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Monday, October 9, 2017

COW WRANGLING

FYI:  First things first...Brisbane update, he is almost back to normal today. Vet said it's just old age and his digestive system not working as fast as it used to. No blockage, just slower movement and a frustrated cat. We'll spare you the gory details but all seems back to normal now and he's catching up on lost sleep. Vet said to just watch his litter usage closely and give him the special laxative as needed.  

So this weekend, among watering and edging and general projects that I blogged about YESTERDAY, I also had to engage in some cattle wrangling...

For weeks, we've been noticing occasional hoof prints in mud, cow patties scattered around but no cow.  I told "J" from 2nd Family and she said they hadn't seen anything either, maybe we had a ghost cow.



Sure enough, captured this on one of the trail cams.  It's a GHOST COW!


OK, so no ghost cow, it was an actual real live cow.



 In our yard.

Mowing the grass.  Hmm, wait, that's not such a bad idea, ha!



But she wasn't there all the time.  A few weeks would go by and then she'd be back.  Here she is one foggy/humid morning. 



There is no sound on these trailcams but this one from the other day cracked us up. It looks like she was stopping, looking right at the camera and expressing her displeasure.  



Saturday I was walking around checking things out, rounded the corner of the house in the backyard and came face to face with her.  After a few seconds of panic (the kind you have when you "unexpectedly" see a large animal and your life flashes before your eyes), I realized it was OK.  She just stood there.  I tried to go up to her but she backed away.  

SO I went down to 2nd Family's house and got "R".  He came up with one of his dogs (Ruben) following behind.  I wished I had recorded it, that dog was so excited to play with the cow.  He would run around, she would put her head down like a bull ready to charge but he was around her in circles. "R" said that the cow belonged next door, he recognized her. Because of the dog running around, she started moving quickly.  We followed along and between us and the dog, she went right back out the way she came in. Ruben was herding her and keeping her on a path and we were there to occasionally encourage her with taps on her rump and cowboy words you'd hear in old Western movies, LOL.  It worked out well and she went exactly back through the same spot in the fence that she came in. "R" and I then fixed the barbed wire, temporarily, and he's going to go over to the neighbor's property and make sure she's in her pasture now and patch up the fences.


I was excited. "Does that make me a cowboy for a day?" I asked 2nd Man.

"Um, NO, that's not how it works", he replied.

Fine. 


She regularly came and went through two fences to get to our property...maybe the grass is indeed greener on the other side...

33 comments:

  1. Nothing like getting your grass cut and fertilized at the same time. :}
    I say you are now due for a cowboy hat :}

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    1. LOL now that's funny!!! Cut and fertilized, ha!!!!!!!!!

      I'll have to look into that hat. :-)

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  2. Some cows take fences as just a suggestion. It isn't uncommon to find cow tracks and patties in places no cow should be and then never hear anything about it again like you would expect to if you happened to hear the semi-rural battle cry "The Cows Are Out!"

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    1. A 'suggestion' yes definitely in this case. She came and went as she pleased, that's for sure. I think we'll have to shout that battlecry.

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  3. A cowboy hat would help keep the sun off while on the Zen Machine 😁

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  4. Howdy there, cowboy for a day (I disagree with 2nd Man's assessment of the situation). I'm impressed that you tapped a cow on the butt.

    Love,
    Janie

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  5. If you were giving cowboy command and herding even one cow to its pasture then you get street cred for being a cowboy!

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  6. Glad to hear Brisbane is better. It sucks getting old and the grass is ALWAYS greener on the other side of a fence regardless of what's within the paddock.

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    1. Thank you, he's even "better-er" tonight, ha. He's an old man but he's a fighter for sure. And yep the grass was indeed greener for her.

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  7. I think you deserve a cowboy hat! Carry a lasso just in case. Maybe you should wear cowboy boots just in case. "I told you I saw a cow!"

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    1. Ha, 2nd Man would think I lost my mind! I DO have boots of course (every Texas has one pair at least) and I have my Great Grandfathers straw hat but it's a bit small for me.

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  8. There is an up-side to the cow passing through. If he leaves you with some 'meadow muffins' you won't have to by any garden fertilizer! :-)

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    1. We do have some "muffins" scattered around I was thinking of gathering them up with a shovel and the garden cart.

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    2. See, gardeners are optimistic. When the world gives us poop we just smile and say "Yay! Free Fertilizer!"

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    3. HA!!!!!!!!! That's almost better than when life hands you lemons..... ;-)

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  9. Glad to hear that Brisbane is better. And of course you are a cowboy. Occasionally. When required.

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    1. Thank you. And I like that. The "occasional cowboy". I can do that. :-).

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  10. YAYZ for brisbane! nice cow; git 'long home, lil moo!

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    1. Yep he's much better tonight, thank you!! I think we said a few "GO ON GIT's"....

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  11. I read that cows love Lantana. (ha)

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    1. Ha, that made me laugh. That damn cow better STAY AWAY FROM MY LANTANA! ;-)

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  12. Good news on Brisbane hope he is feeling better.
    Cowboys work with cows, you did, therefore you are, and cowboy hats are waaaay cool for shading your face for chores in hot weather..."you can leave your hat on "
    Save the cow pats and mix with stinging nettles and make great fertilizer 'tea'recipe easy to find on the net.

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    1. Thanks!! I might just have to work on a cowboy hat. I never thought about the shade factor. And fertilizer tea sounds like a plan for the garden, thanks.

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  13. Sooo glad that Brisbane is doing well now.

    From Ghost Cows to Real Cows to Real-Close Real-Cow Encounters. Then herding a cow with taps on her rump and cowboy sounds - yep, you’re now a Cowboy. You’ve earned yourself that hat!

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    1. Aww, thanks, he is laying here on the couch just as happy as can be. We're happy too.

      Another vote for the hat. I'll have to tell 2nd Man I need a hat!!! :-)

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  14. Great that Brisbane is feeling much better and his innards are behaving again. My late Zebby-Cat had digestive problems too in his later years. We don't have cowboys here in New Zealand. If you farm dairy cows then you're a "Cow Cockie". All the cow and sheep moving is done using dogs. In some country they may ride horses but ropes aren't used. Sending care to you all, Michelle in Wellington,NZ

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    1. Thank you yep, today is pretty much all normal.

      A cow cockie? That's kind of exotic sounding. Fascinating thank you! And thanks for the kind words!!

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  15. Ha ha ha ha...you ARE a cowboy, hands down. lol. I would have had a start too running into a cow in my own yard. I love that ghost cow photo and what a great thing to have, that trail cam. I'm thinking of getting one for us as a gift from "Santa"...found some for about $100. I think Alex would be totally spying on neighbours all the time lol...I'm glad to hear that your Brisbane is okay. Aging sucks for all of us huh?

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    1. Well I don't know if I'd got THAT far but thanks.

      Oh we are loving the trail cams. More pics and vids coming soon. Shhh, we have deer! We got a great deal on them on Amazon Prime Day. I'd look on Black Friday (or I guess now they have "cyber Monday" after Thanksgiving? *US Thanksgiving, maybe y'all don't have the same deals but I bet around the holidays there will be some good deals for sure. It's neat to see what's roaming around. A lot of pics of nothing sometimes (I think a bug flying too close can set it off). But it's fun.

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  16. 1st Man,

    Good to hear Brisbane is doing better!!!
    Don't you just love having the critter camera's setup on your property?
    Cows are very smart critters, they don't forget where there's a good place to have a snack :-)

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