We check fences all the time. I mean we really look at and repair fences every day. I cannot afford to let cattle get out on a road and be the cause of an accident. The traffic is building up monthly around our area, and people drive like they are running from a zombie attack! Saw a commercial talking about that! A cow weighing a good 15 to 16 hundred pounds can do tremendous damage to a vehicle going 60 miles an hour.
That said, we had a glitch in the fence around the bull pasture last night. The bulls are divided by age, and the three yearling bulls we want to sell are rogues from the get go! They must have gang connections and would carry knives if they had pockets! I kept the three and like their structure, ability to produce like kind and hope to sell them when they are about 18 months old. The offspring admire them and will talk them up when the time is right. That is, if and when we catch the fools!
I saddled Snip at daylight and started tracking. They traveled south along the highway to the first open gate and headed east to the river. I loped along and figured I would see them any minute grazing and challenging each other. No such luck. Got the older of the offspring on my cell phone and they came on four wheelers to continue the chase.
Two fences torn down and tracks kept right on going. By this time the places were belonging to folks we didn't know for sure and hoping they would not have a pasture full of registered exotic heifers being serviced by black bulls! I had put Snip up, hooked up the trailer and was following along. Noon came and went and I was getting madder by the hour. The gang had found the river and were still going east.
We met up and decided to call ahead to some sale barn cowboys and see if they could head them off at the pass, or actually at a little park where the river is not fenced. They, the fellers, are young and love to rope and cowboy at any chance so I was relieved to give it to them.
We went back to headquarters and loaded up in my pickup with the trailer and headed east to get the Bad Bull Gang. It took us an hour to get to the spot and there was a good-sized crowd watching something when we arrived. I swallowed hard and drove on down to see for myself. Sure enough the bulls were roped and tied down and the cowboys were putting on a show of roping anything that moved, including observers! They were raising gales of laughter and having fun.
It is my opinion, and everyone has one, the woes suffered by one feller can be a joy to another. How that works is something I have never figured out; it just happens and often. Those young men roping were having a day to remember and I guess we were too, but for different reasons! Their good moods and talents helped us drag all three bulls into the trailer and I paid the boys. They all grinned and didn't want to take any pay, but it was sure worth it to us!
Remember that fences are not permanent structures and laughter relieves pressure.
Bill is the pen name used by the Gravette-area author of this weekly column. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 09/28/2016