We’ve got good news and bad news.  First, the good news!  We have a small farm where we raise registered Jersey cows.  We had another first today… One of our Jersey cows, Buttercup, had her first calf.  This calf is also the first “second generation” calf born on our farm.  Girls are prized in the Jersey Dairy world… so we are very excited that Buttercup’s calf is a heifer (girl), we think.  My boys named her Matzah because the Feasts of Pesach and First Fruits are coming up and we eat Matzah bread for the feasts.  When we discussed the irony of her being two first born’s (Buttercup’s and the farm’s first second generation calf) they decided the name should focus on something that pertained to First Fruits.  I love the fact that our boys know about, understand and get excited about keeping the Biblical feasts!  What a blessing!  So, without further adieu, meet Matzah:

Jersey Calf: Matzah

Isn’t she just adorable?  And she looks like she might be a red heifer 🙂  Look that one up in scripture!    ‘Course it could be that she is still wet … tomorrow, I’ll head down there to see if she is still this red!  

On a more somber note, we lost Cooter Brown yesterday. The first day we saw the rooster, we could not catch him or lure him into the pen.  The second day we managed to catch him and put him in the pen with Rocky and the ladies (hens).  That didn’t go well, so we moved him to the other pen.  We put fresh water and lots of crumble and scratch in there to keep him happy and full.  The next morning, we discovered that Cooter Brown had “flown the coop”.  We decided to just open up the pen and let him come and go as he pleased with food and water in the pen for him.  It was that or just not try to keep him!  We saw him first thing yesterday morning, in the pen. Unfortunately, he chose to wander… and something got him in our field yesterday afternoon.

Ironically, another biblical principal was taught with this unfortunate incident. When we willfully choose to walk outside of Abba’s protection, we are vulnerable.  Our boys saw a vivid reminder of this.  They knew full well the extent of the actions we took to try to keep and protect Cooter Brown. But ultimately, it was his choice that led to his demise and it is the same for us.

We have witnessed the full life-cycle occur in the span of 24 hours here on our farm.  All teachable moments…  Teaching children about death is never easy!  But, in nature and on a farm, children experience both death and life, decay and renewal.  And not only do they learn these are a part of the life-cycle, they see the examples.  I know many parents are uncomfortable talking about death, but I think we do children a huge disservice if we do not help them work through death and loss.  Isn’t that our job, to help them learn these difficult concepts in a loving and supportive environment.  Our job is not to shield them from reality!  Here, on the farm, ignoring the topic is not an option…  

So… Today was going to be catch up day.  My middle son is trying to get caught up on some of his recent science experiments that he is behind on … instead of working on experiments, today, he got to experience science (biology) live and in-person.  Live and Learn Farm… yep, the name fits!

UPDATE:  

Matzah is no longer red!!!

Updated… Matzah 1 day old