Here Come the Cows

“To country people Cows are mild,
And flee from any stick they throw;
But I’m a timid town bred child,
And all the cattle seem to know.” 
― T.S. Eliot

Well, my husband and I talked it over. The cows are coming, 15 head of them, and staying until October.

If we don't help our neighbor, he has to feed the cows his hay now and sell them all in the fall (and maybe has to sell his 2 horses too.) If we agree to let him pasture them in our hay fields and woods, he thinks he can sell all but 2 heifers and a bull calf this fall without touching his hay. Then he hopes he can use his hay to get those 3 head of cattle through the winter so as to start building a herd again next spring. He's also figured that he'll have enough to feed his horses until then too.

How could we turn him down? No kind-hearted person could, really. We'd be depriving him of his livelihood and his pets in order to avoid dealing with our worries and the unpleasantness and inconvenience the cattle will cause us. It's an act of charity. To do otherwise would be selfish.

So my husband is fixing the fence. Although we had no immediate need for it, it seems to make sense that he repairs the fence as he sees fit since it will remain after our neighbor needs it, even though our neighbor offered to fix it for us when approaching us about his need for pasturage.  besides, with the way they cut hay and the way they build and maintain their own fences, we can't see how he could really repair ours. Plus, if he's in dire financial straits, it wouldn't be helping him much to put a fencing burden on him.

We'll also charge our neighbor a nominal fee to lease the land. We don't want him to feel beholden, but we don't want to take advantage of a man on hard times either. We weren't counting on getting any money for leasing our land, so even a tiny sum is a bonus and helps him to maintain his dignity. Taking anything more, even the "fair" and going rate for land lease seems wrong.

As for the worry the cattle will cause, I already mentioned the dam and the risk of detrimental erosion in my last post. We'll have to see where the cows choose to drink. We may have to cordon off the front face of the dam at some point, but to start we won't. 

Then there's the water consumption issue. Our pond is down over 2 feet already. Each head of cattle consumes about 20 gallons of water a day. It won't take long at that rate to deplete it severely. As well, if it ever rains again, the runoff from the manure will up the nitrate content of the pond and make our fight with american pond weed even harder to win. 

Also there's the forage consumption issue. On a good grass pasture, you can put about 2 head of cattle per 5 acres. A lot of the roaming area is woods. And the hay is so stiff and dry and dormant that there's just not much to eat even in the grassy areas. I'm worried that the cattle may decimate the roots of the already damaged hay. They're heavy creatures who are starving, and the roots might not hold to the ground if the plants have been so dry for so long. We may end up having to figure out how to reseed the hay fields next spring. Ugh.

There's also the fact that the woods are only lined by old barbed wire strands. If the cattle get out and into the adjoining woods or the adjoining hay field that do not belong to us, I suppose we would be held accountable for any damages they cause. We'll be going over our insurance policy to make sure we'll be covered in a case like that.

Then there's the fact that the fence comes up about 15 or 20 feet from the house. The cows could be in our back yard practically. They probably will be, since the only green grass around is over the septic drain field.  My 3 year old will not be a fan. He's still terrified of the goats! And did I mention that there will be a bull in the mix too? Ed is his name. He's the nice one. I think they got rid of Psycho, who was by all accounts, aptly named.

Of course it also means no camping by the lake until they are sold. As well as having to traverse through cow pies and cattle to get to the boats, to go fishing, or to retrieve hay from the lower barn. It also means myriads of flies. And most horrifyingly to me, who is freaked out about ticks and the ten diseases they carry, is that the tick population will skyrocket. (I know a lady who got Lyme Disease near here a few years back, and last year an old gentleman died of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever near here too!) 

I'm sure I'm forgetting some other things I've been fretting about, but you get the idea. This decision is worrisome and inconvenient, but don't get me wrong, it's worth it. I'm glad to know our neighbors see fit to ask favors when they are in need. After a year we've already gotten a reputation as decent, approachable folks, and that's something to be proud of.