"It's Always Something!"

There was sheer pandemonium in one of the pastures the day after we sold our house, which means that it was double pandemonium because we were trying to sort through a sea of boxes, and move all of our worldly possessions at the same time.

When it rains, it pours with chaos around here. Either nothing is happening, or everything happens at once.


The details of the ordeal are sketchy, but the chaos involved someone else's heifer who broke INTO our pasture for its green grass. This may have subsequently led to a neighbor's bulls breaking into our pasture to breed the intruding heifer, which then resulted in our cows escaping through the broken fence. Somehow during the whole ordeal, this cow was injured.

We have no idea how it happened, but it involved a late night trip to the vet with her in the trailer. Our veterinarian has been a herd vet for over 30 years and it left him scratching his head. He wasn't sure what to do with it. It would have been difficult to suture, and in the end he elected not to because it was just skin that ripped open and fat exposed.  No muscle tissue was damaged, or he would have sewed her up.

So we took her and her calf back to the barn and have been spraying a special concoction on the wound that keeps it moist, free from infection, and keeps the flies away.  We've also been spraying Vetricyn on it. With lots of TLC, a clean stall, and good hay, I'd say she is starting to look like she's on the mend.  I don't have an updated picture, but it's looking much better after two weeks of care. It's all scabbed up and healing. I have to tell you that I was a bit flabbergasted when the vet didn't sew her up, but I figure that he must know a lot more than I do about these things.

 Partly due to the above incident, we decided that it is time to replace a stretch of old pole fence that the cows broke out of.  Last weekend, we started the first of many trips to the burn area from the fire 2 years ago to cut a trailer load of 14 foot aspen fence poles.

As you can see, the sky was already ominous by the time we arrived that morning, and lightning was a factor as we worked.  We got the job done just as the first drops of rain were falling.

(Yes, it was cold enough for long sleeves, and sweaters in July. The elevation is nearly 10,000 ft.)

I've got the best work crew around! They helped me measure and mark the logs after the men felled them in the forest. Then, they came back along and cut them at the marks and we loaded them into the trailer.

I'll post another picture when we are all done with the fence. We've got a ways to go yet, and have a busy few weeks ahead.

Pole fences aren't my first choice for cattle containment, but they sure look rustic, and ruggedly beautiful along the road.  I'm estimating the old fence to be at least 30 years old, so it was definitely time to change out the rotting poles.


If it's not one thing, it's another,

Nell