When it rains it pours, seriously...and then some!

I guess I could have put this in "Rant", but it's not really a rant, it's more of a 'day in the life' post. (though parts of it SUCK!)

Got up this morning around 4:45am (late for me). Sun was just cracking the horizon. Nice and cool outside (about 68F)...YAY!! Far better than the upper 80's in the morning (it's been smokin' hot here lately). After I shake the sleep off I'm thinking of having a nice cup of coffee on the porch, so I set up to make some nice fresh ground coffee. In the process I'm looking out the kitchen window (as I often do) for the cows. As the sun sheds its light, I see a small animal. HOLY COW!! it's a CALF!!!

Now, I won't bore you with how hard this calving season has been, but it's been hard. To see a baby calf in the pasture at daylight was wonderful!!

The calf must have been born minutes before because it was still getting it's legs. (Little calves can walk within an hour, but they're pretty unsteady until 4-5 hours). Yay...babies!!

Then the day started!

Within an hour 'baby' was separated from 'mom' by a fence. Don't know how it happened, but it was major distress. Baby was in one pasture, and momma was in another, separated by a barbed wire fence. Baby is sooo young it doesn't understand fenced and is raking itself up and down the fence, next to momma who is panicking. Great!! (Not)

So the wife get's mad at me for going in the pasture with our herd bull, but it's the only way. He leaves me alone and I go hiking up to baby (in the furthest corner of the high pasture). I get up there and baby springs up and darts out of the fence to a wide open 1,700 pasture to our south. Great (not). No worries though; baby will stay with momma across the fence, so we've got time.

So I head up to our high pasture thinking we'll head baby up to the corner and through the corner gate we have in our high pasture. BOOM!...WRONG!! When I finally get up there I see our bull, Jack, has torn down about 90' feet of fence and it's just laying on the ground! Great! (not) Holy crap, I can't bring these cows inside this pasture with the fence down into our next door rancher's pasture, because they'll just escape into the other pasture...so now I have to fix fence...in a hurry!

Of course, the sun came out at that exact same moment, and the nice cool morning turned into a FLAMING HOT and HUMID morning by the time I got up there with my fencing tools (which is a trailer behind my ATV, complete with wire, stretchers, chains, come alongs and numerous fencing tools and things).

I enlisted my wife, who was innocently mowing a pasture with one of the tractors, and we go up there. I get the #3 wire tight, have the splicing sleeves on...everything looks good...and snap the fence wire crimping the sleeves! The wife is pissed because it's HOT! All over again!

Fixing fence is not easy, and making a mistake is worse. I tried to crimp too many crimps, and broke the wire. Worse, I tried to pull the wire too tight and snapped the wire, which sent speeding, snapping and coiling barbed wire flying for 75' feet around us (DUCK!!!)

We got the fence fixed (our stupid neighbors watching through their binoculars. They don't know Jack S#, city people...but they LOVE to have our cows on their property, for the tax deduction...as long as WE build the fence!!) Anyway...

We get the fence rebuilt. And, it's clear some of the "real" ranch hands from the adjoining property have attempted to fix 'some' of the fence. Okay, if the fence is "first" on your property,, then you own it. That's the rules. Okay...even though we didn't build the fence, because it's our fence then it ours to maintain! Got it! I grew up here, I know fence and that's just how it is.

I think I should stop here and make a "Part II" of this story.

So, if you're interested...stay tuned, because it does get better!

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk


I arose from my slumber @ 10.

After a late brunch I spent the afternoon poking Gunther (my faithful manservant) with a sharp stick as he did lawn work.

Then I drank more and napped.


So my day way "almost" like yours.

We want to know that the calf is ok!

a reply to: visitedbythem

Calf is absolutely GOLDEN!!

Healthy little calf!! Well marked and really good! Up and jumping around, like a little calf should!!!

Suckling on Momma...and that's the biggest thing we need to see!

Momma' is happy to dump GALLONS of milk down that little calf, she wants rid of the milk, and she's bursting with milk! Her udders are just bursting...and he's happy!!

I slept till eight this morning, went downstairs and fed the cats, made coffee, and made breakfast. Darn, day went to crap after that, we used up the bacon and the cat wants bacon all the time, had to go shopping and then came home all worn out. Took a nap, well actually fell asleep with the cat on my chest while playing solitaire on the computer. I woke up with a sore neck. It went away after I layed on the bed and slept for an hour.

Rough day. Made chicken soup after that and another pot of coffee. Even washed dishes twice.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

I don't have much to add other than I'm greatful you still embody something that is being lost.

I envy what you have sir, and furthor more I'm appreciative someone is doing it.

If I'm ever in Colorado, I'll be sure to pm you if you need an extra hand.... I'll invoice you to be paid in beverages of sorts😉

All joking (barely joking) aside... I love your threads man. It's therapeutic almost, I'll be out in the countryside myself tomorrow, can't wait.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Good story. So what happens next? after the fence gets fixed?

I'm glad the calf and Momma have been reunited! What ever happened to the baby that was to be called Night Star?

a reply to: Night Star

Well, that one hasn't been born yet. That would be #232's calf.

The calf this morning was from a different momma. We're still waiting on #232's calf.

Sorry I don't have a better explanation, BUT...we did have big storm last night and that yielded one calf, and we had a MAJOR storm tonight (and a tornado, but it didn't hit us)...so maybe #232's calf will be born tonight or in the morning. Storms seem to bring the calves, and I've never understood why. Predator protection maybe???

a reply to: Lr103

After the fence got fixed, we had to regroup the cattle. Turns out the calf jumped through the fence about 400 yards from where I had the gate open and re-joined with Momma. I was happy, but still had to fix the rest of the fence to keep Jack, our bull, inside the fences.

It sucked, and it was HOT (and humid, which makes it all worse).

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Ok. Maybe you can share a pic when it's born. Make sure to PM me if I miss announcement of his or her birth.

FCD keep the stories coming! I enjoy your writing.