Who ever knows what adventures await...such was indeed the case the other day. Started on my way to work, ventured past a neighbor's farm -- and there were several dozen cows in the corn field. Now if I have learned anything living in the country, one thing I know is that cows and growing corn -- not a mix. Better turn around. Traveling back past the farm, there is my neighbor & his daughter, also now in the corn field. Better grab my mud shoes. Arrive at the farm with a "how can I help?" "Stand between the buildings" is my job.
Now -- here is how this goes -- they were going to run these "on the loose - goosey goose" cows back toward the barn -- if they ran between the outbuildings toward the road, guess I was supposed to stop them. So around the corner they come --- not quite a stampede -- but holly cow ---
cows are big! One runs my way, I step aside. The daughter runs after it -- I yell over to her, "thought I was going to scare it"....she shares back while running after the cow that that is kind of the idea. O.K. -- now my role is clear. I am to be a Cow Whisperer -- actually, a Cow Clapper. See -- to keep those cows on their path, I was going to need to be bigger than a cow -- louder voice, clap of the hands -- wide arms. Need I say, not another cow got past me -- "come on, in the barn" clap, clap -- wide arms. A dozen collected. Hands bruised. Job well done.
That left about another 10 or so way across the field -- on a little munching adventure. "How about I drive over to Barka Road and move the rest back to the farm?" was my idea. "O.K." was the reply. And I was off -- drive, drive, drive, climb thru the tall grass along the road edge...head toward the big cows who are not in a fence...but standing munching in front of me...their home is over the crest beyond the scope of reason. At that moment it occurred to me that this idea could fail miserably. Those cows had many choices: eat, run to the road (in two directions), eat....
Oh well, made myself bigger than a cow -- and guess what -- they turned around and began to head back to their farm. What a sight this must have been -- city raised Kari -- arms outstretched, moving a small herd of BIG cows across a field. I hoped at this moment that someone must be watching, quite impressed....people driving by saying, "look at that!" (not "look at that?") I was indeed cow whispering...or at the very least -- acting odd enough that they decided home was even better than fresh corn leaves.
And so it was, I could now say I survived a tornado in the spring and I herded cows in the summer. Just wish I would have grabbed me a towel for a cape when I grabbed my mud shoes. Feeling just a bit like "
Cow Woman" --herder of all things grand.....at least for the moment.
That's my story, and I stand behind it
(
yelling "move" with my arms spread wide...)
Cross that off my bucket list.
