Will you "die", or "pass away"?

Brownie and Blackie - probably not Politically Correct Names

I hate it that I didn't get pictures and posts before we had a couple of untimely deaths among us. About 3 weeks ago, we inherited a brand new calf who had been orphaned. Since Gabe didn't have a place other than home to keep him, "Blackie" moved into our back yard (can you guess what color he is??). It was no problem for a while, as he needed to be bottle fed morning and night, so having him here at home was great. A few days later, Gabe found out about 3 other calves who were available, and he figured if he's going to the trouble of taking care of one, he might as well do 3 and make it a full-fledged operation. So, shortly thereafter, we had a new puppy, and 4 calves living in our backyard. It was okay, until the flies started swarming, and much to my embarassment, the cows started MOOING! And...the house next door was being re-roofed, so I knew at least 2 roofers had seen our barnyard in the middle of town. I was so mortified - talk about rednecks! Anyway, Avery enjoyed having them around, and Gabe was busily working to make them a pen out at the farm, so I knew it was a short-term situation.

Then, the 3 new calves all began to look sickly. Last Sunday after church, we came home to find that "Alligator" had "passed away". We are not sure where Avery heard this, but Alligator definitely did not die. He "passed away". That same day, Gabe got the other 3 moved out too their new home at the farm. Last Tuesday when we went out to feed them, we found that "Susie" had met her demise as well. But Susie "died". She did not pass away. She "died". We aren't sure what the difference is, but it is distint in Avery's mind - and you would do well not to argue with her about it!

Avery taking a ride on Crocodile
Anyway, we are batting 50, as Gabe says, so we have 2 calves left. They are "Crocodile", and "Blackie". Gabe & Avery are enjoying their excursions out to the farm to take care of them. We are hoping that these 2 will make it through infancy and can eventually move on to greener pastures!


Oh, the shiner on Avery's forehead is from a spill on her tricycle. She had on her new cowgirl boots (with shorts) and her feet got tangled up while she was trying to ride FAST and beat our neighbor girls. Tomorrow is her school program, so hopefully it will be pretty much healed up by then.