On Tuesdays

On Tuesday, we weaned calves. The ‘nearly weeklong’ process is for seven month old calves and takes time to prepare so as to lessen the impact on these fully grown calves and their good mama cows. The weaning is necessary so the mama can maintain a strong, healthy body for the upcoming winter season. These cows are pregnant now and will have another calf come spring.’To begin, the calves are trained at a early age to come to the feed truck with their mamas. They are rewarded with cake, cubes of cottonseed, pressed together with sweet molasses. These daily lessons prepare the calves to feed themselves and not depend on their mama’s milk. The men spend time getting the fences ready to hold cattle before the weaning.
The day starts like any other day on the ranch, but ends up with the cows separated from their calves in the pastures around the ranch headquarters. The evening closes with calves and cows talking back and forth across the fence from each other.
Weaning takes about three days. By the fourth day, the weaning is complete. When the cattle settle down and get into their routines of eating and sleeping, we can all get some rest.
To capture this in a painting would be difficult to tell the story the way I have described it here. So much of ranch life is hard to depict in art. All of the celebrated moments are few and far between.
I am having fun this week painting cattle in my upstairs studio. I may go outside tomorrow and set up my soltek easel and paint the weaning calves.