moooving cattle

Yesterday, I got a call from my buddy at Maple Valley Farm; Larry asked me to come over and help him "sort" his new cattle.  I have been around cattle, but have never worked with them or really done anything other than look at them.  Despite my lack of experience, I figured that if he was asking for my help then he probably really needed help and I would see what I could do.

I have to admit that I was sort of hoping he would call me and tell me it was off due to the rain, but that didn't happen and I arrived ready for work this morning at 0900.  I am glad that it did not get postponed and that he allowed me to assist him in the adventure because I learned quite a lot (this is not the first time I have gained experience with something new by helping Larry and I doubt it will be the last) and I always enjoy spending time with my friend.

The task was seemingly simple; to sort the two young male calves from the herd of larger females.  The task was further complicated by Larry's desire to avoid stressing the cattle; a philosophy with which I agree, but makes working with animals a bit more difficult and stressful for us.  It was not easy, but we got the two little guys separated and into their own paddock.  Next came the real hard part; we needed to get the herd of ladies out of their new paddock, down the hill and to the back of the property where the sheep were (about a ½ mile away).  This too was not easy, but we eventually got them where Larry wanted them. 

All-in-all, I would have to say that I enjoyed it a bit and learned that while there are some similarities when herding different animals there are some BIG differences too.  Who knows maybe we will end up with some cattle of our own in the future.