This was first posted November 13, 2014.
You guys are simply a blessing, you know that, right? Writing what I figured would be the most controversial blog post I’ve ever written, I just knew I’d lose readers/fans/lurkers. Maybe I have, but at least they were kind about it and simply slipped away! Thanks for sharing your own stories of heartbreak and hard decisions… it does help to know that I’m not the only one to have made this heart-wrenching decision. My condolences to everyone that’s gone through this, and those of you who haven’t… well, I’m hoping you never have to do it.
****
It was a nice -20˚ this morning… Vernon had bet on -30, my money was on -26˚. I won!!!! It was probably -30˚ at my old house, it is usually 10˚ cooler there sitting next to the creek… The cold does beautiful things to windowpanes of old houses… have to share my window behind my computer last night as I finished my post. Pretty, huh?
It’s not near as impressive tonight, we must be having a heat wave…
I wish you could feel the piercing cold. Hear the squeak as the snow complains of your passing. And the Facebook post that keeps going around here which says, “The air hurts my face. Why do I live where the air hurts my face???” – well, it’s just TOO FUNNY! We were pretty spoiled there for a bit, but it *is* November.
I tried to get a picture first thing this morning that portrayed this bitter cold… I wasn’t very happy with it.
This evening, coming home from work, 1˚ on the thermometer, I *should* have got some kind of pic for you, but I was too busy sweating! Yup. You read that right.
I noticed a calf on the road. It was one of ours. JOY. Livestock on the road is BAD, Capital B-A-D. Black cattle/black night can equal a wrecked car and dead calf… so I debated. No, too cold to jump out in my “town clothes”, I continued on home to change and head back. Of course, Vernon wasn’t home yet, so I grabbed the spotlight and left. I drove 4 miles back down the road and tried to bring the calf to the nearest gate. Since it was so cold and I was tromping through 6″ of snow, the calf turned and ran the other direction. Of course.
OK… I hiked it back up to *another* gate… and it jogged right past it and kept on jogging. Me? I’m not into jogging. I went back and retrieved my car, knowing I couldn’t catch up on foot. I tried to catch up to him… where the samhill did he go? WAAAAAAY up there almost to another gate! Nope, we’re going back to the second one, less up and down and more open to keep an eye on him. By now it’s dark-thirty, and I see headlights coming our way. My car is stopped back down the road and has its flashers going… I wave my spotlight back and forth and shine it on the calf, though he appears to just be a blacker hole than the surrounding darkness. It’s the school bus. Slow down… slow down more… The calf steps out into the road, and I’m talking to E., the bus driver, like he can hear me… Slow down more! The calf wised up and stepped out of the way… whew. That was close. I’m hiking through the snow, encouraging him on… only occasionally using a profane word or two.
About then, a pickup stops. “Need some help?” “Yeah, if you guys could go make sure he goes through the gate up there, I’d sure appreciate it!” “We’ll try!” Off they went.
I had just been contemplating having to go get some help… this had taken me much longer than expected… and when it’s DARK out here… It’s RATHER DARK OUT HERE. I was glad they offered some help! I kept hiking, finally getting the steer to the gate, and the volunteers were in perfect position, and the calf zipped into the pasture just as planned! “You guys are my heroes!” I yelled! “We’ll be bigger heroes when we get you back to your car!” “TRUE!”
Brad and Dan gave me a lift back to my outfit, and I thanked them profusely! “Hey, this is Wyoming, and we help each other out here.” You are exactly right, Brad and Dan, and that’s one reason why I love it so much!
The top half of me was sweating, the bottom half was getting chilled, and I was ready to head for my house! No pics of my dark adventure, so I’ll share this morning’s pic instead. Its title?
Stupid Powerlines
Glad you had some help to make this one a happy story for all! As a long-time follower, I don’t remember reading it, but can relate to the cold:
my college town, Potsdam, NY is right above the Adirondacks. Bitter cold, not as much snow as you’d think though. I remember many times breathing in the frigid air and my nostrils sticking together!!
Not many in the USA have experienced that kind of cold or gone to such lengths to get a calf to safety.