Baby cows...

We spent over three weeks in Val Masino and had a fantastic time with fellow travellers Paul and Kay.  Even though my toe was sore and my camera AWOL, it was lovely to relax, enjoy the sun and swim in the (way too cold) river!  The weather was pretty hot at times, so we spent quite a lot of time in Bagni di Masino, a nearby valley at higher altitude.  Whilst in Bagni, we stayed in a peaceful, shady setting near a mountain stream.  The area was owned by some local farmers who had a herd of cows and a handful of goats.  Everyday was accompanied by the distant (and sometimes less distant) sounds of the cow bells.

We awoke one day to discover one of the cows tied about 15m away from the van.  It soon became clear why she was there when we saw the farmer with most of his arm in her lady bits.  It seemed there was a problem with the birth and the situation seemed quite fraught.

Eventually his wife and another man arrived and they tied some cord around the (just visible) legs of the calf.  The cord was then tied to a stick and the two men hauled the calf out.   It took a lot of effort and the cow wasn't happy.  Eventually the calf fell to the floor, but lay motionless.  It was quite sad to watch, and we hoped mummy cow would be OK.  Then to our surprise, the calf stirred and showed signs of life - it had survived!

Mother and calf sat and recovered from their ordeal.  The calf tried repeatedly to stand, but didn't manage it in the first hour or so. The farmer's wife was passing about an hour after the birth and was very surprised to see that the cow was still in labour...  She easily delivered the next calf, who looked healthier and a little more spritely.  

It was lovely to watch the cow and her calves for the next few hours. It was particularly funny watching the calves exploring and taking their first steps.