Cows and chickens and peacocks, oh my!
Those were my initial thoughts as I drove July 9 with Staff Photographer Tamara Tirado to a dairy farm in Caledonia to meet up with three seminarians who participated in a cultural immersion program this summer. Their experiences ranged from speaking with refugees in the city to picking berries alongside migrant workers in Wayne County. Plus, they took Spanish-language classes every day for six weeks. Not an easy task!
Tamara and I are bonafide city girls, so going to Caledonia felt like a tremendous task at first. We were no less hesitant when we arrived at the farm and no one was around but the cows in the barn. We took a few brave steps toward the barn, but the cows spooked us. So we headed back into the car and tried to reach our host. Little did we know that if we had ventured just a little closer, we would have witnessed the miracle of birth before our very eyes.
Because in the time it took to meet up with our host, the seminarians and Penny Gardner, a migrant minister who accompanied the guys, a calf was born. When we finally entered that barn, the mama cow was protectively circling her calf as if to say, "Don’t come near my baby."
So the group fed the other calves with giant baby bottles. Then I offered to take a turn. Well, the farmer walked me right over to the newborn, and I gave him his first meal! Tamara and Penny also took turns feeding Baby Clark — we named him — and afterwards he took his first steps!
I am always amazed at how God opens our eyes to beauty around us when we least expect it. And I am ever so grateful.
