Things have settled down to a routine with the cattle. The cattlemen drove a herd into my stomping grounds last May, which herd promptly turned around and ambled right back out again. So they drove the same cattle back into the interior. Precisely how this works in what passes for a cow’s mind I have no idea, nor do I care, but this time they seemed to get the idea that they were supposed to consider my little corner of the world one of their stopping places in what seems to be a not-entirely-random natural back-and-forth daily migration.
At first this caused great excitement in the mornings and evenings, because the most direct path between bases led directly through my yard. But the bulk of the herd is cows with calves, who just want to live their lives and keep the excitement to a minimum. So they gradually learned it was best to swing north a bit and make the trip through the junipers on the somewhat hillier ground between the yard and the loop of the wash. My fears concerning Ghost were unfounded, when the cattle enter his territory he’s content to keep them moving and leave it at that. LB would certainly like to cause more havoc, which is why he’s cabled to the Lair. So things have mostly settled down.
This morning there was a variation on the theme, as one of the big bulls mixed in with the herd showed up. Big Bull isn’t impressed by dogs, and saw no reason for any detours. He didn’t even look right or left as Little Bear loudly and passionately wished dismemberment, disembowelment and slow, lingering death accompanied by a good eating upon him. He was just here for the driveway, thanks, you boys have a nice day, see you later.
I’ve been playing with this new camera, which has tricks I need to figure out. So I chased him for a little bit while breakfast was cooking…
By the time I caught up with him he had cut the loop in the wash and was halfway across the sand. From the bank of the wash there’s a narrow sandy verge full of bushes and then a four-strand fence between Ian’s and Landlady’s property, on the other side of which is grass and water. At first the cows found this fence a problem but they’ve worked it out. It ends at the wash, so they can either turn the corner at the fence’s end and go straight for the pasture, or they can continue up the wash and end up at the water.
Either way they have to come out at the end of the fence, so that’s where I waited for the bull.
And that’s right where he came out. Because I’m smarter than a bull, if sometimes only marginally so.
Then just as I got him zoomed and focused for a profile, he turned and presented me his massive ass. I’m pretty sure that somehow I can get this camera to take a whole bunch of action shots…
Then up the embankment he went on the other side of the fence, toward the grass and the cows. He’s done this before.
Um. Very good bull-ass pictures. On the topic of cattle, did the cattlemen ever stop draining everyone’s wells?
No more fences cut?
The fence-cutting issue has been resolved to the satisfaction of most. I heard of one cranky old lady who was shouting about lawyers and demanding that her entire fence be replaced by a contractor of her choosing, but you can imagine how much support she got. The person most responsible for following orders and cutting the fences was made very busy for a week or so repairing fences, and the issue went away. The well, on the other hand, continues to spew during all daylight hours. In autumn, when the cattle go away, I guarantee it will stop doing that.
Thanks for the update, Joel. I can’t believe that in such a water-sensitive area, the cattlemen have gotten away with running that well like that all summer long. They’re lucky none of you guys decided to bring in the big environmental guns. Or take more interesting measures.
Surely it can’t be either that hard or that expensive for them to put some sort of governor on the system. Heck, not much would be needed beyond a very big version of a toilet-tank float. Bad neighbors, those cowfolk.