There are at least 5 or 6 rancheros who take their animal charges to surrounding pastures; they pass right by my lot, which I heard was one of their pastures. Some have only cows, others only sheep, and yet others who have both. Most of them have canine helpers who look after the stragglers. Not always successfully.
Last week a sleek looking cow with horns intact showing off against her deep red colouring got left behind. Right by my RV. At first she merely kept on munching unaware that she was alone, the rest of the group equally unaware that they were missing one. Intent on her goodies, the light of day slowly gave way to darkness; it finally dawned on her that she was truly alone when her anxious moooo got no answer.
Mooing pitifully for quite a while, the poor cow looked around obviously frantic about joining the small herd. She darted about going back and forth over her habitual terrain, without any luck mooing her distress all along. We’re in the country so unless there’s a full moon, nothing will light the way around fields with many species of cacti and other prickly plants whose name I don’t care to learn about. All I know is that they’ll go right through a thick sole. Painfully. Not a good thing to face in the dark. I wrongfully assumed that she had made it home when I no longer heard her mooing.
The next day, the lady who had unintentionally (or not) left her two puppies to be adopted by yours truly came by with red cow sagely in between two others. I asked her whether Daisy had made it home the night before. Not so, she said. Her son lost her and she had to remain on her own all night. Early enough, she was found and all was well under the sun.
A couple of days later, the son had to chase Daisy around with a switch to keep her in line with the others. I guess learning comes at all stages of a cow’s life. . . or not.
Sheep, on the other hand, seem to rarely venture far away from the herd. Here are a few who traipsed right by me.
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