Here’s another bovine adventure for you, from when we actually had cows here on the farm.
I mentioned it in an earlier post, but never gave you the details.
I was about six months pregnant and we had this basset hound named Fredly that came up missing one day.
Occasionally he did that. Came up missing, that is.
I’m not sure if he was hunting or was just out on a walkabout. He never did say when he finally returned three days later.
Even after a scolding, he wouldn’t tell.
Come to think of it, he never told me where he went when he was MIA.
Anyway, my Mother-in-law took her dog and went walking out in the pasture, calling for Fredly. I saw her going out of sight just as I pulled in from errand running.
I headed out to the pasture to try and catch up.
The cows had a different idea.
We only had four, but they were humongous things. As I got to the point where I had last seen her, the cows began to walk toward me. I was walking along the fenceline about fifty feet from the fence, on my left, when the cows began to walk toward me on my right.
I began moving closer toward the fence and the cows kept moving forward. They were closing in the distance between us a little quicker than I was comfortable with, so I picked up my pace.
So did they.
I eventually had no where else to go and the cows just kept coming.
The whole time they were yelling at me.
“MOOOOOOO!”
With no where else to go I weighed my odds.
Jump the fence or be bulldozed by a small herd of cows.
I chose the fence.
I took a run at the fence, grabbed the top row of barbed wire and over I went.
I think that was the first time I had ever jumped a fence. I was pretty impressed with myself that I actually made it over and DID NOT get tangled in the barbed wire.
I’ve climbed fences before, many times. And dove under them in Missouri. But never had I had to run and jump over several strings of barbed wire in a moments notice.
Being pregnant I was more than protective over that little one I was carrying. I didn’t know what those cows wanted with me and I wasn’t gonna let them get close enough to find out.
As soon as I jumped the fence, the cows stopped dead in their tracks.
So here I am, six months pregnant staring down four rather large cows, but now, I am on the OTHER side of the fence.
We stood for several minutes glaring at eachother. The cows weren’t budging. I knew if I stepped back over that fence, the chase would resume.
And I wasn’t in the mood to play tag. I was on a mission and its name was Fredly.
The only choice I had was to walk along the fence in waist high weeds until I was in a safe zone to cross back over the fence.
FAR AWAY FROM THE COWS.
And that I did. While the cows stood and watched.
Once I crossed back over the fence in the safe zone, I yelled at those cows.
“SAFE!!!!”
Then did the thumbs in the ears, wiggling fingers, na na na na boo boo thing.
They stood with their black eyes staring me down as I walked away.
Once the adrenalin rush was over, I realized that it was near feeding time.
One human had ambled by IN THE WRONG DIRECTION.
They were just trying to tell me the food was the other way.
This will be my last cow tale.
That is unless there’s another adventure of the bovine nature in my future.
🙄
Twisted Fencepost 