Canesisters 2023 journal - turning my Disasters into Delights

[frustratedearthmother]

Ugh - hopefully it wasn't your girl! Maybe the neighbor should take a picture next time?

 

[canesisters]

That's what I keep thinking! I just can't imagine anyone describing her as a brown cow. And unless there was a MUCH longer time lapse than I was led to believe, she had to have hustled to get from his yard back in the pasture and so far from the fence break before Dad got up there..... Blossom still has some brown baby winter woolies on her sides... but she would have had to have hustled even further since she was in the pasture farthest from grumpy guy's land ...... when Dad got there.
Eva had on a red plastic chain collar with a bell on it this AM.... it was gone when I got home for all the drama before lunch. Now, it's just plastic... she could break it if she caught it in or on anything. I'll be doing so searching for that thing this evening (...assuming I'm not catching cows & patching fences again) at the hay ring, at her favorite scratching spots, at the stanchion where her feeder is, and ALLLLL around those woods where the mysterious fence break was....
Hoping I can't prove she was out....

 

[Mini Horses]

Maybe the other cow broke INTO YOUR field¿? Ask Eva & Blossom 🤫🤞

 

[canesisters]

Maybe the other cow broke INTO YOUR field¿? Ask Eva & Blossom 🤫🤞

That's what I was wondering...
I wish I had enough game cameras to put the whole place under surveillance.
Shoot... I WISH I could put up a secure perimeter fence around the whole property & just turn them loose.

 

[canesisters]

Maybe you just need me to come help you fix your fence? there are days I've had more goats out than in. It's discouraging but, I persist. I'd ride over to his Rd and see if there "might" be another cow around. Just to feel more assured as to whether it was Eva. Of course, we hope there's another!!

Let me say this, sometimes. -- even on those bad days -- my animals are what keep me "going". In more ways than one, sometimes 😖🤫😳🥴🤣🥰

I would LOVE help with the fences. Unfortunately, pretty much all we'd be able to accomplish is planning.. and maybe 1 small purchase/repair - and that would be a long drive for such small results.
I've actually considered borrowing from my retirement account to completely re-do the whole thing.. but that seems unwise.
I've got A LOT of old, polybraid that I'm slowly replacing with metal hot wire. I feel like that will help since there are a lot of frayed spots on the poly stuff.

 

[canesisters]

Both girls where they should be when I got home. Contacted my hay guy - he said he was bailing orchard grass right now & could bring me two 4x4 bales Wed or Thurs PM.
At the very least.... if I have to lock them up, I'll have hay to feed them.
Oh, found the collar laying next to a tree in one of their hangout spots in the pasture.
Also, Dad said that he ran into grumpy guy during his walk & now he's claiming they tried to catch the cow with a bucket of corn but she jumped out of his fenced yard & galloped off through the woods toward my place.
...... Eva is living a whole hidden life that I've never imagined... jumping fences & galloping through woods?

 

[Mini Horses]

😱. She comes to a bucket of feed....at home. But who knows how grumpy he is??

To be continued.....

 

[farmerjan]

Borrowing from your retirement may not be such a bad thing... what interest is it earning and could you pay it back once you got the aggravation/problem fixed for good? Sometimes it is wiser to spend some money if the return is not that great... and give yourself some peace of mind...
You have done so much good with the barn clean up /redo... that it is a shame to have to deal with the aggravation of the cows when they "usually" bring you so much pleasure and serve a purpose of meat in the freezer and milk in the house...
Don't forget, the 2 we had that were so much aggravation, got loaded up and sent down the road... but they got moved elsewhere for one last chance... and were tearing that fence up just being ornery.... A good hot fence might set Eva on her butt.... Maybe borrow enough to get a roll and some good insulator posts and replace all the poly braid... it does not last long and the small wires in it break down...
Is the charger a plug in? That will be hot enough to give her a comeuppance if the wire is good...

 

[Baymule]

Yes you CAN put up a fence. Decide what kind of fence, field fence or barbed wire. Field fence might be easier to work with, once up, run your hot wire to keep them off the fence.
Buy one roll. Save up , putting money in a fence coffee can. Buy a few T-posts at a time, the fence clips come with them. A roll of field fence is 330’. A little at a time. Sure, it takes awhile, but it can be done.

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

 

[canesisters]

Thanks yall. You all are so encouraging.

If just thinking about selling Eva makes me cry ALL DAY, then I'd better set the table and start taking bites out of that elephant!!!