Mind games with bulls

I can’t figure out what the cattle guy is doing – I’m not completely convinced he knows. It was a very dry winter and – today excepted, though so far it’s only inconsequential showers – it’s been a very dry spring so the grazing is as terrible as I’ve ever seen it. There’s virtually no new grass. I assume that’s why he rounded up most of the cattle in March, as soon as the winter calves were born. Most but not all – I still have to be careful going around corners lest I run the Jeep into a barely-sentient bag of meat for whose welfare I am somehow legally liable. And lately there are breed bulls again! Like this morning.

Breed bulls can be amusing when you encounter them in the Jeep. Less so on foot. This morning I happened on one as I was leaving Ian’s plaza toward the upper part of my driveway, and it did the thing only bulls do – it decided to play “you shall not pass.” They’ve done this to me before, and I learned a valuable lesson the first couple of times. I’ll stop to avoid hitting a cow, because if a cow blocks my path there’s probably a reason it can’t leave just then and it will move as soon as it can. But a bull will turn and face you, wanting to dispute right of way. And if you stop for it, it’ll decide it’s winning and it’ll never get out of the damned road. But if you keep on going, not fast but not looking like you’re going to stop, eventually – so far – they always make the right choice before there’s an actual collision.

So here was this young-looking bull, not half as big and intimidating as they can get. He was only about halfway on the driveway, and a cow would simply have moved forward and gotten out of the Jeep’s way. But this stupid animal turned and walked into the middle of the driveway, and lowered its head. “You shall not pass.” Well actually yes, I was definitely going to pass. So I just kept slowly moving, and got to watch the determination drain right out of this bull. It kind of gave a side-eye to the side of the driveway, and then sort of started sidling in the direction it was looking, and then with a quick “screw it” remembered an urgent appointment elsewhere.

Had I been on foot, that might have gone differently. I may start taking the spear on walkies again, I guess it’s that time of year.