Almost Had a Cow...

Almost Had a Cow...

It was Memorial day, 2008. My other half, Rick, finally made it home for a week of rest and relaxation from being on the road for the last six weeks as a long distance hauler. We went out for breakfast that morning. When we got home, I went into the house and Rick was puttering around outside....

He came into the house with this "look" on his face..."Please tell me you DID NOT get a cow while I was gone and you've been hiding it in the back 30...."

While he was gone, I had been teasing him about getting some goats for weed control and maybe a cow or two, but it was just talk. "Uh noooo..." I answered. "The back fence is still down, dear....(ahem..hint, hint)"

"Look out the back door to the left...."

So I looked out the back door to the left. Sure enough, there was a big red cow standing in the corner of the pasture! Hmmmm.... steaks...pot roast...visions of good eating dancing through my head....

...and then I saw the baby. Only about two or three days old. Awwww…so cute!

We got into the car and started going down the road, from neighbor to neighbor, trying to find out who the cow belonged to. Neighbor Paul thought he knew and was going to start making phone calls.

Rick and I went back home. Since the back fence is down and the calf was so little, we decided to try to put mama and baby in what used to be Striker's pasture, where there's water and a source of food until their owner could claim them.

Cows don't do what you want them to do.

She did fine until the last right turn, just before going into the pasture. Rick was walking a safe distance behind her and I was standing not too far from the gate...and then she made a sharp left, bolting off into the western end of the property.

We followed her. She found a hole in our west fence and went on to the abandoned 380 acres behind me. About that time, Paul and his wife, Lynn, pulled in—just in time to see the cow's rear end fade into the horizon.

Oh well...there's water and good grass back there. Hopefully, they'll be okay. Rick went back on the road today. I'll keep an eye out for the cow….

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