Shari
IsItFridayYet?
Ok, let me set this up just a bit.
1 - At cgfg's birthday dinner, I bought dinner for the Brooms.
2 - Last summer, the Brooms asked husband to fix some fence. The kids and I were with him, so we all went out. Two Brooms had a cow that cgfg NOT go to the field with us because "there's snakes! (She) might get snake bit." Wee, who had no shoes, was not an issue.
3 - We share a bull with them, so when we take the cows out there to breed (not the norm, but happens) Two Brooms gets mad if we leave them over 6 weeks because they are "eating up her grass" and she doesn't have enough for their own cows.
4 - Eighteen months to two years ago, when cgfg's mom's parents went on vacation, somehow, Two Brooms found out, and she was so afraid cgfg was "going to get stolen" walking from the bus to her house down her driveway, that Two Brooms met cgfg every day after school and drove her down the drive to her mom's house. Royally ticked cgfg's mom off, but Two Brooms wouldn't quit. That's when cgfg's mom stopped talking to Two Brooms, also, and shut off her phone.
Ok, so, do we have it established that Two Brooms is BEYOND paranoid about this kid? Thought so.
4 - In the opinion of the Brooms, black cows are worth so much more than other colored cows. And while it is true black angus sell better than other colors/breeds, the Brooms sell one or two calves at a time, and when you sell off one calf at a time, its color does not bring you a higher bid. A group or lot of black calves will bring more than a group of red ones, but individuals just do not sell well. Many folks think an individual calf at auction is being sold off because there's something wrong with it.. Either that or the auction barn will lump it in with other peoples' "singles" and sell the group as a 'mixed-breed lot'.
So, the kids own most of the cows we have. One of cgfg's was purchased from the Brooms. It is solid black, and 3/4 angus, possibly more. Still a cross-bred, tho. She is a nice cow and a good mother,
However, the cow has charged me for 5 of the last 7 years. She has taken on easy child 1's truck. She has charged cgfg, the neighbor girl, and the neighbor boy who rode his motorcycle thru our field once. The cow is not picky who she charges. The first time it happened, I managed to run and jump into a hay ring. Shortly after the second charge, I started carrying a fiberglass rod to hit her with if I had to.
I told husband a while back, if she does it again, she's gone. Either I'll sell her, or I'll shoot her, I don't care which, but there is no need to have an animal that acts like that with kids around. When he told Two Brooms, we were instructed we could not sell her. If we wanted rid of her, she was to go to their house. She's "too good a cow to sell."
And, for the past 18 months, she hadn't charged me.. Ten days ago, cgfg went to get her horse and came back and said the cow charged her again. Today, I went to get cgfg's horse, and the cow, who has a week old calf now, charged me, and I was no where near her when she started. Unable to run well, I made it to a steel gate and slammed her with the gate before not very gracefully climbing up on the gate, where I stayed until she left. She spent 6-8 minutes snorting at me and circling the gate, stopping eveyr now and again to charge the dog, but not long enough for me to make it over the boundry fence. Finally, she took off to the back pasture and I got down.
No serious harm done. Sore and swollen, and pride is hurt that I can't outrun and out-maneuver her anymore, but nothing major. However, I text husband and told him the cow was gone, I'm done, that's it, game over. He was mad, but said ok (the cow has never tried to go after him. BUT - he also rarely walks in the pasture - he always drives something - the rest of us walk.)
And then he apparently told his dad. And now the Brooms want to keep the cow out there instead of us getting rid of it.
They had to have cgfg out there on spring break to seed and fertilize. She did. And was alone in the pasture when she did it. She, Wee, and I deer hunt out there. We don't get the "good spots", so we have to walk thru the pasture to get to our stands. So, while cgfg would not be exposed to the cow as often out there, it would still happen. And when she is out there, they said, she can ride the 4wheeler, so she's not on foot when she's out with the cow. She can the 4wheeler. Not the rest of us.
Why in the world, when you are that paranoid about a kid's well-being, would you even consider keeping an animal with a 5+ year history of charging at not one, but at least 5 different people, and not all of them even in our family????
If I say no, the cow goes, it will royally tick the Brooms off. If I say yes, the cow can stay, A) we are all still exposed to her, B ) cgfg profits from an animal that she rarely has to work to have (and a market steer brings in several hundred dollars each year), and C) I feel gloriously walked on and uncared for once again. I mean, seriously, this cow comes before the safety of the kids and I???? Really?
Ok, sorry. Vent over.
Oh, wait, no, I lied. There's more. We saw them last night. She offered to buy us dinner to repay me for cgfg's birthday dinner (because you can't just buy someone dinner to be nice - have to keep it even to the penny....). So, anyway, Two Brooms thinks its awful to tickle someone. She will yell at a total stranger to stop being mean to a baby for tickling it. So when we saw them last night, she was trying to tickle Wee's belly. He told her to stop and she kept right on. He finally turned and snapped at her and said "I said stop it *itch". Three other people and I heard it, and not one piped up. I should have, but dangit...dealing with these freaks is no holds barred...
