The Weekly Friday Feast

[CherryBomb]

Hey hey @Crazy_Bug_Lady!

Nice of you to make it. Thanks for the garlic bread. A great match to the spaghetti and roasted veggies - quite the feast we got rockin tonight.

How you have been @Crazy_Bug_Lady?

[Crazy_Bug_Lady]

Hey, still feeling quite down and miserable. I have an appointment with the psychiatrist next Thursday so I'm trying to hold out till then.
I hate feeling this low, and I can't really see a light at the end of the tunnel. I'm over thinking bad thoughts, and I'm over using SH as a stupid coping mechanism.
I am okay, not planning on anything permanent. I'm gonna hang on. I need to hang on.

On a lighter note, my dad has said he'll come up to farm on Sunday to see me And the gang at the farm. Hopefully this does happen, I've been working and showing cattle for around 5 years, and he's not seen me once. But I'm trying to stay optimistic.

[CherryBomb]

Heya @Crazy_Bug_Lady

I've been thinking about you lately, wondering how you've been. I'm feel sad hearing that you're down. But also pleased to be able to share some of this journey with you (gosh, does that sound cliché? I mean it though!). Keep writing and letting us know you're going.

I hope your dad can make to the farm. It's understandable that you feel hesitatantly optimistic given he's not been there before.

I had no idea that you show cattle? - what does that actually mean? Does it mean something like show casing cattle? You are a person of many talents.

Hey, did you catch that animal doco that was on TV last night? It was about how animals sense the world. It was pretty amazing.

[Crazy_Bug_Lady]

Haha. I still feel bad coming on here and moaning, but it is a relief to be able to talk freely here, and hear others stories.
Just got a message back from dad, he's said he is definitely coming, bit exciting. I spent two years showing while I was high school, then a year at the stud I'm at now, then left for two years to show with another stud, now I'm back at the first stud, I got asked back last October. 🙂
Working and showing cattle is my weekend job. But I love it, it is a brilliant hobby, and through it I have met so many people (I have so much trouble meeting and talking to new people), and it helps me to monitor my emotions. I can be so pent up and freaking out just before going into the ring or doing a demo at a school, but the second I am with an animal I am calm and in control. I need to be, if I'm frustrated or upset they won't work well, which when showing can cost you.
As far as showing goes, we train the animals to lead on a halter, and wash them, blow dry them (not quite like the American 'fluffy cows') clip them and make them pretty, then we show them at local country shows, and at the Royal Adelaide Show. Taking a 500+kg animal out to a busy noisy show and leading it about on a bit of rope is an amazing thing. The amount of trust they must have in us.

[Crazy_Bug_Lady]

http://youtu.be/txse_lacHNk
Not sure if the link'll work... this a video more or less explaining some of what we do to show our animals. At Royal we end up with so many animals in the ring walking about the same time, it's a bit chaotic. But I love it.

[CherryBomb]

Cool! Sorry for my lack of undertanding  - what's the difference between and stud and bull? How long do you work with them? Do you rear them from when their a calf?

That's pretty amazing to you get out in the ring in front of loads of people. Even more amazing that you can stay calm. Sounds like animals are therapeutic for you.

[CherryBomb]

Thanks for the video. That's really amazing! There's so much preparation involved. Looks like these show cattle get their hair/coat done more than me!

You really put yourself out there eh?

[Crazy_Bug_Lady]

It is so therapeutic! It amazes me that I can stay calm and in control (and when I'm in the show ring I do it with a smile), but in some situations (not with animals) I am a crying panicky lump.
run-down of terminology. 🙂
A stud is a fancy name for a farm.
Bull= adult male
Cow= female that has had at least one calf
Steer= castrated bull
Heifer=young female that's not had a baby

[CherryBomb]

what do you reckon it is about you being around animals that can make you calm and controlled?

[Crazy_Bug_Lady]

Not too sure really... they just make sense. They don't judge. There's no hidden agenda or anything. If you treat them right, they do what you want. If they spook or are grumpy there is a reason.