Chasing Cows

Several years ago, the neighbors were putting in a new pipe fence and some cows escaped; deciding they liked my front lawn. I had a garden, close to the house, and my tomato plants were just beginning to produce. If you have ever grown tomatoes you know how protective you get about them!  These were large cows, huge cows, big, black cows and, I admit, I was a little apprehensive about approaching them.

A riding lawn mower does move a wayward bunch of cows however, after five laps around my house I saw one of my neighbors, laughing his ass off, as he watched me herd cows in a circle. Since I did not want him to win any money on Americas Funniest Videos, with me as the butt of the joke, I parked the mower near the plants and guarded them. To prove to the cows, that I was serious, I would occasionally rev the engine. When the school bus dropped off some teenage boys, they shooed the cows back into the proper pasture. I thought the situation was resolved.

A few hours later I heard a horn repeatedly honking. I walked outside to see a truck full of Hispanics driving, in front of some cows, down the street. They had a feed sack hanging over the tailgate and were shaking it to entice the cows to follow them. It seemed to me that they should be honking behind the cows, but all I know about cows is from what I have read in old west romance novels. Only a couple of cows were interested in the feed sack; there were five more that were in my pasture heading toward my tomato garden. Before I could fire up the lawn mower, four guys on horses suddenly rode up, yahooing, and waving their hats. They wore bandanas tied around their necks, boots, belts with large buckles, and had me believing they were the real deal… until I saw their dog. This dog was barking and nipping at the cows’ legs and moving them quickly along, and through, the downed part of the fence. Soon all of the cows were back where they belonged, the fencing replaced, and my plants were safe. The cowboys looked impressive, but it was the dog that caught my attention.

It’s not often that you see yahooing cowboys, on horses, waving their hats, chasing cows, and being led by a little white, shaved poodle.

Now that I think back upon it… the cowboys may have been yoohooing.