An 1,800 pound angry female

Today about mid-morning I got up from my desk and headed to the employee lounge (kitchen) to get a cup of coffee. As I rounded the corner I glanced out to see what the horses were up to, and noticed Jade running full-tilt down the fence line toward the house. Just on the other side of the fence was this longhorn, running full-tilt down our driveway. Don't be misled by the running of the bulls in Spain. Those cloven-hoof beasts are slow compared to an angry longhorn at full stride. I ran out the front door just as this cow ran straight through the gate and into the back pasture. I yelled to Taylor to go out the back and plug in the fence charger while I ran to the back pasture gate to close the hot wires. 

So, suddenly we had a very large, very upset longhorn who was obviously lactating, standing just a few yards away from us, with nothing more than a 16 gauge electrified wire between us. What a thrilling start to the day.

I grabbed one of the horse tanks and brought it back to her, then filled it up with water since it was in the low 90's already. After that, I hopped in the truck and proceeded to try and find the owner. The only field where I've seen longhorn's was empty, and the entire fence line was intact, so no luck there. I then called my buddy Raymond who has lived in the area for close to 50 years, and knows just about every rancher who still runs cattle. He had me describe the brand markings, then said he'd be back in touch shortly. And sure enough, he tracked down the owner who lives in a town west of us. He had just pulled this girl's calf off yesterday to start the weening process, and she hadn't been too happy about that. The rancher figured she was out looking for her baby.

Notice that thin wire at the bottom of the photo. That's all that stands between us. 

At this point, I was no longer feeling the need for a cup of coffee.

A longhorn is an impressive creature.

After she settled down, she took a keen interest in the chickens, who I hadn't let out of the coop yet. They had no interest in being anywhere near this weird looking animal.

Being the idiot that I am, I decided I needed a few photos for the blog, so I carefully made my way into the back pasture. Once she spotted me, she started toward me at a trot. With nowhere to go, I jumped into the round pen as she lowered her head and started scratching her hooves. She made a few lame attempts to hook me with her horns, but decided I wasn't worth the effort.

After she lost interest, I made a quick exit and got back to the house. The owner showed up a few hours later with a cattle trailer, and he and I loaded her up.

Never a dull moment around here.

And there you have it!