Sound the alarm

At 7:09 p.m. I decided to take advantage of the last few rays of sunlight and run down our road. 

As I ran past the dairy barn, I heard a lot of cows mooing.  They're certainly excited about something, I thought.  I looked closer and saw - they were out! 

Some of them were milling around the front of the barn, some were turning toward the feed piles, and some were hanging out along the barn.  All of them were eating weeds and having a good time.

I whipped my phone out of my pocket and called Kris.  I started herding them back in and considered taking a picture, but I figured I'd better pay attention to my job. 

The cattle very easily turned back and headed in the right direction.  Kris pulled up, and we got them back in where they were supposed to be.

Kris said he was really glad I went running there because they'd just gotten out and hadn't gotten far ... and it would've been horrible getting them in in the dark.  Agreed!  I was glad too - I've never been the one to sound the alarm before.  Proximity has its advantages.

I started running again at 7:22 p.m.  As a result of the detour, it got dark before I finished.  I scared up three deer and started running while yelling, "I'm not a deer!"  After all, it's hunting season - you can never be too careful.  I guess I was yelling for any stray cattle's sake, too.

Not a normal morning

 

Ah - a picture like so many I've taken. Cattle grazing peacefully in the pasture.

 

Except it's not a pasture and I didn't take the picture. It's our alfalfa field, and there's no fence. These cattle are out!

 

I got a call this morning from a neighbor that the cows were out.  I called Kris and heard tons of mooing.  I said, "Oh, you know.  Never mind." 

 

A few minutes later our neighbor (and friend) Sharon called and told me, "This is what I love about living in the country."  She was so amused to see the cows out running around!  She grabbed her camera and sent me the pictures.

 

Kris and the guys got them in fairly quickly, because they were - surprise! - in a herd.  Here, Sharon captured them turning the corner next to her yard.     

 

 

And some who were running through their yard after they missed the gate home ...

 

 

 

I told some friends tonight that the cows had gotten out this morning and one said, "Well, where would they go?  Don't they just stand around?"  I told them that cows can run really fast - definitely faster than a person. 

Of course someone who hadn't been around cattle wouldn't know that - but let me tell you!  They can RUN!  We have to get them back in with the help of quads and trucks. 

Sharon told me, "I will be smiling and relaying this story all day!" 

No one wants the cows to get out, so it's great when you have understanding neighbors.  And even better when they have their cameras ready to capture the cow-sprinting action!

Bang

And the year starts off with a bang!

Kris said that this morning when he got up he saw there was a light on in the calf barn. He thought it was strange and went to go see why.

There were two calves out in the barn. They'd somehow gotten up on the curb, gotten a leg through, and opened the gate. Only two of them left the pen - the rest stayed put.

He said they'd obviously been running around sniffing things out, and by the light switch a pitchfork had been knocked down. Based on all the evidence, he deduced ... the calves turned on the light themselves!

So, welcome to a new year. Excitement and surprises abound! We have trick calves.

Out

Kris got a call today from our neighbor. Our cow was out along our road. Apparently, one of our fences had shorted out because ... it was underwater! Yes, that's how much rain we've had.

Our neighbors (who are dairy farmers also) waited for Kris and talked as they herded her through a gate back into the pasture.

It's so nice knowing your neighbors are watching out for you. No farmer would drive by, see a cow out, and just keep on going. What if it caused an accident?! It would be horrible for everyone - the driver, cow, farmer, and person who didn't call!

When my parents were farming a little calf got out, ran into the road, and was hit by a car. Who was driving? Just by chance ... my mom's boss! He and the car weren't hurt, but it did break the calf's leg. My dad had the vet put a cast on it. (I took a picture and used Snagit to write the boss' name on the cast. He liked it.)

That's the only time we've had one hit, thankfully - but that's in part because of our neighbors helping out. And all of our ever-present cell phones. Hooray!

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Want to learn some more farm terms?

Dry cows - Cows that are about to have a calf. They're in the period where you stop milking them before they calve.

Example: "We moved the dry cows to a new pasture today. Since it's so wet, they just trample the long grass and get it all muddy and won't eat it."

Fresh cows - A cow that has just had a calf.

For instance, Kris just told me, "So far 76 heifers have freshened."

(Try to work that into your next conversation! See how many listeners you lose!)