One of the things I enjoy the most about my boys is
how easily entertained they are. We don’t
need any fancy toys because chances are they will rather play with the box the
toys came in. “I’m bored” is not a
phrase they use often because if you give them a few rocks, a stick, and their
imaginations, the next thing you know, they will be fighting dragons to rescue
a princess, in a war with some bad guys, or catapulting rocks at a target (or
more likely each other!). The phrase “What
one doesn’t think up the other will” rings true at our house, and you never
know what is going to happen next. Every
day is a new adventure.
If you have spent much time around us, you’ve probably
heard me say “they may look like me, but they act just like their dad” a time
or two, because looking at my boys is like looking in a mirror for me. That is where the similarities end
though. They are brave, outgoing,
adventurous, and thoughtful, just like their dad.
Or so I thought….. Sunday, I got undeniable proof that
they may possibly, maybe some days, kind of act like their mom, but just a
little bit!
We went to Mountain City to visit and brand a few
calves. TR and QT scattered, taking
their cousin PJ with them just as soon as the car came to a stop. They were out of sight, but in ear shot. Before too long they were entertaining
themselves and us. They had found a hill
and a red Radio Flyer wagon. Two would
climb into the wagon and then rock it till it would start rolling down the
hill. TR took charge as pilot and would
steer with the wagon handle. Can you see
where this is going? I almost told them
that riding the wagon down the hill wasn’t a good idea… Almost.
It reminded me of a summer a few years back and a couple
days spent in Charleston with my sister and Cousins Becky and Kyla. Our new brother had just arrived and we were
letting things settle at home. Being
ranch kids, ages 4-8 we didn’t watch much TV.
We had 100’s of acres to explore, a lot of mischief to find, and not as
much supervision as we probably should have had.
Our adventures led us to the barn and the milk cow’s
calves one afternoon. We decided our
time and energy would best be served by teaching the calves to pull a
wagon. The girls and I got busy
gathering supplies, which included a couple old lass ropes, a can of grain, and
you guessed it, a red Radio Flyer wagon.
What we lacked in experience training calves to pull carts, we more than
made up in enthusiasm. This was going to
be epic!
In our infinite calf training wisdom we determined
that the biggest calf would most likely be the best at pulling a wagon. We got to work chumming him into the round
pen with the bucket of grain. “Toro” would be the best for pulling a wagon
full of girls around the pen. Once he
got pulling the cart mastered, we would drive him up to the house to prove to
Auntie how handy we were. Catching Toro was the easy part. Leppies will do
anything for grain we learned. Getting
him to stand in place long enough to be tied to the wagon, and actually tying
him to the wagon was the challenge. We
had to make a second trip for more grain, but we got it done.
All 4 of us girls climbed into the wagon, got set, and
Becky being the oldest assumed driving duties.
She clucked to Toro just like we’d seen our dad’s do to the work horses
in the winter. Nothing happened. Finally after clucking some more and whacking
Toro with the end of the line, all hell broke loose.
Toro lunged ahead and the clatter of the wagon and shrieking
of girls must have spooked him pretty good.
He was off like a rocket and Becky and I baled. Cara and Kyla made it about 2 feet before the
wagon rolled and spilled them as well.
Poor Toro made about half a lap around the pen before he finally came
clear of the wagon, but had to drag his ropes until chore time came and some
adult came to turn him loose.
We had some tears, bumps, bruises, and a few scrapes
to bandage, but we survived! We also
learned a valuable lesson. Milk calves
are not good at pulling wagons. They are
pretty much unteachable!
It’s a good thing Aunt Cara doesn’t have a pen of milk
calves at her house, and Becky and Kyla’s boys are so far away. It’s genetic for these wild little ranch kids
(on their mother’s sides of course!) to get into mischief with red Radio Flyer
wagons. This time, as long as TR did the
driving, things went pretty well. He
kept the wagon balance, upright, and was able to turn the wagon before running
into the big mud puddle or hitting the loading chute. Letting QT drive was what got them into
trouble. He turned too sharp, too soon, spilling
himself and PJ. There were some tears,
bumps, bruises, and scrapes to bandage, but to quote TR “We survived!” The jury is still out on what lesson was
learned, other than not to let QT drive!
