Then. And Now.

And what did the Birthday Boy do on his special day?

Ray fence-trained ten-day old Shat Acres Virgil with momma Shat Acres Verbena helping. (not)

Helped socialize week-old Shat Acres Ezra with momma Shat Acres Eve watching while chowing down on hay. Some Highland mommas are very protective, some are more chill.

Pushed the winter's accumulated manure, hay, and compost into piles to spread on pastures and hayfields.

Picked up stones and sticks from paddocks and winter-feeding areas, to improve our fields. Ray says every stone makes one less mouthful of grass.

Pulled drag harrows round and round behind the tractor to smooth ruts and rough ground, now that the mud is finally drying out.

Thawed the hose to the float tank due to below freezing temperatures overnight, so cows and calves in the pasture without the frost-free waters could drink.

And at dusk, enjoyed a Birthday dinner of homemade Greenfield Highland Beef meatloaf, fresh Popovers hot from the oven, and petite peas. His Birthday dessert? A Dunkin’ Donuts Bavarian Cream donut with candle on top.

And what will Ray do when it is not his birthday? The same thing, only different.

Whenever I ask Ray in the morning what he will do today, he answers “I won’t know until I get started.”

"So God made a Farmer."