As you can see we spent our Christmas holiday welcoming the newest member to the farm, a little heifer named Ruby Sue.

I’ve had my eye on her since we initially met her at our friends’ family cattle farm in St. Francisville a couple months back. I noticed she was the smallest girl of the herd of calves we were branding and worming that day and seemed to remain somewhat aloof.

When asked, our friends explained she was a twin that had been rejected by her Momma, wouldn’t latch on to another nursing cow and ended up being bottle fed. They believed she possibly was born second and remained in the birth canal too long, causing some stunting in her growth, hence her smaller size.

You know me and my cowboy have tender hearts when it comes to animals and we instantly felt the tug. I named her Ruby because of the auburn highlights in her coat which I was later told is a recessive gene in Angus cows that appears from time to time. “Sue” was later tacked on, adding to her already sweet nature. Our precious Ruby Sue!

Over the past couple months, I would get updates about Ruby from my friends, letting me know she was doing alright and getting into mischief like cows do. Each time I would get a picture, my heart would pitter patter and a huge smile would spread across my face. Knowing this little ray of sunshine was still trucking made me happy.

I must have made it pretty clear that Ruby Sue belonged at our rescue farm because she showed up with a bright red bow and tinsel around her neck on the eve of Christmas Eve. My cowboy and close friends worked out the details and took me by complete surprise that afternoon.

I cried like a little girl when I saw Ruby dressed up with her very own ear tag and matching bucket and halter. She was beautiful and she was mine to love! I was in shock. Complete shock. I have wanted a cow for quite a while now but it was never the right time. Until now.

We kept her in the dog yard over the weekend until she adapted to her new surroundings. Ruby was very interested in the chickens and the dogs were very interested in the new, large and fuzzy dog that appeared to be in their play area. It was an eventful day for everyone at the farm.

The horses did take notice and stared for long stretches of time. We later introduced Ruby to Sparkle and Freedom with a fence in between. Ruby was more interested in the feed bucket than the large animals in front of her.

Each morning I check on Ruby Sue and there she is resting by the chicken coop, waiting for her morning feed and sticking by the only friends she has right now.

The Gypsy Chicks have certainly been quite the welcoming committee. They thought the bucket of hay was for them when we were preparing it for Ruby.

And they still didn’t get the idea when we moved the hay to Ruby’s feeding station by the fence. I’m sure they were rooting for a new place to lay eggs.

It’s been an exciting Christmas season welcoming our first cow to the farm. Ruby Sue is much more than just a cow to me. She represents transformation. She represents the love we all desire. She represents the nurturing we all need to thrive. She represents the lost part of my soul that is now found through farm life. She represents the little girl inside that wants to belong.

Ruby Sue may have had a rough start to her life but her story is only just beginning. All of us at Cypress Bayou Farm are excited to see her shine.

Here is a collection of footage from Ruby’s first moments at the farm to brighten your day.

Over this past year, we added turkeys, chickens and now a cow. I can only imagine what the future holds for our sweet hobby farm.

Remember to keep up with our journey and continued blessings of farm life on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Bloglovin and my YouTube channel.