Every morning, on my way to start my barn chores, I greet the chickens first since their coop is the first critter pen that I pass.
“Good morning, lady birds. And Colonel – looking handsome as always!’
This is, hands down, my favorite part of the day. As soon as they hear my voice, the chorus of animal noises begin.
The clucks from the chickens, the insistent “Maaas” of the goats. The barn cats circling my feet and meowing. Then the soft whinnies of Cocoa and her barn buddy, Buttons the mini horse. Then the loud oinks of the pigs on the other side of the barn wall. Perhaps loudest of all, even though they are the farthest away at the back of the barn, are the “MOOOOs” of Chet and Bucky, our angus-cross calves.
This morning there was no “Moo.” I can normally see the calves in the run-in shelter of the barn, but not this morning. I bypassed my normal routine of feeding the chickens first, then pigs, followed by ponies and then cows, and headed straight for the back of the barn calling Chet and Bucky’s names. Still no sign of them. When I got to the gate, I see that they are outside the fence. Not through the fence in the horse pasture or pig pen, but out the back of their pen, into the un-fenced in woods at the back of our property.
Once upon a time, this would have sent me into a panic. When we moved to the farm, I had big dreams but very little experience. On more than one occasion, I had to call Steve for help. “The horses are out. I can’t fix the gate.” or “Pig is loose. I got him put up, but I need you to fix the fence.”
This morning I just unplugged the fence, grabbed the shiny, brightly colored pail knowing that the calves would recognize it, filled it full of food and swung it high in the air where they could see it. Sure enough, both boys dipped through the fence and made a beeline for their feeder inside the barn.
I then plugged fence back in and checked it – no sound, no lights. Checked to make sure it was switched on, checked the switch in the barn. Finally, one last thing to check – the fence charger had gotten unplugged from the extension cord. Plugged it in, and heard the trusty “tick-tick-tick” sound of the charger. All was good!
All I could think was how glad I am that we’ve built a life that includes mornings with loose cows. I hope I always keep that excitement and wonder of our life on the farm, that it never gets old.
