Calls after 10 are not good. My mind flashes first to bad news.And besides, such calls would usually wake me up from my pre-bedtime doze in the recliner. Last night, though, we had a church meeting, so I was still awake and watching The Mentalist, Randy's favorite show, via DVR.
I made Randy get up and answer the phone. (I did hit pause on the DVR because I'm nice like that.) So I was able to hear his end of the conversation, which went something like this:
"They have yellow eartags?"
"Where are they?"
"Yes, we have some cows over by the 4-way stop."
"They could be ours."
"I don't know how much we'll be able to do in the dark."
"OK. We'll be right over."
You heard the "we" part, didn't you? So did I. That was my cue to turn off the DVR, throw off my comfy fleece K-State blanket and go upstairs for work clothes. We headed for the farmstead, where we picked up the 4-wheeler, and Jake joined the procession in the other pickup.
We found the sheriff vehicle's flashing lights along 4th Street, but by the time we'd gotten our little search team activated, the deputy no longer knew where the spooked cattle were.But as the deputy described them, Randy no longer thought that the cattle were ours. So we headed on to the milo stalks, where our cows wondered why they were getting visitors at 10:45 at night. (Whew! We just moved them to the stalks, and it would not bode well if they were already escaping.)
Anyway, while Randy was testing the electric fence, he got a call from another neighbor, who had found the five escapees in a field to the north. They weren't his cattle either. But who can resist a cattle roundup? (Yes, pretty much all of us could. We'd still like to be under our cozy fleece blankets at home, but we were there. And it's a neighborly thing to do.)
So we headed for the field where Leonard had them spotted in the high beams of his headlights. The plan was to herd them into a corral in the vicinity. (That homeowner came out after listening to the commotion and seeing all the lights. They weren't his cattle either, by the way.)
Randy unloaded the 4-wheeler. Jake & I watched the lights dance across the field as Leonard's pickup and Randy's 4-wheeler sashayed and weaved, chasing the uncooperative escapees.
Two of them leaped an electric fence. The guys finally succeeded in getting two of them to go through the gate lit by our pickup headlights. And we have no idea where the other one was. Or is.
So we loaded up the 4-wheeler and went home. And I tried unsuccessfully to turn off the mental loop of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.
The End. (At least for us. Somebody has cattle to retrieve today.)
Kim, thank you for leading me to "Moonlight Sonata"! That is one of my favorite pieces of classical music.
ReplyDeleteI grew up listening to classical music. And playing it. I played the cello in the Pratt High orchestra (which was very big in the early 50-s), and in the Wichita Youth Symphony.
But, now days, classical music sounds very depressing to me. I cannot listen to it for very long at a time. But I keep playing "Moonlight Sonata" over and over!
Thanks again!
Jane
I'm glad to conjure up good memories for you! I always seem to have a soundtrack playing in my head, but honestly, it's not usually classical music. But with the moonlit night, it was just a natural!
ReplyDeleteLOL...it's bad enough to round up strays in the daylight...let alone in the dark...ya did good! Glad none got hurt.
ReplyDeleteMy husband was headed into work Wed AM (still dark out) and happened to be following a friend of ours...she hit a black calf in the hip which had to be PTS...it's tragic any how you look at it.
Getting them off the road was the reason we stayed and helped out. We have enough trouble dodging deer in our area! And you're right: It was a little tough to see well enough to know how to help out the 4-wheeler and pickup driver. Black cows don't show up too well, even on a moonlit night!
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