Good
Help is Hard to Come By
Why is it fall feels like it is so much busier than
the rest of the year? I think it is
because you have to work around other people’s schedules more than any other
part of the year. You have to preg your
cows when the vet can be there and ship your calves when the trucker can haul
them and it is convenient for the buyer to receive them, all while working
around helping neighbors and school. In
the summer, if you can’t spray weeds because the wind is blowing, or you don’t
get through the heifers in the Red field, you can probably do it the next day
and not worry about scheduling conflicts.
You have more flexibility during the winter, spring, and summer months.
I feel like I have been running since fair time and
haven’t stopped to catch my breath yet.
Between getting the boys to and from school, my college class, and
working for the Cowboss I haven’t had much opportunity to get into any
trouble. On the upside, all 3 of my boys
have been too busy to get into trouble as well!
QT has been busy helping the Cowboss and me in the mornings before
school.
QT and I had a really hard day last week. After we got TR on the bus and off to school,
we caught our horses to help the Cowboss and Russ move a bunch of yearlings from
the Barn field to the Ryegrass field.
After we got them moved, QT and I were to go back for the pickup and
trailer, then meet the Cowboss and Russ at the house. Right off the bat we found a yearling that we
had missed. We got around her and got
her put where she belonged, and headed on our way to the pickup. We were given very specific directions to
load our horses, then drive through the pairs in the field next to the Barn
field, checking to be sure no heifers had crawled in with the cows and calves. After driving through the pairs we needed to
hurry home and get QT fed and ready for school.
We got our horses and dog loaded and drove through the
pairs. We didn’t notice any yearlings
and were ready to go home. Then I
noticed 1 hot cow and 13 yearlings in the field we just came out of. I asked QT what he thought we should do, let
dad get them later, or unload our horses and put them away ourselves. He was pretty sure we better get them for
dad, so we parked the trailer a little closer to the gate we would push them
through and unloaded our horses and dog.
The cows were pretty wound up, and took off in a long
trot in the wrong direction when we got on our horses. We trotted off to get around them and QT did
a really good job keeping up. Then we
chased those cows all over that field.
If there was a wrong way to go or a chance to scatter, the cows took
it. It felt like we were trying to herd
cats. We ran back and forth across a
boggy creek 3 times before the cows bee lined it for the willows. I got QT back across the creek and told him
to sit right where he was and I would chase them through the willows. It took me a good 15 minutes up, down, and
across the boggy creek in the willows, a few tears and a lot of swear words
before I finally got them out of the willows and headed somewhat in the right
direction. I let out a holler for QT to
catch up, and he and old “Knothead” made good time trotting across the field to
me.
I told him that if we could get the cows past the barn
at the Oglvie and could keep them on the fence we would be in the clear. If he could keep them coming, I would stay on
the side and keep them together and going the same direction. I’m not going to lie, I had my doubts we were
going to get all of them past the barn and to the gate. Between my 5 year old cowboy, 6 month old
puppy, and colt, things were not going well and I was ready to cut my losses
and let the Cowboss get them another day.
Every time I looked back though, my little man was whooping and
hollering, working back and forth pushing those cows for all he was worth,
never slowing from a trot. We got them
past the barn and QT held them up in the corner while I got the gate opened,
then he brought them to me and I turned them in. I don’t know how we did it, but we finally
got them through the gate.
Riding back to the trailer I told QT that I was very
proud of him. I said he did a good job,
I was so glad he was there to help me, and that I didn’t think I would have
ever got those cows on my own. He looked
up at me just as serious as could be and told me “I know mom. Let’s go home so I can go to school.” He’s
good help. I'll take him over most people any
day!
