Barreling

Toward the solstice and welcome. If there is any solace in getting older and having the time fly by so fast, it's that the shortening of the days is going by pretty quickly. 

We go to work in the dark at both ends of the day and slog through the mud....I feel guilty having all this unneeded rain while others are so dry. There is no way to share it, but I would if I could.

Mom was worried when I didn't post yesterday. Sorry, getting the Farm Side written early to clear the decks for a busy week. And I was tired. Saturday night took it out of me.

It all started when the fire went out. The wood is too big for me to lift so the boss has been tending it. He asked me to try and get it going again so I was doing that out in the evening dark. Becky was feeding calves. We were the only three here.

I heard him out on the hill in the dark driving cows off the feed wagon. Then he went back out. I didn't think much of it, as Bailey had a new heifer calf out there and I thought he was bringing them down.

But then he didn't come back. I trekked to the cow barn a couple times getting old pallet staves for kindling and asked Becky if she saw him come down.

Nope.

Got the fire going good and decided to go out and help him with Bailey.

The mud is SOOOOOOO deep! It's one step at a time, then drag your boot out of the stuff....it's reluctant to let you go and slurps over every mouthful of delicious barn boot. A few yards will leave you gasping and groaning and there are a lot more than a few yards out there.

I was pooped by the time I got to Bailey, who was half way back on the hill, ringing around in a circle with her calf, all fired up and loaded for bear. It is not good to mess with a mama cow in that mood, especially if you are neither a sprinter nor on good ground.

I gave her plenty of room and looked around for the boss for a while.

Not a sign, but even a big flashlight doesn't do much in fifteen acres of rainy, night-dark gloom. And of course he didn't have one with him even though there are four great big ones and several pocket models on the kitchen counter. I figured maybe I missed him and started the trip back down, only to meet Becky coming up. She hadn't seen him either.

I sent her to check the house and barn again and called the house myself. No answer, no sign of him.

I was really getting worried. Visions of Bailey stomping him and leaving him out there somewhere in the dark and mud skittered around in my head. She was sure riled up about something and she is a great big old cow. I had grim thoughts of calling 911 and getting people with better equipment out there to help us find him. We decided to make a circle around the field together one more time before doing just that.

And then we heard him hollering from way over on the home farm.

When the tale was told we discovered that he had seen the wild heifer, Madison, take off over the back hill outside the pasture and head for the sixty acre lot.....which is way on the back of the farm. Then he heard 4-wheelers start up, saw spot lights, and heard shots. 

So of course he crawled under the pasture fence at the top of the hill and took off running for the back of the farm. And walked ALL the fields looking for them. We have 300 and some acres. It is something like a mile front to back. He covered it all in a ridiculously short amount of time.

Didn't catch them though. He could barely walk the next day. Madison is fine btw. Still hanging around just outside the barnyard but fine. We all went out and got Bailey and the calf the next morning, in daylight, with lots of help....nice heifer by Calbrett HH Champion.

I have GOT to get that man a cell phone.

And get him to carry it.

And charge it.

And not lose it.

I really do.