We all need to be prepared at all times

I have worked on this rock pile for many years and thought I had seen all the things that could ever go wrong. Surprise! I had not!

One of the joys of our business is never being bored and always having something to do. Be assured, if you aren’t busy now, you will be soon.

I found one of the old cows in pretty bad shape this morning early. She was with the spring calving herd and had checked as settled with calf. She is a 10-year old and always easy to handle, but remember how you feel when your fever rages? You might get a little testy, and she did test me quickly. I backed out and called in the offspring to come so we could move her in as quiet as possible.

I was glad to get her in the chute, and she was fighting every step of the way. But we have pretty good facilities, so she was caught. This old cow weighs about 1,100 pounds and we know sometimes the strength of a mad animal seems to be multiplied by ten. She would not go on into the headgate of the chute, and so I decided to use the nose tongs and tie her head or pull her on into place.

She allowed me to get inside the front of the chute, looking me in the eye, and then decided to give me the old what for and rammed her head directly into my breadbasket! The nose tongs in my right hand flew up into my forehead with a mighty thud and I woke up about 3 this afternoon.

The chute is a self-catch and, so, the cow was caught and it was a good thing because I was dozing in the direct path of her escape!

The racket at the working pens had alerted my close relative that she might be missing some action, so she showed up about the same time I was deposited on the ground. The offspring told me later that she figured they could just move me over and go ahead with the necessary doctoring of the needy cow, but they insisted on taking me to the house. I don’t know for sure what the truth is but am thankful for the desire to continue to take care of the old boss.

The cow had lost the calf but retained the fetus, was toxic and, by the time the vet got there, she was almost gone. She died full of expensive medications and left a hefty carcass to dispose of in a legal manner — another couple of hours spent on a dead animal! So is the trail of a beef producer, never the same, always an adventure.

I got out of the fracas with all my teeth in place, a couple of ribs broken and two black eyes. I am happy to relate that I have been royally attended by the grands, along with our female offspring and my close relative. They have clucked over me like a bunch of old hens, and I have enjoyed all of it except the pain of any tiny movement of my long old body. The trip to the ER was done as I was comatose and, so, I woke up in time to suffer the trip home. That was not easy!

It is my opinion, and everyone has one, we all need to be prepared at all times. We may not know what to prepare for, but we sure need to think ahead of our placing our bodies into places that we could be not prepared for. That does not have to make sense. You are smart enough to understand what I mean! I thought I was smart enough to stay out of the front of a mad 1,100-pound cow but found out different. Now I am smarter!

Watch your Ps & Qs ‘cause Santa is edging closer and closer!

Bill is the pen name used by the Gravette-area author of this weekly column. Opinions expressed are those of the author.