A Very Scarey Story

A little late for Halloween but whatever.

As we sat warm and cozy cuddled on the couch playing with our phones and computers my loving husband turned to me and asked, with horror in his eyes if I wanted to hear a scarey story. I sat for a moment thinking about whether or not I did. Finally I said sure tell me. He looked back down at the screen of his phone and began to recite.

Monday- high 28 low 3 freezing drizzle and snow, Tuesday- high 14 low -4, Wednesday- high 14 low -8

I wanted to clap my hands over my ears to block out the shear terror of it but it would make no difference. So I sat frozen in shock and horror as it went on for the entire week. Fortunately this was on Friday and the forecast for the weekend was mid sixties. The weekend stretched ahead of us entirely too short a time to get everything prepared for the deep freeze.

There were cows to bring home, electric fence to put up and heaters to turn on in the waterers. Friday the guys ran around putting in steel posts. We started early Saturday putting up the fence. The Goblin Child rode on the four-wheeler with her father running the wire. I, mounted on my own trusty four-wheeler went around putting insulators on the posts.

The child and I absconded our duties long enough to go to music class then returned in time for lunch and to get in on bringing the cattle home. All four of us, including Daisy of course, hopped on a four-wheeler and headed after the cattle. At the gate to the pasture I got off to wait and make sure they turned the proper direction once they hit the road. I was so glad I did when my people came out on the four-wheeler with the child grinning ear to ear, pointing and telling me cows! cows!

At the highway the other helpers waited to stop traffic and help get past the houses with big unfenced yards on both sides. My mother-in-law was dropped off to hold one entire yard by herself while my sister-in-law and Cowboy Bill parked on the big road. The cattle turned north into the CRP and I jumped off in the road with the child while they raced after the herd. They steered the herd back to the road only to have them head south right past the mother-in-law into the yard. My cow chasing husband went to retrieve them and I stood in the road holding the child and the road to they didn’t head back east. The father-in-law came and parked next to us. When I told him that we could hold the road if he wanted to go help get them out of the yard he declined so off the child and I went on foot to help clear the neighbors yard of cattle.

As we got around them they finally began to flee the yard. The leaders ran onto the road and headed east right past the father-in-law as he sat, possibly talking on the phone. My hard driving husband got around them and turned them back. With the mother-in-law and me both in the yard we were able to keep them out and the finally crossed the highway. The rest of the ride home was a breeze and it was decided that we would go after another bunch.

By now the child was fast asleep on her fathers arm as he tried to drive. We moved her to the pickup where she immediately awoke but declined to come back to the four-wheeler. She stayed there for the rest of the day being very helpful I’m sure as she bounced up and down in the seat and climbed from lap to lap.

On the poor over worked four-wheeler my cow hating husband and I raced back and fourth along the line of cattle trying to keep them on the road as they strung out for what seemed like miles with the leaders racing ahead and the tail end barely moving as the pickups prodded them down the road. I wished desperately for my horse as we took turns jumping off the four-wheeler and running along side the cattle trying to keep them out of the wheat fields. We raced ahead of the bunch to block the side roads at intersections and get gates closed. Then ran back to get them back out of the field they had immediately dove into when we left. One more four-wheeler, or even better a horse, would have been a great help. Just one to watch both sides plus all the other stuff was nearly impossible. By the end of the day I had no trouble remembering that I was pregnant. My sister-in-law even started leaping out of the pickup and running down the side of the rather rotten bunch of cattle to turn them back onto the track with my mother-in-law reaching across from the passenger side to drive. But at last the reluctant herd reached their own pasture where they belonged.

The next day it was back to fencing again. And today it snows. The predictions of horror are here. There will be more cattle to get but they will wait for another day, if history holds true for a much colder day. One much like today.