The cows couldn't get inside the loading corral but some calves could. Four calves. Once they squeezed inside the calves couldn't get back out. They ate all the grass in the half of the loading corral ramp area they could access as the grey gate was closed dividing the ramp in two.
One calf was reaching under the fence to reach the grass in the loading corral. As I took the photo the calf pulled her head out from under the fence.
They must have been in there for a while as they were hungry for their mother's milk once I let them out. And several calves were slightly hoarse.
The nails had come out with the boards. I had to use a sledgehammer to pound the nails and panel back on to the railroad tie as a hammer wasn't strong enough to do the job.
Then I rode my bicycle uptown to pick up my prescription refills. Or I tried to. I was almost two and a half miles from home when I heard a "Tic. tic. tic." sound from the back of my bicycle. When I stopped I found a fence staple in my tire. Half of the staple was in my tire and the other half hit my bicycle frame as the wheel went around. I walked home. What are the odds of running over a fence staple and having it stick in your tire?!
It took two tries to fix my bicycle tube. The first hole was easy to find. When I re-aired my tire I found two other small holes on the opposite side (diameter) of the tube where the staple must have pressed against the tube against the wheel rim.
It was mid afternoon before my tire was fixed and I was able to ride to get my prescription re-fills.
Donna caught a Columbia ground squirrel in a conibear trap I had lent her.
In the evening I rode down to release the dead ground squirrel from the trap and reset the trap so she can catch another ground squirrel.
When I got home the cattle were mooing again. Because the cows push the heifers aside when they eat hay I feed the cows in the extended corral and the heifers in a wooden feeder inside the main corral and close the gate between them. A few hours later when everyone ate their fill I open the gate. The cows were mooing because once the heifers finished eating their hay two of the heifers had pushed another loading corral ramp panel open. This time it was a back panel which allowed the heifers to get inside the back of the loading corral ramp. One of the heifers was Maria's heifer - of course. The two heifers were furiously eating grass and the cows outside the corral were gathered at the fence mooing as they were furious the heifers were eating grass. I chased the heifers out and with a sledgehammer pounded the panel back into place against the railroad tie. I added a few more large long nails for good measure. The loading corral fence is built more to keep the cattle in and not as strong to keep them out.
Dang. These cattle really want to eat grass, even when their bellies are full of hay. I have a week or two before the grass is tall enough to let the cattle out on it. The battle will continue.
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