Go on - Git!

So as if we haven't had enough to deal with amongst the throes of the holiday season, we've had a good cold snap and the marsh on our property has frozen. The cattails leftover from last summer are all brown and sagging. They unfortunately had grown up over our west property line fence and now that they are brown and saggy they have dragged the fence down with them. I didn't realize anything was amiss until we got this hard freeze and the cattle who are normally turned out on the farmland to the west of us decided to stroll on top of the ice, over our sagging cattail inundated perimeter, and greet my horses over the one remaining strand of fenceline separating my horses from the marsh. Apparently no one told my horses that they have quarter horse bloodlines, because they are absolutely convinced that these large black angus cattle are merely masquerading as herbivores, and at a moment's notice could morph into equine-eating machines.

Since Owen is out of commision recovering from his surgery and my horses were useless against this foreign threat, tonight it was up to me. I marched out into the frozen marsh wielding my plastic pitchfork, reasoning that if a 1500 lb cow can manage to stay on top of the ice my hulking frame certainly shouldn't crash through. I shouted; I waved my weapon; I attempted to strike fear into the heart of every bovine present. They nonchalantly moseyed slightly further west.

Having evicted them from our property, I proceeded to inspect our perimeter fence and made the discovery hitherto presented. Realizing I was no longer the threatening menace as I initally presented myself, the cattle determined the dead cattails were more appealing than I was foreboding and all came back over to eat.

I'll try it again tomorrow with backup humans to help me repair the fence. Hopefully I won't wake up in the morning with 30 cattle knocking on my door for breakfast. If that's the case Cecil might just have to cowboy up, find the quarter horse within, and get tacked in his jumping saddle to herd them back onto the farm. Go on - Git!