Um, where are the cows?

Right?  haha.

I need to start knocking on wood, or something, because I keep jinxing myself and it's getting a little out of hand. 

Ok, so the day before I said "um, where are the cows?" I was all full of "what should I do?" about putting Macy and the babes with the yearlings.  How should I do this? What will happen? What could possibly happen? How bad could it go?  Ugh, it could be bad.

Better Call Craig. 

So I call Craig and tell him that Macy's fully adopted the babes, this I know for sure, and everyone's been touching noses through the gate.  I must have been blathering away, because he interjected with "I dunno, just put them together and see what happens."

Silence.

"um, ok."

He continued, "Farming doesn't have a book, Katie. Farming is figuring it out as you go. Deal with it when it happens."

Good advice. Again.

He's right. I don't have time to plan, I'm too busy, you know...farming. 

So, I opened the gate and guess what happened?

Nothing.

Macy just stood there, ears pegged on the pasture and nostrils fully flared.  Listening and smelling for danger coming off the pasture.

Baby brown danced around the gate. Can we go?  Can we go?  See, it's easy, just walk right here.  Ready? I am.  How about now?  Can we, can we....

20 minutes and still nothing, except a single glance back at me.

Ok. We can go.

And just like that, I had cows being cows.  The yearlings babysitting and playing reindeer games while Macy ate.

Perfect.

This is where I should have knocked on wood.

The next morning, bright and early, I started double checking and repairing the pasture fence.  It's in a horribly sad state, but the brush keeps most of it upright.   I completed the east line and half of the south line when I broke for lunch.

I saw everyone hanging near the culvert low line, all looked good. Lunch time.

Honest, it wasn't 30 minutes, and I was back at it....

Um, where are the cows?

I was by myself.  Great, that's just great.   I'm talking to myself and I can't find 3500 pounds of cow.

Panick started to creep up and I ripped off a text to Brian. I can't find our cows! 

Who's missing?

All of them.  All five!!!

I'll be right there.

Back to talking to myself and it's all shades of "oh my God, Katie, get a grip woman!"

I went to their last known location and sure enough, I broke too early for lunch. There, a nice big gaping hole under the low hanging trees. Ugh.  Already cursing black and white cow, because Macy would NEVER do such a thing, I also added scout and tenderfoot to my vest of patches and found a cow print in the field drive across the road. 

South! They are headed south!

I found a big huge cornfield and no cows.Blinking back tears I started screaming "c'moooooooon, c'moooooon"  Which sounds like "c'maaaaaahhhhhhhn."

I'd learned from Craig (and Nicki) that it's always easier to pull cows than it is to push cows. I'd once chuckled at Craig and his "c'maaaaaaahhhhhhhn" but found I used it too, to call the cows.  You can roll that AH for as long as your wind will allow.  It rolls and it carries and at that very moment, I was screaming it at the top of my lungs.

C'maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhn.

Then I saw them.  Several moving specks along the far tree line, a good 20 acres away....my cows! Oh thank you baby Jesus.  Thank you thank you thank you. NAUGHTY! C'maaaaaaahhhhn.

They were running now (Good cows!  Good cows!  C'maaaaahhhhhn.) and I figured I better get on the road because they'll be taking that field-drive corner on two wheels at this pace.

I always thought it'd be fun to move a herd to new grazing land using a gravel road.  But in my daydreams, I envisioned more people helping. 

Still, our herd was whole and it was awesome.  Walking down a gravel road with all of them, left to right, Big brown, Baby black, Baby brown, Macy and finally, Black-n-white.  All of them following me home.

Brian arrived just in time to help me get them through a gate.  Once we got home, they all scattered.  Macy in the tool shed, Black-n-White in the chicken coop, Big brown still babysitting and trying to push calves through the gate.

We spent the rest of the afternoon fixing the south line....

Black-n-white even tested our work...

Of course.  He always does. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Cheap jordan Shoes]

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[FunTimeKiller]

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