When someone lives on a farm, life is never taken for granted, nor is there such a thing as a "typical" day. I was reminded of this about a week ago on one of my precious days off school.
While embellishing President's Day by curling up in bed for a lazy afternoon of reading my latest novel, my cell phone rang and I noticed that it was Daniel calling. Hmm....he usually doesn't call in the middle of the afternoon but I decided that since Steve was out of town he might need me for a little grunt work. Little could I anticipate!
With panting breath and urgency in his voice, he managed to get out, "I've got some holsteins out (black and white) and they're running towards Fremont. Start running down Fremont Road and keep them from going into Jerry's corn!" Bingo, gone was my lazy afternoon.
I grabbed my closest coat, luckily also my warmest, my pink down-filled Liz Claiborne number that was meant more for skiing than for running but it served the purpose. As I looked out the window and saw cows heading towards our very busy road, I made a split decision that the camp slippers (green) that I was wearing from LL Bean would have to do. Once again I was lucky as they are higher boots, they had a rubberized sole, and were not flimsy. I tore out of the house, glad that I had been working out on my treadmill for the winter months.
Beating the cows the quarter mile I had to run, the two of us managed to head them off at the pass. The deep snow worked both for us and against us. It slowed the cows' pace but ours as well. As Dan got behind them and headed them towards calmer areas, he yelled at me to run home (I wasn't sure I would make it), bring the truck down our west road, and park it across the lanes so the cows wouldn't be able to get by if they decided to turn around and complicate our lives.
Dan jumped in the truck leaving me to guard the sacred passageway. I wasn't feeling real confident and asked him if I could call someone for backup. I knew that the two of us were not going to make this whole thing work out well. There was only disaster movies going across the image in my mind. He informed me that he had called his buddies from the local sale barn to bail us out and once again, luckily, the sale barn is only 1/4 mile from our house. They couldn't get to me fast enough as three holstein cows coming at me while I was wearing green slippers wasn't a pretty thought.
It wasn't long that I saw deliverance pull up alongside me in the form of three very capable young men. The odds were looking better: 4 1/2 people (me being the 1/2) against three determined cows. I was immediately put on dog control and stood my ground as best I could, looking ominous I am sure.
Within 10 minutes, the cows were safely rounded up and back in their pen. Kudos to all those involved. We had won the rodeo and earned ourselves, what I was sure was, a gold medal. My only duty left was to watch the gate while Dan pulled the tractor out of the barn that had initially caused all of the trouble. There were three cows in there that were NOT going to challenge us this time. Their tongues were hanging out and they were panting much like I was.
At times like these I have to make myself laugh. I imagine that when Liz Claiborne designed my coat and LL Bean shipped me my camp slippers, there was never any intention of them being used as they had been that afternoon. I'm thinking Liz has probably never been on a farm, much less enjoyed a rodeo such as her coat had just participated in. And the camp slippers, I was far from being on a leisurely camping trip. But it makes for a good story and an appreciation for those "normal" days on the farm!
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2 comments:
Oh it brings me back to the morning when I was staying at your mom's. "Margaret, the cows are loose," she yelled up the stairs. I think Diane was there too and we all scrambled out of bed to chase the cows. Those were the days.
I would have run from the cows, not after them. Glad I wasn't the one there who had to save the day...well done!
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