In three pastures at once

I had cattle in three pastures this afternoon. Heifer #3 naturally slipped through the fence to get into the north pasture. No surprise there. The main herd was in the SE corner of the middle pasture. Two cattle were in the south pasture having just come from the river.

#3 was going along the fence trying to figure out how to get back into the middle pasture to join the herd. It must have been down by the river as I seen the fence wire was stretched under the apple tree.

I got the two cattle back into the middle pasture by the time #3 arrived. It was a hassle as the second one of the cattle preferred to stand there and chew its cud. Naturally a few of the herd wanted to go into the south pasture and I had to juggle shooing them away with enticing the two from the south pasture.

Once everyone was in the middle pasture I realized one was missing. I counted and recounted and kept coming up one short. Down to the river I went and as I got there here came #23 from the peninsula and crossing the river to the south pasture. Back I went to the gate and played the "shoo and entice" dance until #23 joined the herd.

*sigh*

I fixed the stretched fence; added more baling twine to sections of the fence to try to prevent #3 from crossing the fence; and added some boards to the fence down by the river.

That's how I spent my afternoon.

Before I can let the cattle into the hayfield, as the hayfield has plenty of alfalfa and alfalfa is rich and cattle can overeat it bloat up and die, I need to have the cattle lick on bloat blocks about a week before they are let into the hayfield. Wednesday will be a week. So I have a few more days to go. The cattle already licked up one of the bloat blocks and I added a new one today.

After a bicycle ride to run some errands to get stuff I had an hour in the evening to work more on dismantling the loading corral fence. I wish I had a camera to have before and after photos but my camera is still drying out and I can't find my old cheap digital camera from last year.

Oh yeah, and the neighbor whose son and his family moved in with them after the son lost his house in the contractor swindle, they appear to be building a garage. Another building to look at. Bah.