Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Beneath the surface

Tuesday 14th March 2017
     Life beneath a calm scene like this one is anything but calm for a farmer whose cow this morning went into labour with a posterior presentation.  The vet had to perform a caesarean in the farmyard.  A plastic bag caught by the wind startled the sedated cow.  Cow kicked vet.  White-faced vet fell to ground.  Farmer threw bucket of water over vet's head.  Vet completed operation.  Calf wasn't breathing.  Farmer held calf upside-down and shook him till the fluid was released from his mouth.  Vet sewed up cow and drove away. 
     Vet's leg wasn't broken.  Calf was alive.  Cow was unhappy.  Farmer was late feeding sheep who had given up waiting and wandered off to a far-away hill  --  when I met the farmer on his quad bike going to take the sheep feed to them.

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