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The misadventures of a cattle drive…

Posted By margaret on April 4, 2010

Picture in your mind the cattle drives of old. Cowboys on horses riding along beside the herd heading for their destination. Occasionally a cow breaks loose from the others, and the cowboy is off to bring the maverick back into the fold. You’ve seen it in most westerns, but it doesn’t compare to a cattle drive from one pasture to another via a county road.

Now picture hungry cows heading for greener pastures (excuse the pun) and today’s method of cow punching. Horses aren’t always used, instead four wheelers and neighbors try to corral the group of head strong animals. They begin their journey in the neighbor’s yard and are progressing at a nice pace following the call of the neighbor from a four wheeler in front of the pack. In the rear of the herd is the neighbor’s husband carrying a big stick, yep, a big stick. She’s calling, “come on babies, come on babies” and they are trucking along behind her until they pass through another neighbor’s green grass and flower bed. That neighbor was calmy sitting on her porch expecting to watch the exciting trail ride until she sees the cows headed for her flower bed. Oh, she jumped off the porch lickety split, but too late. They munched away!

There was no getting those cows to budge from those yummy plants. The man with the big stick finally got them away from the angry neighbor and they headed out the gate onto the county road. Do you think cows will leave one gate, calmly walk on the road and up a driveway into another gate? No! I ran out my gate to head them off at the pass, but they were faster and just bolted down the road! All heifers and one happy bull just bookin’ down the road as if they had escaped their barbed wire prison.

The angry neighbor jumped into her pick up and headed after them. Since they had just eaten her plants, one had to wonder if she was trying to save them or was thinking of having them for dinner. The man with the big stick ran for the four wheeler and the wife on the four wheeler jumped off and grabbed a stick and was ready to stop the running herd just as the pick up and four wheeler had them headed back toward the open gate.

I opened a second gate to encourage them to come on in, but they didn’t want to visit and went right back into the angry neighbor’s yard and enjoyed dessert. It was then that plan “B” was hatched.

A few phone calls later and plan “B” was in effect. Five vehicles made a semi circle, a big bag of sweet feed, and a push from the angry neighbor and they were out the gate again. This time they calmly walked into my pasture and we closed one gate behind them.

Thinking it was over, we all smiled and patted ourselves on the back for the successful cattle drive, only to discover my solar powered gate wouldn’t stay closed. The thing began to open and close on its own and wouldn’t stop. Now we had all those cows right by the open gate and no way to keep it closed! Things finally settled in, the gate closed and the cows were on their merry way…that is until they encountered the donkeys!

I don’t know how long it will take for the donkeys to weaken, but for now they have the cows cornered in a small confined area and they are proving they are “king of the hill”!

Categories: General
Tags: just for fun