Mailbox and cattle

Tuesday morning I found my mailbox barely hanging on its post. It appears that during the night someone pulled it mostly off the post as the mailbox was hanging by one bent nail. I guess the person decided to leave it that way rather that removing the mailbox completely.

I believe someone pulled the mailbox off as I had put a few small posts next to the mailbox to deter people driving along and bashing my mailbox with a baseball bat.

So I spent Tuesday morning fixing my mailbox. I added a board on each side of the mailbox as an extra attachment of the mailbox to the post. I won't say this will stop all future attempts on my mailbox, but it sure will make it difficult to pull it off again.


The cattle are doing well. Tuesday they had a case of the munchies as I ended up feeding them more hay than usual throughout the day. Wednesday morning they either satisfied their hunger else they are getting picky and only want new 'fresh' hay as they still had plenty of hay in their feeder. I did find another one of the feeder's floor supporting boards was partially off and a couple floor boards also were off. I made a temporary fix for now.

Heifer 449 still puts her front legs in the feeder while she eats. And now "Pink" had started taking after 449 as she was doing the same this morning. Tuesday night it was a test of wills between 449 and I. Every time I turned my back she would put her legs in the feeder. So I stood there and watched her. Every so often she would lift her head out of the hay and look above the others to see if I left. When she saw I was still there I could see her chew the hay more forcefully as she stared at me. Not happy with me.

I had also put some hay in the small feeder next to the barn and eventually she went over there. But when I left she quickly went back to the big feeder and did you know what. Eventually I left as it was cold and dreary outside and the wind had a bite. I imagine she went back to her favored way of eating.

I am still settling on a name for her. I initially thought of "Stilts" but didn't care for it. Then I thought of "Goldie" because:

• Her id of 449 makes me think of the '49ers' from the California gold rush of 1849,
• Her id tag is colored yellow,
• Her determination/stubbornness makes me think of a stereotypical California gold rush dance hall girl - and aren't they usually called "Goldie"?

But Tuesday night I noticed she had a small notch in her non tagged ear and I am thinking of calling her "Notch". "Goldie" would be too nice of a name for a heifer who looks like she may be trouble this year.

Wednesday morning after I fixed the feeder I stood there a while. The cattle weren't hungry and were more curious in me. I let them get more used to me and a number crowded around me to sniff me and my clothes. A few tugged on my coat or pants in an effort to taste me and one licked my right hand. It is also a way for me to see which cattle are bold and which are shy. Naturally "Notch" was one of the ones who came up to check me out.