What a day! And not in a good way. Other than eating breakfast and lunch I was on my feet roughly from 8 am to after 10 pm. Supper tonight was a bowl of popcorn and some chips.
The County came and started paving at 8 am. By the time I got to the road they were at my driveway and paving. When they paved the west lane last week I explained to them that the road in front of my driveway at the bend was 6 inches narrower than the rest of the road. I had thought (hoped) that they would remember and today when they paved the east lane they would make the road a touch wider in front of my driveway. I don't think they did.
My mailbox is across from the road and it still has the hole where they had bladed the grass away from the side of the old pavement. The mail lady "dented" (or 'smooshed') the edge of the road when later she delivered my mail and had to drive off the road with her right tires in order to reach my mailbox.
Then I was off to spray weeds before the afternoon breeze kicked in. I wasn't done with the first tank of spray when I saw Street's bull and cattle across the river with the bull calling for my cattle. I went closer to the river to watch the interaction between the groups. Then I noticed one of 'my' cattle (steer #3) was in the north pasture and not in the middle pasture. What?!
Last week #3 had slipped through the fence and gotten into the hayfield briefly until I herded him through the gate back into the middle pasture. I had found and fixed the area he had slipped through the fence. He knew where he had gotten through the fence as he tried to get through that spot as I herded him to the gate.
The only gate between the north and middle pastures is at the east end of the pasture and we were at the west end. With effort and time and patience I herded # 3 to the gate. The rest of the herd (10 of them) followed in the middle pasture along the fence. So at the gate I had to watch they didn't get into the north pasture while I held the gate for #3 to enter the middle pasture.
But he wouldn't. He stood along the fence outside the gate. And stood. Sniffed a few of the other cattle through then fence or chewed his cud. My neighbor Debbie saw my troubles and came over to help. All she had to do was walk towards #3 and then he walked through the gate.
We chatted a bit and I showed and explained a few varieties of weeds. I also found out Debbie's black heifer apparently is a lesbian as she kept sniffing and licking the Hereford heifer's private parts. Debbie says she does that a lot. Then I finished my tank of herbicide.
When I got home I had a message from Dan. He had been there about an hour earlier and hadn't seen me in the pasture, nor I him as he later said he came out just beyond the corral. Strange.
The other odd thing is he claimed he saw the herd and counted 16 or 17 of them. Impossible as the herd was 11 all morning and part of the afternoon when one of the missing 10 came running back to the herd. Lots of bellowing and greeting and sniffing by the returnee and the herd.
I sprayed some more and delayed lunch as the wind had not come up. Then when I was about done with another tank of herbicide the herd finished their siesta and before long #3 was in the north pasture again.
I was trying to herd him back to the gate and he was having none of it. As I herded him over and over a pickup drove into my pasture towards me. What? It was my neighbor's son Kerry, his son, and his father-in-law. Earlier I had told his parents that they could fish the deep holes and bends in the river. I didn't say they could drive my pasture. People can't get out of their vehicle and walk these days.
Kerry helped me herd #3 and against the fence #3 turned and walked through the barb wire strands to rejoin the herd now gathered on the other side of the fence. #3 broke a fence post in the process of squeezing through the fence. *sigh*
I showed them places along the river with the deeper holes. They had to park the pickup and walk to get to them. They were fly fishing and I watched them as they snapped the line back and forth multiple times before tossing the hook into the water.
After watching and chatting for a while I returned home as I was starving. It wasn't long before they came back. The father-in-law had broken the tip of his fishing pole while casting.
I then decided add some wire to my north/middle fence. This fence is only a three strand fence which is why #3 could slip through it. I don't have time now to redo the fence to add a forth strand so I added barb wire between some of the looser and wider sections between the fence posts so I connected the three strands of wire to one another to eliminate the ability of #3 to stretch and through the fence.
Now that she has taught herself how to do this she will continue to do it. I have seen how she does it. She finds a section, puts her head through, and with her neck lifts the top strand then steps through the fence if she can lift the top strand high enough. She can't do it with every section, but there are plenty of sections she can.
