He Calls Me "The Cow Whisperer"

The other day about dark M was trying to put a bale in the feeder for our heifer calves.  Before he could get out the tractor to close the gate about seven of them ran out into the pasture.  We haven't had time to check the fence for winter damage so didn't really want them in there yet.  He wasn't having any success trying to get them back in by himself so he left them until I could help him in the morning.  So, after our other chores were done we headed down to get them back in the pen.  I circled around them to open the gate while M went to get some buckets of feed.  They really like their feed so we thought we could lure them in.  They were stuck in a corner, however, and while M was trying to push them toward the gate they started to head off in the wrong direction.  He was getting fired up, out of patience, prepared to chase them all over the pasture to get them in while I just calmly rattled the buckets at them and said "come on, girls".  Pretty soon one noticed me and headed my way and I led them all back through the gate into the pen.  So now M calls me "the cow whisperer". I'm constantly trying to explain to M the value of being calm and patient.  Anyone who knew me 25 years ago wouldn't think I would be the calm and patient one.

Another good example of a day that could have been a real wreck and wasn't happened a few years ago.  We were hauling cow-calf pairs to pasture near my brother's house south of Opheim.  Before we took our last load, M mentioned that the transmission on the pickup was acting kind of funny.  First clue that it wasn't going to be a good day.  I suggested we hook the trailer to a different pickup.  No, that would take time, and if he ignores a problem it will go away.  Okay, so off we go.  We get to the road to my brother's and the transmission is acting more funny.  We limp the pickup through the yard and it quits just when the back of the trailer was barely through the gate.  We had the calves penned in the front of the trailer and the cows in the back.  We let the cows out and they were happy to head into the pasture.  As we start to let the calves out my brother's dog comes out and spooks them and they take off out the gate and head north.  So, we have no vehicle to drive to try to head them off, M is hollering that you can't herd calves, and oh yeah, did I mention it is starting to rain?  What are you going to do, let them run all the way to Opheim or God knows where and never find them?

By then neither of us are happy campers.  No one is home at my brother's house and the only vehicle in his yard is an old Chevy Citation so I jump in it and take off zig-zagging through the muddy fields and herd those calves right back to the pasture while M is still hollering "you can't herd calves".  That's BS, I just did it!   And then, we had to call his mom to come get us.

I have to bring that story up once in awhile when he says something isn't going to work.  It's funny now.