The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
What a wonderful time of the year to be in the barn. It is refreshing to be able to recognize a melody, understand the lyrics and sing along as Christmas carols blare from the radio. I bounce along in beat with the sleigh bells as I work my way around with morning chores. Singing Christmas carols in the barn is such a simple joy. You can’t help but smile and say thank you for another wonderful day, even if it is very cold outside again! Singing along with the radio reminds me of my parent’s “Sing Along with Mitch Miller” records. I grew up playing and of course singing along with Mitch and his band.
The holidays are a wonderful time of the year as we anticipate the future of a new year and reflect on the closing days of another year under our belts. These last few days of the year are kind of like a “no time zone” as we contemplate our direction. Do we live in the past or do we step into the future? As we look around the holiday table or even the barn, we remember those who are no longer in our care. We smile as wonderful memories of those missing souls flood our bodies. It is a mixed bag of feelings as we’re sorry they are no longer sitting next to us, yet are thankful they touched our lives.
As we start to look around the farm and take stock of our year-end inventory, we notice some very “big holes” in our barn. The barn is full but strange cows are standing in familiar stalls. I didn’t realize how many Excellent cows and high lifetime production cows that are no longer on our DHI test sheet. The only reminder of their existence is their calf hood picture on the back of their registration paper and their final DHI lifetime cow page. These pages serve as a birth certificate and a death certificate. A birth certificate shows you were born, a death certificate shows you died. A photo album shows you lived. Pictures of kids with 4-H calves and cows over the years spill out of my photo box as a testament to the growth of our kids and these special animals. You start to ask yourself how will we ever fill those “big stalls”? Who will be the next good old cow as we look down the barn?
The semen rep stopped in and we were talking about kids and cows over fresh banana bread while we waited for Mark to come to the house. I mentioned missing not having Crystal in the barn anymore. That brought a story to his mind. He told us about the question of the week for the World Dairy Expo website. “If you could bring back a cow to see one last time, who would it be?” A flood of famous names came to my mind. Cows I had never seen in person but have heard of their success on the tanbark…Tony Charity, Black Rose to name a few. For Tom it would be Tif. She died in his arms as he comforted her at the vet hospital. For Mark it would be to see our old Juror Faith cow one last time. She is one of only three animals buried with honors on our farm. Here these two dairymen didn’t want to see the “famous show cows” one last time. They wanted one last moment with the good old cow that changed the direction of their lives. To them, they were more than just a cow.
I have an essay in my collection of papers entitled “Just a Cow” by an anonymous author. I would like to share it with you.
“From time to time people tell me, lighten up, it’s just a cow. Or, that’s a lot of money for just a cow. They don’t know the distance travelled, the time spent or the costs involved for just a cow. Some of my proudest moments have come with “just a cow”.
“Many hours have passed and my only company was “just a cow’, but I did not once feel slighted. Some of my saddest moments have been brought about by “just a cow” and in those days of darkness, the gentle touch of “just a cow” gave me comfort and reason to overcome the day.
“If you too think it’s “just a cow”, then you will probably understand phrases like “just a friend” or “just a sunrise” or “just a promise”. “Just a cow” brings into my life the very essence of friendship, trust and pure unbridled joy. “Just a cow” brings out the compassion and patience that makes me a better person. Because of “just a cow”, I will rise early, stay in the barn for hours and look longingly into the future. So for me, and folks like me, it’s not “just a cow” but an embodiment of the moment. “Just a cow” brings out what’s good in me and diverts my thoughts away from myself and the worries of the day.
“I hope that someday they can understand that it’s not “just a cow” but the thing that gives me humanity and keeps me from being “just a human”. So next time you hear the phrase “just a cow”, smile…because they “just won’t understand”.”
I think we don’t realize the turn over in our barns throughout the year. The semen rep told me some of his herds turn over 30% of their cattle inventory. The farmer doesn’t notice how many cows have left the herd because the old ones were quickly replaced by new, young animals coming on line. However, he will remember the one good cow he lost. He will remember the special cow who left her mark in the herd and on his heart.
Just when you think you won’t be able to replace the good old cows, you look to the future and discover some promising young ones coming up in the ranks. We classified the herd after Expo this fall and “discovered” seven new Excellent young cows and several new Very Good two-year olds. We forgot our special good old cows were once young with a promising future. Over time they matured and developed into the cows who earned a special spot in the barn and left a mark on our hearts.
There will never be another Crystal, Faith, Tif, Clarinet, Flute, Miranda, Margo, Vic..and so the list goes. As we visit the past glories with these special girls, we must step into the future keeping our eyes open to discover the next good old cow to fill the “big stall” left open by the special ones who came before her. Here’s a toast to our special good old cows!