Don’t Play with The Cows.

This winter, we were happy to see we finally got some new neighbors. However, the other day, I happened to come in from working outside, made some coffee and had just sat down at the table to drink it, when I saw a cow. The slider in front of our dining room looks out at the driveway and the cow pasture. Erik and I always joked that the cows appeared to always be out since the wires on their fence were hard to see from a distance.

So I sat watching her for a minute, totally convinced I was mistaken. The cow just LOOKED like she was out . . . until I saw her cross the driveway!

I burst out the door yelling at Erik to help me (he was transfixed with his RC car that he was putting together, and only momentarily looked up to watch the chase through the windows).

I could see the other cow was still in their pasture. The brown and white cow, “Ginger” is very attached to her half-sister “Cookie”. She doesn’t roam too far from her. As long as Cookie stayed in the pasture, I could easily convince Ginger to join her, so I left the gate open hoping she’d run back in.

I carefully walked-up to Ginger, gently waving my arms at her to get he to walk. She scampered along the fence line until she came to the corner, but even at a scamper she was well out-pacing me. If I ran, she’d run too, so I scampered along as fast as I could behind her. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get to the corner fast enough and she turned and ran the opposite way along the fence, following Cookie.

Now I booked it, trying to catch up to her and shoo her back the opposite direction. She came to the next corner but Cookie turned and ran back toward the gate. Now I ran as fast as I could. Ginger was following Cookie along the fence back toward the gate, and soon Cookie would be at the gate and out too!

Instead of continuing out the open gate, Cookie paused at a pile of hay inside the pasture, and I took the opportunity to finish rounding Ginger back toward the gate. She willingly obliged, and ran right into the pasture.

I quickly closed the gate behind her and latched it with the chain.

But how the heck did the gate get opened?

I found out a few hours later . . .

I was back inside, at the table again, and noticed a brightly colored jacket crawling under the gate and the cows running across the pasture. Then the jacket stood up, and I realized who it was.

The neighbors had a 4 year old daughter, and our cow pasture sat right next to their house. Their daughter was in the pasture with the cows!

Once again I booked it outside, but she saw me running and quickly squeezed out and ran back to her house.

I talked to her parents (who had warned her several times previously not to go in there), and they told her once again to stay out.

At least I now know how the gate flew open on my cow pasture. . .

 

I now throw the chain around the gate latch several times.