“THERE’S A CALF!”

Cole burst into the room, his voice cutting through the silence like a fire alarm. My eyes shot open. I blinked, disoriented, before scrambling out of bed, still half-asleep.

The cold hit me as I yanked on my overalls and jacket, fumbling with the buttons before rushing out into the snow. The sun was coming up and the snow crunched under our boots as we hurried to the barn.

Then we saw her.

She lay on the other side of the barn, cold, wet, and trembling. Her tiny body was surrounded by the herd, their big, curious eyes peering down at her. Protective. Silent. Watching.

“Darby... is she yours?”

Darby’s massive frame stood over the calf, as if she were her own, pawing at the ground, a clear warning: Don’t touch her.

“It’s okay, Darb. We just need to see her.”

I crouched down, my breath visible in the icy air, and checked the little one over. Cold. Sluggish. Her ears were stiff and nearly frozen.

“Has she nursed? How long has she been here? Where’s Dax?”

Darby glared at us, every muscle tense as if daring us to come closer— willing and able to flatten us if she sensed a threat.

Carefully, we scooped the calf up, keeping one eye on Darby as we shuffled back to the barn.

Inside, we got her under a heat lamp, grabbed towels, and started drying her off. Cole tracked down Dax, who was casually munching hay, blissfully.

He pulled her into the stanchion and milked out colostrum while I worked on warming the calf.

She was weak, too cold to suckle. I slid my finger into her mouth—cold, icy cold. I rubbed her side, wiggling my finger to stimulate her suckling instinct, while Cole gently massaged her flanks like a mama cow licking her baby.

And then—finally—a wag of her tail.

A tiny suck.

We fumbled for a while, guiding the bottle, adjusting her position, doing whatever we could to help her figure it out. Each sip she took brought a bit of life back into her. Her tail wagged faster. Her body felt warmer. Her little frame grew stronger.

We stayed there with her, watching her grow brighter with every swallow, until she was steady enough to rest.

Update: Mama Dax is doing great! THRILLED to be back in the stanchion, soaking up all the rubs and attention. Little D is still figuring out those wobbly legs of hers.

Now we just need a name for this sweet girl! Drop your favorite “D” name in the comments to help us out!