If we have cattle, we will lose some

Wednesday, November 8, 2017

When all is said and done, I am going to saddle up and ride out of here! I think I will ride to Arizona and visit some of the fellers there. I've heard they don't work much, just drink and play poker and shoot the bull or each other! They don't care if the hay truck won't start, the pickup is needing to be overhauled, the offspring are always wanting more money or the kitchen sink is leaking again!

The hay truck is in the shop and the offspring are tearing it down to see if they can fix it this time. It is old and has served its time, but we sure need it to keep on going. I tried to get it started yesterday and it didn't even click, so I changed the battery and it still wouldn't budge. I can sympathize because the frosty morning was hard on me too.

I am grateful for the cattle liking the cooler weather. They were not suffering at all, calves were fuzzy and happy with their bellies full of warm milk. The bulls are also feeling spunky, threatening each other and blowing at everything. The oldest one in the bull pen is, sure enough, the boss and, when he blows, they all stand back. I have been pouring out that grain to them and they like it!

My close relative sure did enjoy the visitors this past week. I did too, and we were blessed with some dandy little people. I was surprised so many of the youngsters drove out here to the country for a treat, but the word has gotten around about the cookies and brownies that are given as treats! The young parents are now bringing their little ones because they remember the treats and, yes, they also got a treat! A good time was had by all!

The old cross-toed cows are back with the herd and no problems walking now. They will get along for about a year before we have to retrim them. It's a small, little chore for their good calves. It is productive to take extra time and effort to care for small problems before they turn in to huge ones. I am always running a little late to get it done, but my offspring are sure a lot of help.

We lost a big calf last weekend. She looked like she just laid down and curled up and went to sleep. She was one of the first fall calves, and we never will know what went wrong inside her. I suspect kidneys, hearts, livers and maybe even some blood problems are involved in cattle just as they are in us humans.

It is my opinion, and everyone has one, if we have cattle we will lose some to death. We have to count on it, like the first group of steers my close relative and I grew out when we came here. They were ready to go the next morning and we sat on the tailgate and watched them eat the cubes, talked about the necessary things they would pay for and one of them dropped dead in the middle of the night! We made it anyway, but that was a hard lesson to swallow. Now, times have changed some. We still live hand to mouth but not as close as we did then. If you have them, you will lose some! We are your example, you will still make it!

If you are wanting something to do, our shop is open to all mechanics!

Bill is the pen name used by the Gravette-area author of this weekly column. Opinions expressed are those of the author.

Editorial on 11/08/2017