It's That Time Again!

With the threat of colder weather in the forcast......even snow....yikes!!!

We have been busy the last week preparing for it.

Cleaning up the garden

Bringing in the carrots and potatoes

Getting wood to heat the house

Cleaning out the skating shack

Cleaning up all the flowers and pots

Taking the fish out of the pond and draining it

Cleaning out the garden shed

Putting away the bikes and toys

Taking down the trampoline

and today....

Bringing the cows home from the pastures.

We have 3 pastures. One is almost 8 miles from our house, one just a couple of miles and the other right in the back of our yard.

We have about 35 cows. We send them, their calves and the bulls out to the pasture in the spring when the grass starts to get nice and green and lush.

They stay out there all summer until this time of year when we bring them back home for the winter.

The 2 year old calves are in the pasture behind the yard. They too come onto the yard for the winter where we fatten them up until January or so when we sell them either to buyers or our neighbors and friends who want them for beef.

This year we decided to do things a little differently than the past few years.

We have a cattle trailer that we haul the cows back and forth to the pasture.

It takes a bit of time to load the gates, take all the gates off the trailer, set them up, pen up the cows, load them, haul them and then take down all the gates and put them back on the trailer and then set the gates back up at home.....whew, makes me tired just talking about it!

So this year we thought we would see how it would work to drive them home, meaning them walking and us driving in front of, behind them and beside them.
We all had a job.....

Megan and I had the very easy job (but don't tell anybody!) of sitting in the truck and stopping the cows from going down the wrong roads. Jennifer was leading the cows with a tractor that had a bale on it (kind of like the carrot in front of the horse :) Mark was on the 4 wheeler and Josh was in the half ton. They were the busiest of us all, keeping the cows on the right track. And Rebecca was behind the cows taking up the lead in their truck. Zachary, Nathan, Brooke and Mikaya were keeping Megan and I entertained. Caleb and Jesse were helped Josh hoop and hollar at the cows to keep them moving. Kerri was at home cooking, cleaning, doing laundry and babysitting. Joey, Andy and Jaden were concentrating on being good little boys for their sister/auntie :) And then our sweet neighbor friends saw us sitting at the roadside waiting and asked if we needed help. So she blocked the road the other direction. Thanks Teresa and boys :)

Coming down the first leg of the journey

Second leg of the journey (Jen in front, Josh on the right and Mark on the left)

Good cows......just follow the bale!

And now we're going down the home stretch! Almost there!!!

Rebecca in the back

You can see Josh and Rebecca's house in the distance

 

So how did it go you ask?

Well I think it was pretty easy....really....I just sat there....visited....listened to music....

But if you would ask Mark.....well let's just say he ended up splattered with mud and soaked from the rain and puddles! But he did say that maybe the cows would be better next year since they would know the way?

And Josh???? Well I didn't ask him, but secretly I think he enjoyed spinning around with the truck up and down ditches, over bumps and through the fields!!!! But don't tell him I said that cause he wouldn't actually admit to likin' chasing cows :)

Jen had a pretty good time too. She was glad she was in the tractor watching the action instead of having to keep the cows in line.
So maybe...just maybe we will do it again next year :)