Brendan and Michele have friends that own a cattle farm just “down the road.” Really its about a 20 minute drive but these country people seem to think anything less than an hour away is close. (Put them in LA traffic, they will change their minds!)

Pat and Norm own over 1,000 head of cattle. Norm is a vet who has retired from his clinic but uses his knowledge and expertise to help him with his cattle and sheep. We got a tour of their ranch and get this…. I got to feed baby cows!

I really really really really really wanted to take one home with me. (I know, not a huge surprise) It was a little weird doting on these beautiful animals knowing that at some point in the not so distant future, they would end up on someone’s plate. But I chose to ignore the fact that I enjoy beef and focused on how amazing these little guys can be.

Norm has to do cesarean’s on his heifers from time to time. When this happens, the majority of cows that needed a cesarean don’t have motherly instincts. This means that they will reject their calf and down right refuse to feed it. That is when Norm and Pat come in. They will either feed the calf by hand (what an awesome experience) or trick the mother into eating oats and standing still long enough for baby to eat. More often than not, they feed these babies by hand.

They also have a tremendous amount of “treasures” around their farm. They call these piles junk, I call them an American Picker ‘s Heaven. Seriously, there are so many old pieces of farm equipment it is just amazing! Norm has pieces that were once powered by horses. Who can call that junk!?!

I really enjoyed our time on Norm and Pat’s farm. I think I will add cows to the list of animals I would like to own. Hope I can find a big enough place for all these animals on my wish list!