Yesterday my cownapped cow was brought back home. Of course it was a mixture of a flat out runaway cow (her being in heat and well, there was that cute bull in the next pasture..) and her just deciding to hang out with her own kind for a while, then the herd just decided she was theirs. The kindly farmer next door just said to let her stay for a while and he'd be bringing her back when he rotated his herd to greener pastures.Keeping true to his word he loaded her into his big trailer and brought her right to the house. I can only imagine how he got that stubborn cow in there... Her head lifted in recognition as soon as she heard my voice and she easily left the trailer, going right to the old food trough. She hadn't forgotten where THAT was! Darla had been off who knows where but then she showed up running across the pasture...from the direction of where Bambi had been staying! That would be like her to go looking for her cow. Darla was always with me when I had to bottle feed her and back when we had our own herd of 20 something cows she eventually was let out with the rest of the herd. Then I would find Darla out at the back of the property, always sitting nearby Bambi. Guess she's always thought herself as the other momma or at least a best buddy.
But when Bambi came home she was mad!! Whether it was from being taken from her new found friends, or rudely loaded and hauled in a trailer, I'm not sure. But when Darla ran up to nibble and groom her cow as she's always done, Bambi pushed her away. Charging at her is more like it. Darla learned quickly things were different. She stayed on the other side of me keeping me between them. Bambi still lets me pet her but she's not as nuzzley as she used to be. And Darla acts like her feelings are hurt.
It will be a little bit of a process to de-program a brainwashed cow but that's what we're going to have to do. Bambi will stay penned up at the barn for a little while. At least a couple of weeks maybe 3 to be sure. By then the fences will be fixed better and maybe she'll have settled down a bit. I've been blogging about her since she was a baby way back when Y360 had its day. (Sure wish I had some of those pictures posted back then..) Being without her the last month or so has been like losing a child. (I know..she's a cow but she's really not "just a cow!")
Anyway, it's all good now. She's home! It will be some time before I can tell if she's pregnant but if she is her baby will be named Thumper. And Cassie and Randall will be coming home on Sunday!! Yay! Randall has decided to join the Special Forces training so we'll hear more about that when he gets here. Cassie is in limbo in Pensacola, Fl, waiting for her classes to start. She'll be looking at months of school so is very excited to come home. We all are.
It's going to be a nice homecoming Christmas! Hope everyone has a wonderful one too!
:)
