Fall calving is once again upon me. Time goes racing by, it seems the cows just went to grass, soon it will be time to bring them off of it. Each fall and each spring I calve between 10 and 15 heifers, over the years by selecting low birthweight Angus bulls I have pretty much bred most of the calving trouble out, and no longer bring my heifers into any kind of pen to calve. Still, I get a little nervous anytime I use a new bull, since these heifers are bred to a new bull I have paid somewhat closer attention. Sunday afternoon the first heifer calved unassisted, however she hid in a draw and it took about a half hour to find her. I was alarmed to see a big coyote about 15 feet from her and the new calf, patiently watching. I had my 7.62 rifle in the pickup, unloaded, and the coyote evaded me without me so much as getting off a shot. On Monday morning the heifer was back with the group, with no calf, and didn't seem overly interested in looking for a calf. I couldn't find the calf or any sign of it, and became concerned the coyote had returned for a nice beef supper. Tuesday I was relieved to find the calf flat to the ground hiding, when I tried to tag him he jumped up and ran like the devil was chasing him, straight toward a large blackberry thicket. Without slowing down, he leaped high in the air and plunged straight into it. Rather than back out, or turn around, the little dummy pressed forward....I was afraid he would get tangled in and die, so I went in after him, getting stuck by thorns about 1500 times it seemed. I could finally grab his rear leg and flip him around, back out we went, he much wiser than before with a very bloody nose. I was able to tag him then, and mopped the blood off my own arms where I had been pricked. Bottom line of it is, regardless of what the animal rights people think, we work very hard in animal agriculture, for some very ungrateful animals.