1 - At cgfg's birthday dinner, I bought dinner for the Brooms.
2 - Last summer, the Brooms asked husband to fix some fence. The kids and I were with him, so we all went out. Two Brooms had a cow that cgfg NOT go to the field with us because "there's snakes! (She) might get snake bit." Wee, who had no shoes, was not an issue.
3 - We share a bull with them, so when we take the cows out there to breed (not the norm, but happens) Two Brooms gets mad if we leave them over 6 weeks because they are "eating up her grass" and she doesn't have enough for their own cows.
4 - Eighteen months to two years ago, when cgfg's mom's parents went on vacation, somehow, Two Brooms found out, and she was so afraid cgfg was "going to get stolen" walking from the bus to her house down her driveway, that Two Brooms met cgfg every day after school and drove her down the drive to her mom's house. Royally ticked cgfg's mom off, but Two Brooms wouldn't quit. That's when cgfg's mom stopped talking to Two Brooms, also, and shut off her phone.
Ok, so, do we have it established that Two Brooms is BEYOND paranoid about this kid? Thought so.
4 - In the opinion of the Brooms, black cows are worth so much more than other colored cows. And while it is true black angus sell better than other colors/breeds, the Brooms sell one or two calves at a time, and when you sell off one calf at a time, its color does not bring you a higher bid. A group or lot of black calves will bring more than a group of red ones, but individuals just do not sell well. Many folks think an individual calf at auction is being sold off because there's something wrong with it.. Either that or the auction barn will lump it in with other peoples' "singles" and sell the group as a 'mixed-breed lot'.
So, the kids own most of the cows we have. One of cgfg's was purchased from the Brooms. It is solid black, and 3/4 angus, possibly more. Still a cross-bred, tho. She is a nice cow and a good mother,
However, the cow has charged me for 5 of the last 7 years. She has taken on easy child 1's truck. She has charged cgfg, the neighbor girl, and the neighbor boy who rode his motorcycle thru our field once. The cow is not picky who she charges. The first time it happened, I managed to run and jump into a hay ring. Shortly after the second charge, I started carrying a fiberglass rod to hit her with if I had to.
I told husband a while back, if she does it again, she's gone. Either I'll sell her, or I'll shoot her, I don't care which, but there is no need to have an animal that acts like that with kids around. When he told Two Brooms, we were instructed we could not sell her. If we wanted rid of her, she was to go to their house. She's "too good a cow to sell."
And, for the past 18 months, she hadn't charged me.. Ten days ago, cgfg went to get her horse and came back and said the cow charged her again. Today, I went to get cgfg's horse, and the cow, who has a week old calf now, charged me, and I was no where near her when she started. Unable to run well, I made it to a steel gate and slammed her with the gate before not very gracefully climbing up on the gate, where I stayed until she left. She spent 6-8 minutes snorting at me and circling the gate, stopping eveyr now and again to charge the dog, but not long enough for me to make it over the boundry fence. Finally, she took off to the back pasture and I got down.
No serious harm done. Sore and swollen, and pride is hurt that I can't outrun and out-maneuver her anymore, but nothing major. However, I text husband and told him the cow was gone, I'm done, that's it, game over. He was mad, but said ok (the cow has never tried to go after him. BUT - he also rarely walks in the pasture - he always drives something - the rest of us walk.)
And then he apparently told his dad. And now the Brooms want to keep the cow out there instead of us getting rid of it.
They had to have cgfg out there on spring break to seed and fertilize. She did. And was alone in the pasture when she did it. She, Wee, and I deer hunt out there. We don't get the "good spots", so we have to walk thru the pasture to get to our stands. So, while cgfg would not be exposed to the cow as often out there, it would still happen. And when she is out there, they said, she can ride the 4wheeler, so she's not on foot when she's out with the cow. She can the 4wheeler. Not the rest of us.
Why in the world, when you are that paranoid about a kid's well-being, would you even consider keeping an animal with a 5+ year history of charging at not one, but at least 5 different people, and not all of them even in our family????
If I say no, the cow goes, it will royally tick the Brooms off. If I say yes, the cow can stay, A) we are all still exposed to her, B ) cgfg profits from an animal that she rarely has to work to have (and a market steer brings in several hundred dollars each year), and C) I feel gloriously walked on and uncared for once again. I mean, seriously, this cow comes before the safety of the kids and I???? Really?
Ok, sorry. Vent over.
Oh, wait, no, I lied. There's more. We saw them last night. She offered to buy us dinner to repay me for cgfg's birthday dinner (because you can't just buy someone dinner to be nice - have to keep it even to the penny....). So, anyway, Two Brooms thinks its awful to tickle someone. She will yell at a total stranger to stop being mean to a baby for tickling it. So when we saw them last night, she was trying to tickle Wee's belly. He told her to stop and she kept right on. He finally turned and snapped at her and said "I said stop it *itch". Three other people and I heard it, and not one piped up. I should have, but dangit...dealing with these freaks is no holds barred...