A Home At Last story: It was one of those rare times that Donna was riding along with me in the Kawi mule. Usually shes driving the tractor and were heading out to load up and get on with feeding and and watering. We dont put miles or hours on the machines just to run around. But on this occasion, the tractor was over at the big barn. There had been a little work to do there and it made sense to just leave it there until chore time. I had walked back to house and when it was time to get back to it, we both jumped in the mule. And so, we had a few minutes to look over some of the critters together and share some thoughts. You see, Donna is, among other things, my best friend. Weve been married for 50 years come February and we started out as friends and just kept that going during our lives. Well, anyway, we happened to look at the calf/steers for a bit. Theyve grown to be beautiful creatures. Banjo, an Angus/Jersey cross is massive. We tend to not acknowledge that, because he will always be one of the baby boys that came here as day olds and didnt even weigh 30 pounds. Now? Oh, Id put Banjo at around 1700 pounds. When he stands next to a Q-horse, he just kind of blots em out. Julian, a Guernsey, is a smaller breed. Hes probably about 1100 pounds. His color and markings are elegant, strikingly elegant. Now a lot like folks, much of their beauty is not how they look, but who they are. Banjo, for all his mass, is a gentle and peaceful boy. He loves to put his giant head in your lap and go to sleep while his sweet face is petted. When the boys are down, chewing their cuds and dozing, you simply walk up, say Hi, sit down next to him and Banjo takes it from there. Folks that have visited the sanctuary and experienced that with Banjo find it to be a profoundly touching experience. Julian loves to give kisses. Hes a compulsive kisser and bellows and bawls and lows when someone walks away from him without getting a full ration of sandpaper tongue kisses. When youre with these little boys, the softness of their eyes, the trust and peacefulness is unmistakable. I suspect the world is richer with vegetarians thanks to these two. Had many, many folks tell me they just couldnt eat meat again after knowing Banjo and Julian. Good, I say. They dont want you eating their cousins. These are sentient beings. They are not just so much hamburger on the hoof. Should steers be pets? Well, yeah. Banjo and Julian dont know any other way to live. They are, and always will be, our baby boys. They wouldnt have it any other way and neither would we. Jim
Posted on: Wed, 06 Aug 2014 11:55:45 +0000
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