A Dream Come True

For years, Missy has dreamed of having Highland cows. They’re small, hairy, cute—and notoriously expensive! She had alerts set up for any that came up for sale and kept a close eye on prices, hoping the right opportunity would eventually come along.

Finally, a pair of young calves popped up at a price she could justify. Her excitement was palpable as she contacted the seller and anxiously waited for the invoice, half-convinced something would go wrong and she’d miss out.

The calves were about four hours away, so when Missy and I had the chance to take a few days away together, we headed in that direction and dropped by to meet the babies. The seller had four in total—two girls and two boys. We were originally just going to take the girls, but the buyer for the boys had fallen through and lost their deposit. The seller offered us a further discount and convinced us to take all four. One of the boys is a sibling to the girls, but the other has completely different bloodlines, so we’ll keep him as a future bull for our little herd. The other boy will be castrated and raised as a steer to keep him company.

When they arrived, they were understandably timid. We settled them all in a stable for the night, planning to separate them in the morning. We’d done our best to barricade the area off, but the two bigger calves weren’t having it—they charged straight through our hay bale wall and went for a run! Catching unhandled calves is no easy task, especially when they’re small enough to squeeze through any fence that isn’t lined with sheep mesh.

Eventually, we managed to herd them down near our other cows. Once they spotted a very pregnant Blossom, they were happy to follow her up to the shed, and from there we got them safely back into a stable.

We spent time with them every day, helping them get used to people—offering food by hand, giving them a gentle brush, just being nearby. The two smaller calves warmed up within a week, but the bigger ones took a little longer.

Now, they’ll happily eat from our hands, enjoy a good brush, and even let us dress them up! One of our friends made a bonnet and a bow tie for them—and honestly, is there anything cuter?em, brush them, and even dress them up! Is there anything cuter than this bonnet and bow tie one of our friends made for them?