El Calfecito

You may recall my story of early this year about a little calf that got rejected by his mommy.  Well, here we are about 9 months later and I'm happy to report that the little fella is hale and hearty ...and getting bigger everyday!

I want to eat him ...but My Missus and even the gauchos won't let me!

But there is hope for my asado, yet!  Everyone is beginning to realize that a 375 lb pet is a pain in the ass ...even if you don't have to take him for walks or feed him.

To date, he has broken almost every big flower pot we have, eaten my wife's strawberry plants, and left a huge, signed, organic art installation right in front of our kitchen door.  Other than that, he's a great lawnmower ...kind of a "lawn-roomba"

...and, since he's so tame, he has a strange and perhaps useful effect his more savage little friends.  Ordinarily, those little calves would not go anywhere near a human ...let alone, venture away from their mother.

The old farmer literature is full of examples of using animals like our little Calfecito to pull loads and implements.  They are so smart and so heavy and strong ...and eminently train-able.  In the old days, the task of training a young ox (a castrated male bovine that you are not planning on eating) was given to boys of about 8 years old.

Well, we don't have any 8 year old boys on our ranch ...and I can't see any of us taking the time to train this delicious little guy to "gee and haw."

Stay tuned for more about our all-grass, no-grain, no-antibiotic, no-hormone, stress-free little buddy!

Yum.