Another disaster

Some day I won't have a disaster and crisis....

I almost made it through the day without another crisis.   The irrigation was going fine.  In the evening I shut the pump off and moved the pipes, then restarted the pump.  While I did have to tighten the packing again to get the pump to pump water, the pump did start to pump water.

When I went to turn off the irrigation pump the bull was coming from the weed hay area.  Then I heard a calf crying.  I found a calf inside the corral panels and in the weed hay.  While the bull was in the south pasture near the irrigation shed, the cattle were in the middle pasture north of the shed.

I opened the corral panel and the calf ran out and was quickly gone crying for her mother.  No ear tag which I believe is Maria's calf -- unless another calf lost his or her ear tag.  By the time I left the corral panels a few minutes later the calf was gone.  Instead of going to the far end of the pasture and the gate I think the calf went through the old three strand barb wire fence as that was the shortest distance to her mother.  I don't know how long the calf was in the corral panels but I do think I may have briefly and faintly heard a cow or calf mooing earlier in the day.

The corral panels were still in place.  None of the fence posts were pulled out of the ground.  All panels were still wired to the posts.  One panel was bent way up from the bottom.  Not just the bottom rung was bent up, but the bottom two rungs were bent up to the third rung.  It wasn't high enough for the cattle to get underneath but I think the calf crawled under the bent panel to get inside.  I jumped on the bent rungs and bent them back down.  Much more of this and the bottom rungs will break and this corral panel will be completely ruined.

My disaster came when I went back to restart the irrigation pump.  The cattle were in the middle pasture eating but one calf walked into the south pasture looking and mooing for its mother.  I then saw a cow laying under a tree near the south pasture south fence.  The calf went to the cow.  After I started the pump I seen the calf leave and go back to the middle pasture.  A cow alone is strange.  Something may be wrong.  I walked over and the cow stood up.  When she tried to walk I seen she had trouble walking.  Something is wrong with her back left leg.  Since she was away from the herd she didn't want me to be near her.  I didn't want to "push" her as she was injured.  It was after 9 pm and it would be getting dark soon.  Tomorrow I will check her out.  Other than trouble walking she didn't seem to be in distress.  I think I will have to get her in the corral to limit her walking.  And to see what her injury is.

As soon as I fix one problem another one happens.  I can't catch a break.