The Cow Jumped Over the Moon

We have all heard the childhood jingle about the cow jumping over the moon and the laughter of the little dog. It all sounds humorous when one sees the jumping cows from an outsiders view. The situation is not quite as entertaining when the situation becomes more personal and its your own cows attempting to jump. Let me tell you my tail of the jumping cows!

Our three cute cuddly little bottle baby heifers grew up to be wonderful specimens of the bovine persuasion. Happily fed grain everyday by hand and in their own individualized bowls. Brushed and cooed to when being treated for potential farm oriented ailments. All the sweet things in a cow farmer's life. One would think such sweet treatment would encourage the farm critters to respect the farmer's perseverance and daily hard work all for their care. We rotate our menagerie of farm animals through the different fields to promote healthy feedings and great pasture management. All successfully coordinated. Until the cows teach themselves that fences are more of a restrictive construct of the farmer's mind than a real hindrance. The fences around the homestead have all been constructed of farm fence, barbed wire, and electric fencing material. All to the amusement of our healthy. happy family of adolescent heifers. Do they think to themselves, why use a gate when one may transgress through the different fields and then enjoy the protected succulents on the other side by jumping (or stepping) over the artfully constructed fence lines? Yes, the grass does always appear greener on the other side of the fence. To watch a long-legged Holstein run up to the fence, then pause to artfully and cautiously step over the top of the fence and into the next field brings a sense of some wonder to a farmer's mind. The feeling of wonder is only amplified by observing the not so tall, but much more rotund figure of a two-year-old Angus heifer try to follow suite, only to bring along the electric fence and barbwire strands with her on the trek to join her sister in greener pastures. How many hours does one spend on fence repair just to watch the jumping cows reach for the moon, only to bring down the fences. Now about that laughing little dog...!