Cattle On The Run: "Mr. Greer, I just passed south of your place and there are cattle everywhere!”
15 September, 2009 - 23:23
If you ranch and have cattle the most depressing words you can hear are those spoken by someone telling you that your cattle are out. Out as in no longer safe behind your fences, but out roaming the roads and woods and wherever they can get to easily. Such was my fate early Monday morning. It has rained for two days and everything was mushy and it was difficult to get out without getting suck. I had turned the coffee pot on about 10 minutes to five and was reading a paper when the call came close to seven. “Mr. Greer, I just passed south of your place and there are cattle everywhere!” I was stunned. Eva had gone to Dallas earlier and Javier was in Florida. I was “home alone”.
I quickly pulled on my new work boots and ran out of the house into a heavy rain. By the time I was in the truck I was soaked, but not as much as I would be later. I realized there is no 911 call to be made when your cattle are out. It’s your problem. I drove slowly up the hill hardly able to see and in time did find a few cattle in the middle of the road. There were less than 10 and over thirty had escaped my paddocks. I was now really depressed. I drove off the side of the road and realized I may be stuck. The cattle were not so happy to see me and scattered down the road and into the woods along a trail we have for our cabin quest. The made a big circle covering a half-mile and got back on the road and instead of heading down the hill to an open gate and safe pasture, they headed up the hill and made a left turn toward town.
They were now a mile from the house and to the south there are is open country and no fences for miles and miles. I decided it was better to kill one running it down to get in front of them then losing all of them to the open land. So I blasted with horn blaring through them and they scattered in all directions. I jumped out of the truck and got them to turn north and back to our land where we have new pine trees planted. Luck would have it we have a fire lane here and they ran down it before I could catch up with them.
I needed help and needed be able to move around easier than in a truck. As I drove rapidly back toward the shop, I spotted a four more head in the woods. I got out and got them started toward the house, but then they went west into the woods on the trail the other cattle had been on 15 minutes before. I chased them in and then felt they would stay put until I got back. I was soaked to the bone and it was raining so hard you could not see 50 feet.
I got back to the shop, got a four-wheeler and made one call on my cell before it died (rain soaked). The guy that had called to tell me the cows were out had dropped off his trailer and said he could come back and help a little. When I got to the top of the hill and into the trail there were no cattle. My friend showed up and said they were on top of Greer Mountain. Now why would these cattle pick a very difficult hill to climb in the rain? He went up one side and me the other and in time we got them down and they ran off south in the woods. I told him to wait on the road and I would go in and chase them out. By gosh I felt like bur rabbit in the brier patch. The thicket under the trees was 4 to 8 feet tall and it was tearing at me on every step. The dang cattle went in deeper and deeper and I stayed with them sometime crawling. Eventually I got them to the road and with my friend behind them and me running ahead to open a gate we had four head back in a fenced area.
I went back and got the four-wheeler and went to see where the cattle had escaped. It was at the end of the power company right-of-way and they had ripped a metal gate off its hinges and with it suspended half way up in the air crawled over it. I took it down and left it open. Perhaps a cougar had chased the herd into this corner and in a freight they took down the gate. I went behind the cabins and opened a double gate up into the new pine area hoping that the cattle I had chased off the road would get this far by themselves.
My friend left me as he had other obligations. I was now alone again.
I went back to where the small herd had left the road south of the cabin area three fourths of a mile away and entered the dense brush. It was hard going and I was on foot stumbling and crawling. In time, I made it all the way down the hill and found this group of cattle and got them into the cabin area. I closed the gates and went and got the first four we had captured and ran all of them back into the bottom paddock that had secure fences. I counted fifteen head. Now I needed to find 17 more.
The rain had not let up a bit and I was dirty, soaked and tired. Maybe for a moment I thought it was a good time to start smoking again. I kept thinking where 17 head of cattle could be. I went back to the shop, got the truck and drove all of the back roads to see if they had move far away from home. No luck and with the rain it was impossible to see tracks or cow poop. I went back and got on the four-wheeler and back tracked where they had originally escaped.
This is an area of heavy forest and large black jack and white oaks. We have a mowed trail through this area and the going was easy for a while. As I exited the trail into the new forest, I saw a few cattle in the distance. I jumped off the four-wheeler and like Harrison Ford went in hot pursuit of them. Not wanting to spook them I had to go through a quarter mile of thicket and thorn bushes to get ahead of them. When I did get to them they split into two groups. One set headed back into the oak forest and the other into the new forest thicket. I chased the ones in the woods on foot and got them back through the gate they had broken down to escape. I moved these to join the others I had captured. I now had 20 head safe and 12 missing.
I retuned to the thicket now really exhausted. In time, I got ten head out and into the cabin area and eventually safe with the others. Thirty head were secured. Where were the other two? Maybe it is not so bad to just lose two head. A hot shower sounded good. Nope, I went back for the four-wheeler where it had been abandoned and spent hours in the rain covering every possible area where they may be. To my astonishment they found their own way back to the cabin area following the calling of their mates. All 32 were not back in secure fence.
I counted and recounted and was settled that all the cattle were there I headed to the shop and left the four-wheeler, took the truck back to the house and peeled off some very wet clothes. My wallet was full of water. I took off my new boots and poured a cup of water out of each. My body ached. A shower awaited me.
I had spoken very briefly with Eva hours before and without a working phone she had no idea if I was alive or dead stomped under a cow’s hoof. I called and let her know things were okay now.
