Sunday, November 21, 2010

Signs of Approaching Winter: Movin' the Herd.



"A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel." 
                                                                  Proverbs 12:10



 This morning I looked out to see this.



 Violet ran into the house after helping my Farmer all morning.

"Daddy told me he needs me to help move the cows to the other pasture for the winter!"
Her excitement was palpable.


 This used to be my job;  but the baby was in the living room playing,
and she has a terrible cold.  I didn't want to bundle her up and take her out.

Sometimes, I miss my old outside jobs.

But that's okay: Violet seems to like the challenge,
and it's good for her.



 My Farmer set up a make-shift chute to herd the group across the driveway
so they could go through the barn to the other pasture.



 He finishes the details while Violet takes the "blocking the passage" stance
as directed by him.




 Thankfully, cows are nosey.
If there is one brave one, they'll usually all follow...



but sometimes, there's a chicken in the group;
or maybe I should say a scaredy cat;
okay, a timid cow.

This can put a kink in the movement.



 My Farmer starts poking, trying to get things moving again
but suddenly,
a cow bumps the gate and it starts to fall over.






Violet sees the trouble and grabs it to hold it upright.

The temporary fence post gets tossed to her so she can block the opening.
  A curious cow has spotted the gap.

 

At this point, I am noticed on the porch with my camera in hand,
and I hear my Farmer say,
"It sure would be nice if we had some more help up here so these cows don't get free!"






 I turned around and asked,

"Are you going up there to help?"

Nothing,

So I called out to the last of the reserves to get his boots on and get out here...
 while I saw my daughter holding up the gate and bravely shouting,
"Get back!"



 The cowpoke finally entered the scene.





 He's coming to the rescue at a terrible pace...
terribly slow.

He's so easily distracted.

Keep those eyes on the road, guy!




 He moseys onto the scene as the last cow enters the barn...



 and is promptly given a job anyway.



My Farmer comes out and thanks the crew.

He later takes Violet out for lunch,
because she helped him all morning,
even giving up her favorite Saturday morning show to be his cowgirl.

She's growing up, that one.





This one, well, let's just say he's still got some training to get up to speed,

but he'll get there.





These guys will have this nice warm barn to find shelter and be easier to feed when the weather turns bad.  They'll also have access to the big pasture.


Now it can snow.







5 comments:

  1. Love it. Farm life is the best life for kids. They work hard but it seems fun working with animals. Besides gaining the satisfaction of a job well done she is spending good time with her Dad.

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  2. How sweet! I know they must have been beyond thrilled to help like that! When I was a very little girl I spent a lot of time on a cattle farm, they were just so huge and amazing to me!

    It's nice to meet you as well, your art is so adorable! I know you must get so inspired being on your farm, and what a cute little kitty! aww!~

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  3. This post brought back memories of a long-ago girl who had to feed cows, and drive them out of where they weren't supposed to be.

    I loved seeing your children standing their ground. I think that farm life is beneficial for children, whether or not they grow up to be farmers. I grew up that way, left that kind of life, now wish I could get back to it.

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  4. everything went better than ever moving the calves,but now we have a lonesome donkey pacing back and forth because he misses the cows. I guess he will be ok till the neighbor brings over his heifer.

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  5. When I grew up my father was a math teacher by day and farmer by night and weekend. We rased cows, chickens, pigs and throw in a few horses for pleasure. My mom, nope she was NOT a farmers wife, so us kids had to do the helping. I remember helping my father feed the baby calves and all of the other animals. As we were older we had the summer chore of stacking the hay and picking up vegtables. Your daughter will become a strong, helpful woman when she grows up. You seem to have such a wonderful family.

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