I am an early riser normally, but having woken a couple of times in the night, I was still sound asleep until woken by the sound of cows bellowing outside. In fact, they sounded very close and very upset. I was up and running before my eyes were even open and wrenched open the curtains to find upwards of 50 bloody piebald matrons in the paddock, munching for all they were worth and the ones who hadn't found the gap where they had broken the fence down, were bellowing outside the gate. Keith and I flung clothes on and hurtled outside to try and get them out which was not as easy as it sounds as in order to get these ones OUT, the front gate had to be open, and if that was open, all the rest wanted to come IN.
The poor cowman - middle European, very little English, could only mutter "string" in strangled tones and I had a Fawlty Towers moment where he reminded me of Manuel and I was very tempted to hit him over the head with a frying pan. Fortunately sanity prevailed and we concentrated on moving the outside bunch into the yard and then rounding up the ones decimating my paddock. The fact that I had put electric fencing tape around 7/8 of my new intake area saved it. Just one cow had got in and trampled through my raspberries (and God knows she did enough damage. I have trodden them back in and am hoping for the best).
It is NOT how I wished to start my week and fencing in pouring rain holds very little allure . . .
8 comments:
I'm trying not to laugh - as I know it must have been an ordeal, watching your paddock get trampled ... but that little lady in the picture looks as though butter wouldn't melt in her mouth!
I hope you got your fencing done - it was a truly dreadful day here yesterday too!
Willow x
Quite the way to have to wake up! Sorry, it's hard not to laugh, and the picture is quite funny.
argg!! not the veg beds!! glad there wasnt too much damage,we had a similar incident up the field last summer,luckily a neighbour whos house backs on to there came belting over shrieking coooooooooooooooooows,we knew what she meant & we all ran up there!its fenced but they could easily shove that over if they took a mind,big things is cooooooooows!
Mind you far more a lovely way to wake up than say by revving motorbikes or clanking lorries :o)
GTM x x x
Oh dear,that's a bit sad for your garden but a fun story if you are sitting in dorset just reading about it!
Gosh, I miss Fawlty Towers. I hope your raspberries are okay.
I can look back and smile now, but cow-murder was high on my agenda first thing! All I could think was all the work I'd done creating a new veg and soft fruit garden, only to have those hooligans potentially flattening the lot.
"Next Door" had about 20 cows in his yard this afternoon, so I wandered over and said, "I see you've caught the ringleaders then . . ."
Cows...COWS! Great gallumphing beasts! Jim and I grew up in dairy country, farmed for many years. It is hard to think appreciatively of milk, butter cheese, etc when the cows are OUT! The idea of steak does come to mind. I hope they will be contained for the summer--their feet are so big!
Rawhide indeed :) I loved the Manuel reference. I hope the raspberries survive, mine have withstood ponies, so fingers crossed
Kim x
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