Now I really do enjoy my cattle and doubt that I would be happy as a row crop farmer. But, I know for a fact a row cropper has never had a row of corn, cotton or soy beans run off. My only saving grace is that I did not have all our cattle in one paddock and have that many more to chase down.
Did I learn anything? Yes…. put your cell phone in a zip lock bag if it is raining.
I quickly pulled on my new work boots and ran out of the house into a heavy rain. By the time I was in the truck I was soaked, but not as much as I would be later. I realized there is no 911 call to be made when your cattle are out. It’s your problem. I drove slowly up the hill hardly able to see and in time did find a few cattle in the middle of the road. There were less than 10 and over thirty had escaped my paddocks. I was now really depressed. I drove off the side of the road and realized I may be stuck. The cattle were not so happy to see me and scattered down the road and into the woods along a trail we have for our cabin quest. The made a big circle covering a half-mile and got back on the road and instead of heading down the hill to an open gate and safe pasture, they headed up the hill and made a left turn toward town.
They were now a mile from the house and to the south there are is open country and no fences for miles and miles. I decided it was better to kill one running it down to get in front of them then losing all of them to the open land. So I blasted with horn blaring through them and they scattered in all directions. I jumped out of the truck and got them to turn north and back to our land where we have new pine trees planted. Luck would have it we have a fire lane here and they ran down it before I could catch up with them.
I needed help and needed be able to move around easier than in a truck. As I drove rapidly back toward the shop, I spotted a four more head in the woods. I got out and got them started toward the house, but then they went west into the woods on the trail the other cattle had been on 15 minutes before. I chased them in and then felt they would stay put until I got back. I was soaked to the bone and it was raining so hard you could not see 50 feet.
I got back to the shop, got a four-wheeler and made one call on my cell before it died (rain soaked). The guy that had called to tell me the cows were out had dropped off his trailer and said he could come back and help a little. When I got to the top of the hill and into the trail there were no cattle. My friend showed up and said they were on top of Greer Mountain. Now why would these cattle pick a very difficult hill to climb in the rain? He went up one side and me the other and in time we got them down and they ran off south in the woods. I told him to wait on the road and I would go in and chase them out. By gosh I felt like bur rabbit in the brier patch. The thicket under the trees was 4 to 8 feet tall and it was tearing at me on every step. The dang cattle went in deeper and deeper and I stayed with them sometime crawling. Eventually I got them to the road and with my friend behind them and me running ahead to open a gate we had four head back in a fenced area.
I went back and got the four-wheeler and went to see where the cattle had escaped. It was at the end of the power company right-of-way and they had ripped a metal gate off its hinges and with it suspended half way up in the air crawled over it. I took it down and left it open. Perhaps a cougar had chased the herd into this corner and in a freight they took down the gate. I went behind the cabins and opened a double gate up into the new pine area hoping that the cattle I had chased off the road would get this far by themselves.
My friend left me as he had other obligations. I was now alone again.
I went back to where the small herd had left the road south of the cabin area three fourths of a mile away and entered the dense brush. It was hard going and I was on foot stumbling and crawling. In time, I made it all the way down the hill and found this group of cattle and got them into the cabin area. I closed the gates and went and got the first four we had captured and ran all of them back into the bottom paddock that had secure fences. I counted fifteen head. Now I needed to find 17 more.
The rain had not let up a bit and I was dirty, soaked and tired. Maybe for a moment I thought it was a good time to start smoking again. I kept thinking where 17 head of cattle could be. I went back to the shop, got the truck and drove all of the back roads to see if they had move far away from home. No luck and with the rain it was impossible to see tracks or cow poop. I went back and got on the four-wheeler and back tracked where they had originally escaped.
This is an area of heavy forest and large black jack and white oaks. We have a mowed trail through this area and the going was easy for a while. As I exited the trail into the new forest, I saw a few cattle in the distance. I jumped off the four-wheeler and like Harrison Ford went in hot pursuit of them. Not wanting to spook them I had to go through a quarter mile of thicket and thorn bushes to get ahead of them. When I did get to them they split into two groups. One set headed back into the oak forest and the other into the new forest thicket. I chased the ones in the woods on foot and got them back through the gate they had broken down to escape. I moved these to join the others I had captured. I now had 20 head safe and 12 missing.
I retuned to the thicket now really exhausted. In time, I got ten head out and into the cabin area and eventually safe with the others. Thirty head were secured. Where were the other two? Maybe it is not so bad to just lose two head. A hot shower sounded good. Nope, I went back for the four-wheeler where it had been abandoned and spent hours in the rain covering every possible area where they may be. To my astonishment they found their own way back to the cabin area following the calling of their mates. All 32 were not back in secure fence.
I counted and recounted and was settled that all the cattle were there I headed to the shop and left the four-wheeler, took the truck back to the house and peeled off some very wet clothes. My wallet was full of water. I took off my new boots and poured a cup of water out of each. My body ached. A shower awaited me.
I had spoken very briefly with Eva hours before and without a working phone she had no idea if I was alive or dead stomped under a cow’s hoof. I called and let her know things were okay now.
Now I really do enjoy my cattle and doubt that I would be happy as a row crop farmer. But, I know for a fact a row cropper has never had a row of corn, cotton or soy beans run off. My only saving grace is that I did not have all our cattle in one paddock and have that many more to chase down.
Did I learn anything? Yes…. put your cell phone in a zip lock bag if it is raining.