Happy Cows, Happy life
Early one morning, our dogs started barking enough that it woke me up from a dead sleep. We are used to them barking at night and for the most part we’ve gotten used to it. They are farm dogs, and love to protect everyone and everything from anything that can be considered dangerous, or even unfamiliar. However, this time I could tell something was really wrong by the way they were barking. About that time, I got a text from my father-in-law letting me know that some cows were around his RV and not at all where they were supposed to be. When you live as far out in the country as we do, you just know this kind of thing is going to happen eventually. After all, cows are only behind a fence as a courtesy to the farmer, but if they see a hole in the fence, no matter how small, they just have to see if they can fit through it. And of course, where one cow goes, they all go. Never mind if they can actually fit or not. That’s science and they never studied science.
So I got up and went to see what in the world was going on with the cows. As it happened, they weren’t my cows, which was a relief, but now that meant I had to put someone else’s cows back where they belong. These cows, though, had other plans. They weren’t about to go back to their old place and let me know by employing several different tactics to exhaust me into letting them stay where they were. First, they tried circling back so I would have to step back and start over. Then they tried splitting into two herds with each going in different directions. This continued for some time until I finally just gave up and herded them in a different direction altogether. I had my wife open a gate to one of our pastures that has a more secure fence around it and then got her to help me herd them there. They went, of course, because they weren’t sure where I was taking them
and once they saw the open gate they naturally wanted to see what was on the other side.
It wasn’t until they were almost in that I noticed that one of the calves in the group was actually mine! I have no idea how he got out of his pasture and mixed into this group, but now I had to figure out how to get him back. Since we were tired and frustrated, we decided to hold off getting him out and just left him there for the time being. Later that day I went to check on the cows and found them happily grazing toward the back of the pasture. All except for my little calf who was at the gate begging to be let out! Apparently, he didn’t like the new herd after all and was anxious to get back to where he belonged. So I opened the gate and away he went. I still had to guide him since he hadn’t been in that part of the farm before, but once he figured out where he wanted to go I had a hard time keeping up.
It was a happy reunion with the other calves when he got back with his friends and in no time at all they were all happily grazing together again in their own pasture. After all, as we all know, grazing with friends and family is always the happiest of times.
For me, there is something special about the Farmers Markets. We all become such good friends with each other and the patrons that it’s a let down when someone can’t make it. So come join our herd at the markets and make new friends while getting some tasty, locally grown produce to enjoy!
Laney Walker Farmers Market - 1st Friday of every month, 4:30-7:00pm at 850 Laney Walker Blvd., Augusta, GA
Veggie Park Farmers Market - Every Thursday until November, 3:30-7:00pm at 631 Chafee Ave., Augusta, GA
A Farmers Market for Alex - The last Friday of every month, 11:00am-2:00pm at 451 E. Hill St., Thomson, GA