I haven’t felt much like sketching the past week. Last Friday, our granddaughter’s sweet cow Sierra went into premature labor, ending with the stillbirth of a beautiful deep red calf.
Instead of drawing Sierra, I drew Egret yesterday. This feral Siamese has lived in Sierra’s cow shed since a feral rescue group brought her out to our farm to hunt rodents. Still mostly wild, she bonded with the cow, following her around just like the white birds who follow cattle in nearby pastures — hence her name. She helps control rats who get into the animals’ feed, sometimes leaving her victims for our inspection as we come to leave her a bit of cat food.
As Sierra struggled with contractions Egret kept a close eye on her, circling us and being very vocal (as only Siamese cats can be). She seemed to show deep concern for her friend but didn’t want to get too close to us humans.
The following morning, as Sierra slowly walked over to a feed trough built between the 2 pastures, our 2 donkeys came over to share the fresh hay with her — in spite of high winds which the donkeys detest. As soon as Sierra left, they returned to their own shelter out of the wind but it seemed as if they shared Egret’s concern.
I love how Egret perches on fence posts, looking very much like the Aplomado Falcon that also hunts rodents in our pastures. There are plenty of rats, mice, gophers, and moles to share.
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