Posted by Suzanne McMinn on April 4, 2008 @ 5:05 am
Daily Farmhouse Journal
I drove out to pick up Princess from the bus at the old farmhouse and there was a pretty black cow, broken out of the fence, in the road. It’s one of Lonnie’s cows. I got to the old farmhouse and tried to call Londa, his daughter (and Steve-the-Builder’s wife) because I don’t know Lonnie’s number. No answer. Then Princess didn’t get off the bus. I called the school. She missed the bus.
I told Georgia, “I’m going to get Princess. Can you call Lonnie and tell him one of his cows is in the road?” I knew she’d have his number. He mows her hay every year.
Back with Princess. I drive by the old farmhouse and there’s Georgia, loading up her car with my cousin’s 16-year-old in the driver’s seat.
I stop, roll down my window. “What are you doing?” I ask.
Georgia: “Lonnie didn’t answer the phone. I’m going to get that cow.”
Me: “No, you’re not. You can’t get a cow!”
Georgia: “Yes, I can.”
She needs a keeper. Not that this was the first thing streaking through my head.
Me: “You can’t do that when I don’t have my camera with me!” (What am I doing without my camera? I always have my camera!)
Georgia: “Yes, I can.”
She is sooooo difficult. And 78. Did I mention she’s 78? She and her grandson are going to go get a cow.
Me: “Go see if you can find Lonnie around his house somewhere. Maybe he’s outside.”
That’s the ticket. DELAY. At the pace she lets Madison drive, it’ll take her 15 minutes just to drive a mile up the road to Lonnie’s house and ascertain that they can’t find him. Meanwhile, I race back to our new farmhouse to get my camera. And hijack 14.
Me: “We have to go help Georgia get a cow.”
14: “I can’t get a cow.”
Me: “No, and neither can Georgia, but we need to take pictures. And stop her from jumping on its back and riding it over the hill.”
We race (and I use the term “race” loosely since you can’t go more than 15-20 miles an hour on our road without killing yourself) back to the cow. This is a good one! Must have pictures! Very exciting. Almost like when we had that traffic jam on our country road!
There’s Georgia and Madison, parked at the side of the road. No cow in the road.
Me: “Where’s the cow? I raced back here to stop you from jumping on its back and riding it over the hill.”
Georgia: “Oh, it went back in on its own.”
::thunk::
And so I leave you with photos of peaceful, pastoral, innocent cows……
Though I really wanted to leave you with a picture of Georgia wrangling a rebellious cow. Not that I would have let her do that just so I could take a picture.
Really.
I wouldn’t.
At least I think I wouldn’t……
6:49
am
And me wanting to see Georgia on the back of a cow. Oh, well, there’ll be another time. Life in the country! Never a dull moment.
7:14
am
It looks like happy cows really live in West Virginia. Can you blame them? They don’t have to deal with paparazzi in WV, and even bloggers sometimes forget their cameras. Georgia must have told that cow what you what you were up to.
Georgia knows cows just aren’t into all that publicity. If you leave them alone, they’ll go home, wagging their tails behind them.
7:21
am
…so very funny!. You really are a ray of sunshine!
The weather looks so refreshing. I can smell the warm sun, damp earth and fresh grass from my sub northern roost - the temperature is still hovering around 32 degrees F here, and my miniature pasture still has about a foot and half of snow covering it. Love those cows!
7:36
am
I think I’d pay money to see a picture of *you* riding on the back of a cow!
-Kim
7:48
am
of COURSE Georgia would have wrestled the cow back home! I have great faith in all things Georgia.
7:52
am
Never a dull moment with you is there! Did 14 give you that look “my mother is crazy”? What did Princess say about when she found out you were out chasing cows while she was stranded at school?
I’m so glad I’m home and can read you blog again. It always tickles me. Missed ya!
:J
8:13
am
I hope I am as spry as Georgia when I get her age!
Chasing cows is for the birds, been there, done that. They never go the direction I want them to. Sorry you missed your photo op. Maybe next time!
8:19
am
Dang! I am always intrigued when SOMEONE ELSE’s bovines are recalcitrant!!
8:26
am
You know..she probably COULD have handled that cow heheh. Cow’s aren’t that hard to get moving. The trick is getting them moving in the direction you want, instead of the random ass cow direction they tend to choose.
8:51
am
Bwahaaa!
9:27
am
Nope, you would have been very disappointed. From what you’ve said of Georgia, she knows just where to stand and what body language to use to put that cow just where she wanted her.
We came across a steer out the other day, and as the children were putting him back in I was thinking “Dang, where’s my camera?”
9:28
am
Aw, darn it! I REALLY would have LOVED to see that!!!
9:29
am
P.S. I’ve been carrying my camera around for my blog for so long, it’s like an appendage now. But it never fails, I’ll forget spare batteries on the one day someone is doing something spectacularly stupid.
9:36
am
Seems to me Georgia was going to do as she pleased no matter what anyone said! I sincerely hope that I am as feisty and odd at 78 ~ and that I have just as many loving relatives around me indulging my weirdness.
9:49
am
Cows can be tricky animals. BTW I think the flowering bush in your photo blog is a flowering almond. We used to have them until the road salt from the county finally killed them.
10:56
am
11:26
am
That is hilarious. Once our neighbors bigs got out…not just one, about 200. It was the funniest thing I ever saw because here were all of these grown men chasing pigs everywhere. And of course the pigs were totally against being caught.
11:37
am
I can’t believe you thought Georgia couldn’t wrestle that cow back home. Of course she could. This is the woman who puts dust bunnies in the garden! She can do anything!
Note to Suzanne: Keep an Extra Camera in the car.
Um, did you ever get Princess?
11:39
am
Very funny…
Those cows are very, very cute!
1:14
pm
I especially like that adorable black calf
2:33
pm
I think it would be funny to watch you hurrying back to get your camera. I hate it when that happens! Did you get Princess?
2:52
pm
Too funny! Georgia could have wrangled that cow, I have Faith in her. *g*
3:31
pm
Having wrangled a lot of recalcitrant cows, I’ll pass.
Suzanne, your life is so interesting.
3:35
pm
The cow must have seen Georgia coming. It probably decided it was better to get back home before Georgia got her chance to wrestle her!
3:52
pm
I always keep my camera in my purse. You never know when a good picture-taking opportunity will rear its head.
4:24
pm
Well, I do hope you finally picked up Princess!
6:29
pm
Yes, I picked her up! I guess that wasn’t clear, LOL. After I told Georgia to try to call Lonnie, I picked up Princess, then drove back by and that’s when I rolled down my window and asked her what she was doing and discovered she was off to wrangle a cow!