As I wired a few sections she suddenly was in the north pasture again a short distance from where I was working. This time she had broken the top wire when she stretched it. I was able to quickly encourage her to returned to the middle pasture and I fixed the fence.
As I worked on adding wire to more sections #23 was straining against the fence to eat as much as he could in the north pasture. I was afraid the old wire would break and chased him away from the fence. Multiple times. *argh!*
#3 was still eying the fence and I had to chase him away a few times too. I ended up encouraging the whole herd to move on. I finished the wiring patch job and went home to make and eat lunch.
After lunch the wind was still slight so I sprayed another tank of herbicide. During this time the rest of the herd came and joined the twelve for their late afternoon siesta. Or so I had thought.
I had reached the place where I had sprayed the north pasture from the west. I had sprayed from the east past the trees and from the west past the trees and now I was working on the large open area between them. I had sprayed the southern half of the open area. I could see the "dead zone" line where I had stopped spraying from the west last week.
Once I finished this forth or fifth tank of herbicide I was done for the day. I was tired and my legs were tired.
After a break I checked my gopher and pocket gopher traps. It was then I saw #3 in the north pasture again. Again I herded him. The rest of the herd followed on the other side of the fence. #3 couldn't find a way through the fence. He tried a number of spots but they were too tight for him to fit through. Or maybe it was the pressure by me that caused him to fail.
I continued to herd him and he was getting annoyed. A few times he stopped and faced me putting his head down. I was carrying my shovel from setting gopher traps so he didn't intimidate me.
Eventually he ran to the north fence where Jim and Debbie had their two heifers. Those two heifers of course were following the action and were agitated. This is a four to five strand fence and tighter wire and #3 couldn't get through though I kept him moving so he couldn't take time to try to figure how to get through the fence. He was doing lots of sideways walking as I herded him and was in an agitated mood.
Nearer the east end I got #3 back to the middle fence and herd and then got him closer to the gate. I opened the gate and he stood there and wouldn't go through it. As the herd was not to the gate I dropped it and worked on herding #3. A few times I had to stop and head off one of the Charolais steers who were trying to get into the north pasture. As usual the herd wanted to join the one instead of the one wanting to rejoin the herd.
Jim came over to help me but I got #3 into the middle pasture before he could arrive. *whew*
Then I noticed one Hereford heifer fighting with a black heifer and a small black steer (#78). The two black cattle were ganging up on her. They kept at it far longer than I have seen cattle fight. The two would push the Hereford around. One head to head or neck to neck with the other either ramming her from the side or in the rear end.
I went over and broke it up. This was not easy to do and they were trying to ignore me and keep fighting. Jim commented he wouldn't get in the middle of the herd and in the middle of a fight. I had my shovel in hand. Then I found the Hereford was not the victim as after breaking up the group she searched for #78 and starting fighting again and then the other black one joined in again.
Around and around they went with the other cattle moving out of their way.
I let them be hoping they would resolve their difference. On and on they fought. Well a couple of females were involved. I have noticed in the past that the heifers will fight long and dirtier than the steers do. And this trio was seriously fighting.
Eventually they took a break as they were exhausted, sweating and panting. What is up with these three cattle?!
Then I counted the herd and noticed I was missing one of the two Herefords.
Oh great... as if this day hasn't been a mess already.
Cattle stick together and almost never do you find one alone. I called Dan to let him know one is missing, one goes through fences, and three are fighting and fighting non-stop.
It was almost 9:30 pm when I finished talking with Dan. I got shorts and shoes and went to look for the missing Hereford. The other Hereford and #78 were back fighting again while the rest of the herd was grazing. Oh, for Heaven's sake! Stop it already!
Still only 20 cattle so I crossed the river to the peninsula and searched. It was getting dark and I wandered around the cattle trails checking the boundary and the fence and some places along the river. No sign of the missing Hereford. It was getting darker and harder to see. I ran into the old barb wire fence several times and cut my left shin in three places.
After a while I could hear Street's cattle as they came down off the ridge. In the darkness I could vaguely see shapes move in the area where I heard the cattle move through the grass as they passed some distance from the fence.
I gave up for the night. Tomorrow morning the search continues. I wonder if the craziness will continue?
Man, this has been a trying day.
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