Thursday, April 17, 2014

The Grass Is Always Greener - Unless It's White

The grass was undoubtedly greener on the other side of the fence ... even on Monday with a covering of snow. 
Because of their earlier shenanigans of repeatedly ignoring the electric fence and going for several unsanctioned strolls to the wheat field, it was time to move the cow-calf pairs at the round top. When we woke up to a couple inches of snow Monday morning, I campaigned with the Farmer that perhaps this job could be done on a different day. It was to no avail. And with good reason: When the guys got the 4-wheeler out of the trailer, the cows again departed for the wheat field.
It took some coercing for them to return to the pens.
You remember I told you about No. R55 who didn't leave the pens when all the rest of her buddies did? We discovered why on Monday morning. She had a new baby. It all made sense to me then: What heavily-pregnant female wants to do any more walking than necessary? She held down the fort while her friends were out gallivanting around.
On Sunday evening, April 13. She was the only one left in the designated area!
On Monday morning, April 14, we discovered why: She finally had her baby.
When we got the rest of the mamas and babies in a smaller pen to load them into the trailer, we left these two behind. The new little heifer was a bit slower than her older "classmates." These two got their very own chauffeured ride later.
Even though I was regretting not wearing heavier socks, I had to admit the snow made for a picture-postcard scene as the trailer left the old farmstead.
 
It took several trips to get all the mamas and babies transported to the corral east of our house. Since it's permanent fencing rather than electric fence, we'll hope the crew decides to stay in until we move them to summer pastures in early May.
They don't know how good they have it to get their meals delivered every day. It's a service I could use on occasion. I'm afraid Elroy's, Joan's and The Gathering Place don't deliver.

4 comments:

  1. The shenanigans! What a good mama cow staying with her baby. Although I am sure she was tempted also.

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    1. When she stayed, I think she was just feeling VERY pregnant and it appeared to be too much work!

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  2. One can never out guess the cows. When they get something in their mind they can be hard to deal with.

    We had flurries this morning. I think it's time for spring; we're ready.

    I hope you have a blessed and happy Easter!

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  3. We've had a little light rain this morning, but we could use a whole lot more. Still, some places weren't getting anything, so I need to be thankful for what we got. Happy Easter to you, too, Robyn!

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