Baby Shower, Charolais Cattle

Sunday, October 17, 2010
It's taken me a while to get back to this, but I truly was held up by my photographer who got involved in setting up a web site for PCWNC for which we are truly thankful.

This past Saturday was a fun day giving a baby shower for expected Ethan and his mommy and daddy, Cat and Drew. Cat's beautiful mother, Bert came with Cat's little son Landon in tow. This shower is a joint effort by "Mimi", Taylor's mother Kelley, and "Great Grammy" Carla, mother of "Pops", her son Russ.



We have rolled flour tortilla sandwiches filled with turkey, ham, pastrami and lettuce with cream cheese dressing. Other dishes include fresh fruit with Devonshire Cream, crackers and cheeses, chips and dip and orange sherbet punch. Kelley works diligently putting up streamers, signs and balloons to add to the atmosphere.



Also attending the shower are grandchildren Jennifer and Taylor, expectant parents of Ashton and Landon, due to arrive November 5th. The last baby in the family is now five years old so we are all excited at the prospect of having three almost at the same time.


Jennifer and Taylor are in charge of games and we all have a great time playing. Shower games are certainly more elaborate and complicated than in my day, but a terrific learning process. After opening gifts and enjoying the food, Jennifer winds up on the floor playing a game with Landon. We tell her she is "Mommy in Training". Other guests are Great Aunt Lynne, Teresa (best friend of Cat), Aunt Tiffany and her friend Michael.


Now, all we have to do is wait for the birth days to come in November and December.


My sweet Doug decides to take me out to lunch on Sunday after all the shower preparations and party. We drive to our favorite Mexican food place, La Choza (The Shack) located on the edge of Azle, Texas. The food is always delicious and the owners are quite friendly. (See photo of me doing a Vanna on their fence sign.)


After lunch, Doug mentions that he would like to photograph some cows for his photography forum. I remember seeing these huge white French Charolais cattle near The Havens Spa on Highway 180 in Weatherford, Texas and after discussing, we decide to drive there. When we arrive, it is quite apparent that one cow has just birthed a calf. She is lying in a heap in the grassy field and Momma is cleaning her up. Another calf, maybe three or four days older is nearby.



When the cleaning is over, Doug gets shots of the baby getting up on all fours and finding her way immediately to dinner. We feel privileged to witness this natural event and, as you can see, Doug gets a great shot of some of the herd as well.

This is all I have to say for now.