Farm Life Excitement

Farm life never lacks for excitement. As I sat on my back deck enjoying the cool and peaceful morning with my first mug of coffee I was content to just sit here and listen to the birds chirp and watch the cows grazing in the back pasture. I was trying to look for the two new calves that were born last night, but couldn't spot them. After a while a baby calf was bawling for its mama then a couple of more cows joined in the conversation. More and more cows joined in and louder and louder they became. I looked over trying to determine what was causing their distress and then all of a sudden they bolted and started running. Seeing your whole herd of cows stampede is not usually something you see too often unless something is after them. I got my trusty binoculars and scanned the whole back pasture and didn't see anything. The cows and their calves were bawling louder and louder and finally I spotted a movement in the tall grass. I zoomed in closer and saw movement and then ears peeking up from the grass. A coyote was in the pasture with them! Times are few and far between when you see a coyote in the day time. They are usually night predators. The coyote was too far out to get a shot at him so my dog and I got in the truck and drove down there to scare him away. My dog took off running and barking. Now I don't know that the coyote was after one of the new born calves or the after birth. He could have just been passing through to make his way to his pack. Believe me...they're around here. We hear them most every night; sometimes extremely close to the house. A lot of people say their howl makes the hair stand up on the back of their necks, but I like listening to them. (I know...I'm weird that way!)

We stayed down there by the cows for several minutes to make sure that coyote was long gone. Finally, the cows settled down and started grazing again. I snapped a picture of one mama as her baby was nursing. It's not one of the two we had last night. New mamas don't like for any human or animal to be around their newborns. I'll try and get a picture of them later.

I hope that each of you have a wonderful and blessed day.

Loving and living life in the country where ALL the action happens,

Rita