The birth

Many of our friends have had babies in 2013, mostly little boys.

Last week, one obliging mother even let us be present at the birth of her son. It was amazing:

 

We watched in the company of some 40 other interested souls of all ages, at the Quaker Family Camp in Vermont where we spent a magical week. Still, the birth of the calf may have been a highlight. Mama cow, Hibiscus, took it all in stride. Several hours after the birth, Alice and I were still in the barn when the calf stood up for the first time:

We visited again the next day, and Baby H (still to be named, but according to farm rules he has to start with an H, like his mother) was nursing with the best of them, a silky brown little guy with markings like his mother's, rather than the black calf we'd thought he was when he was first born.