Oh the joys of animal husbandry....
Last Saturday the cows arrived in my Mom's field. Jason and Harriet lease out the field in the winter to some boys in Whitewater that put about 50 head of cows in for a couple months. Last Tuesday when I was coming home I thought I had missed the memo on a meeting because they were all clustered around my little walk gate behind my house. Turns out they were all just watching Jay and Jason fix the water leak that formed Lake Harriet.
Then yesterday morning around 7am Scott said, "Wow, did you hear those cows? They sound really close, I hope they aren't leaning on the fence". About 15 minutes later I went out to water the animals and found that the Christmas Cows had visited us in the night. They ate about 100# of the pig food we had so generously bought and apparently left for them, then they left us cow pies all over our back lawn! The Whitewater boys came out and got them back in, they even replaced the pig food! So all in all not a huge deal.
When I got home from town I went out to feed the pigs some expired milk that Nancy had for them. As I started out I saw Pearl out in the pasture waiting patiently at the walk through gate to come back in. Strange. So I got her back in, and started pouring the milk in, when I looked up and she was out AGAIN!
This time it was a little more to get her in. Then I thought I found the spot she was getting out, and while I was getting it it fixed, both pigs managed to get out, because they know how to open gates that aren't latched. So I had to chase them over behind Nancy's. I just got them back in again, and they escaped...damn magic pigs!! This time I chased them up to Harriet's, then in and out of Scott's garage...this was going well. We got them back in, I was fixing the fence...Scott had come home and was helping when that stupid Pearl escaped again. At this point, I didn't care if I ever saw her again as we watched her head out in the field over to the herd of cows. We gave her a salute and wished her luck...
Then, suddenly we heard Pearl squeal and the mass of cows started mooing all at the same time. Now if Scott hadn't seen this also, I think no one would have believed me...but all of the sudden here came Pearl running for her life and every one of those cows were chasing her. She ran all along the bottom of the field from the old big cottonwood tree, then straight up the fence to the gate where Scott intervened and Pearl collapsed from exhaustion. I so wish we would have got that on video.
She was so tired that we couldn't even get her in the pen. So I left her out to calm down and then see if we could get her in. She was showing some stress signs so I went to get the pig book from Nancy. I was over there a couple minutes when Scott came looking for me because that stupid pig had gone back in the field and the cows had chased her up to Harriet's.
This time, Nancy (the pig whisperer) came and got Pearl right in. Where was she the last half dozen times?
This morning I went out to see if Pearl was still alive and...she was out again. She must have been tired and cold because she went right in, and I realized I had put the clips a little high on some of the fence I fixed yesterday. So I went and got the supplies and fixed the fence...again...did I mention I was in my bathrobe? and it's snowing?
Man, I wish Scott hadn't insisted that we get these animals...
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