and I was the only mother he has ever known. As a result we do share a special bond.

Photos taken of the two of us by a friend and former colleague were recently scanned and have been added to this site.

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Sonny in the early morning hours

Jack and Bebe arrive at Sonny's gate before their morning feeding (click on photo for more images)

Bebe licks Sonny

These days Sonny is receiving a good deal of attention from both horses, Bebe and Jack, who take turns licking and grooming the Brahma, attention he well deserves. For far too long Sonny was relegated to a distant pasture for his protection and the safety of others.

All that changed the day Buff escaped his stall, walked through barbwire and butted heads with the big guy. Never did I imagine that Sonny would come out the loser in a male-to-male competition with Buff who is stocky yet not nearly as tall as the Brahma.

Last summer when Buff got out and challenged Sonny, he apparently hit Sonny’s left horn with such force that it broke off. When I arrived home both the bulls were together rather than being in their respective fenced spaces. Sonny who seemed stunned was bleeding from the remnant of his broken horn.

It was only later finding dried specks of blood on Buff’s head and back that I realized what had happened. After weeks with intermittent spraying to keep the wound clean, the physical healing process was complete. The psychological process took longer.

Sonny had to get used to the idea that he no longer had two horns to bend cattle wire, metal posts and break up wooden objects. If there is a silver lining to this real life drama, then it is that Sonny can do less damage with one horn than with two. And, his male ego is mending as well. It doesn’t hurt that he is housed next to the love of his life, Holly, and that he is also receiving affection from both Bebe and Jack.

When Holly joined the farm at 45 days old she turned Sonny's head

My dear Brahma Sonny

I am writing about my critter crew and life on the farm—their shenanigans and my delight in sharing time and space with them, as well as my reflections. Reared in the Seattle suburbs and more importantly having never set foot on a farm, I had passed the half century mark before adopting my first calf. Sent by my publisher to shoot dairy farms during dairy month in 1998, I captured on film a farmer pulling a half Holstein-half Brahma from his mother’s womb. At 11 days I adopted him.

Named Sonny, he rode to his new home inside the largest wire dog crate I could find placed in the back of the Dodge Ram. For the first year of his life Sonny’s companions were primarily All American canines. The farm has grown to include three bovines, two equines, three canines and seven felines with all rescues save for a calico, an assortment of kittens, a lineback dun filly and a gelded Palomino paint.