It’s been a hard growing season. We are in a severe drought area. Our crops are suffering. We have done what we know to do, but without rain they suffer.

It’s also been a hard summer on livestock. We have been rotational grazing the cattle. By doing this, we are able to give some areas a rest to regrow while other areas are grazed. During this last extreme streak of hot weather where we basically opened the gates between pastures and let them go where they were comfortable. We rearranged some barn space so there would be an extra area of shade for the cows and calves. We even moved a water tank specifically to their favorite shaded area so they wouldn’t have to go into the sun for water during the day. Again, doing all we know to do.

On what should have been a blessed occasion this week, it was quite the opposite. One of our seasoned mother cows gave birth. But, it was not to be a celebration. Her twin heifer calves were stillborn. What sadness and disappointment for our son (and the rest of us). Tiffany had been a mother several times over and gave birth without assistance. She had developed an udder that would be the envy of any dairy cow. She could easily have nursed these twins. We had to wonder what had happened. Was it the heat? What went wrong? We just don’t know. Tiffany seems to be in good health, so we can try again next year.

Maybe that’s just the year we are having. We must continue to look ahead and plan for the future. Some days are just tougher than others.