So a slow day all around. That is, until...
I still had the cattle in the north pasture. The grass was generally eaten down but there were still areas of taller grass. The cattle have their preferences - they seem to want to eat their desert before their vegetables. I decided to keep them in the north pasture another day. Besides I wanted their first day in the new (middle) pasture be a day where I can check on them to see how they adjusted. This rain soaked day was not one of those days.
Linda had invited me to attend a workshop held by the Flathead Neighborhood Network to explore neighborhood planning. The workshop started at 6 pm downtown. Sometime after 5 pm it had stopped raining and I looked out to check on the cattle. The herd was along the north/middle fence line.
"Wait... is that one of them in the middle pasture along the fence?!"
Sure enough one heifer was in the middle pasture. Yesterday I had closed the west gate near the river (as mentioned in my previous post). What I forgot to do is close the working gate on the east side. To prevent this heifer from going through that gate and into the south pasture, I ran to close the gate. I cut across the hayfield as it was the shortest distance. Through the tall grass. Through the rain soaked tall grass. Wet, wet, wet.
I found that while this gate was intact it was missing a wire loop to hold the gate post to the fence post. *argh!* Another run through the tall wet hayfield grass to get some wire.
Rather than return immediately to closing the gate I decided to go along the north/middle fence to see how the heifer got through the fence. She was a black heifer. Let's see the ear tag. One of my heifers, and not one of Dan's. I expected to see either tag 30 or tag 40 as those are my adventurous heifers. I was surprised to see tag 20. Another trouble maker!
I found a break in the top wire of the three strand fence. A small break near where heifer 30 broke it before. I walked the rest of the fence to see if there was another break. Nope.
By now the whole herd gathered and excitedly followed me as I walked the fence line. Heifer 20 also followed on her side of the fence. After I turned to return to fixing the break, the herd also turned to follow.
As I returned along the fence to the break I saw one of my conibear traps had just caught a gopher that came up to see what the commotion was all about. The gopher was caught in the middle of its body, couldn't get out and would soon expire. I had more pressing matters so I left it be. If you read my earlier post about my conibear traps, the gopher, and the eagle you know how this story turned out!
I attempted to wire the break shut but had the whole herd to "help" me. As heifer 20 was nearby I decided to go to the gate and open it to see if I could get heifer 20 back into the north pasture. The whole herd followed me to the gate. Hmm... this won't work.
The herd was in a semi-circle near the gate so I shoo'd the east half of the circle away then opened the gate from the east and out into the north pasture. As the gate is merely strands of barb wire attached to wooden posts, the gate would collapse to the ground if not wired shut or held upright by me.
"Come on number 20. Let's rejoin the herd. Here, I have the gate open for you. Come 'on...!"
Heifer 20 walked to the gate opening and stopped. She looked at the herd looking back at her. She turned and looked back at the tall grass in the middle pasture. She looked back at the herd and the short grass in the north pasture. Then back again at the middle pasture. Then she looked at me.
I was tying not to sound urgent as I coaxed her to come back into the north pasture. Holding the gate I moved back slightly as she looked at me. Maybe I am too close.
I suddenly heard the sound of hooves and Dan's whiteface black steer/heifer(?) came thundering from behind me. Before I could close the gate it ran through and into the middle pasture. *augh* I was able to close the gate to head off the other cattle that were about to join Dan's. Instead of making things better I made them worse. One... now two!
With Dan's steer/heifer running through the gate my heifer backed up into the middle pasture. No amount of encouragement from me would entice my heifer back to the gate. *argh*
I closed the gate completely to prevent the herd from entering the middle pasture. I tried to herd the two cattle near the gate but Dan's animal was all excited and in no mood to return to the north pasture. Every time I got the two close to the gate Dan's animal would turn and bolt away. Man, it is fast!
As they wouldn't stay near the gate and I had no way to leave the gate open to chase them through the gate - and my pants, shoes and socks were soaked from the tall wet grass - I decided to call it quits. I planned on letting the cattle into the middle pasture soon anyway. And with two cattle together it would be less likely one would be lonely and do something drastic or stupid to rejoin the herd in the north pasture. And the workshop must have started by now.
The herd stood at the gate and a number of them moo'd loudly at the two. With me away from them the two kinda came near the gate, Mine did and looked sympathetically at the herd. Dan's briefly came near then walked away and turned his/her back on the herd when they moo'd at her. "If you're not going to join me in the middle pasture, then the heck with you!"
I went and quickly wired the north/middle fence break shut. Then I went to the middle/south gate, made a wire loop and then closed the gate. I came partway across the pasture but Dan's steer/heifer was on edge and moved away from the gate in a direction away from me. "Fine! Stay in this pasture over night! See if I care!"
Then it was back home to change out of my soaking wet clothes. And to wash off some of the blood from my right hand. The north/middle pasture gate has barb wire for one of the loops holding the gate closed. Why? I don't know. Just another thing for me to change someday when I have time and remember to do so.
I arrived at the workshop just as the open house was closing down and the panel was getting ready to present. I didn't get a chance to say "Hi!" to Linda before I had to grab a seat.
Before I sat down I did see Debbie, the 40ish(?) daughter of the leader of last year's Two Rivers group that got the area around me rezoned. I am not part of that group. I was in the group trying to stop or modify that plan. Debbie was standing by herself as she was not part of any Neighborhood group. When she saw me she quickly turned and looked at the wall, apparently so I would not notice her. While everyone else found a chair to sit on, she stood by a table at the back of the room. Later she stood next to the door. I guess in order to make her escape in case some presenter referenced her or her group.
Several people on the panel spoke about their efforts to form a neighborhood plan for their area of the County and then get their plan attached to the County's Growth Policy. Then the director of the Montana Smart Growth Coalition unveiled a new study that illustrates what the Flathead Valley will look like in 2015 and 2025. The 2025 map of western Montana elicited gasps from the crowd as the map's coloring showed Flathead Valley as being fairly densely populated in 20 years.
It was a good presentation. The county's planning director was in attendance in the audience, and although he is not a member of the Flathead Neighborhood Network, he got up on stage to make a few comments about the presentations and also to take a few questions from the audience.
After the workshop was over I went over to Linda's Helena Flats Neighborhood table to say "Hi". I had met Linda once before briefly last December at a County Commissioner's meeting where we were both opposed to a new subdivision being planned a short distance north of my place. For some reason I remembered Linda as wearing glasses. Tonight - no glasses. "Linda...?"
Then it was back home for a late supper. Blogger was completely down to fix their problems. Early to bed for me.
Tomorrow... the story of the missing middle pasture heifer.
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