Drive the buggy into the woods, in 4WD, over logs and stuff I can't even see as the undergrowth is so thick in places, Anni cowering on the seat next to me, wussy. No sign of the cow. Switch the buggy off to be able to listen for her. Only the wind in the trees. She's probably lying down somewhere, the cow ! Eventually I give up. The other cows have gone back to grazing. She'll come out when she's ready, I suppose. I didn't want her to be able to rest and recoup her strength. I think this is a battle of wills between human and cow until she realizes that she is not the boss around here, I am. Or so I keep telling myself. Back to milk Dolly who is patiently chewing the cud while tied to the tree. Try shoo the lambs in, no way, OK will deal with them later. Milk Dolly, take her back to pasture, through the new entrance by the water troughs in the passage I wired up yesterday. Clean up the milking equipment, walk the milk to the house and pour it for Beth. Go back out for a nice stroll around the front garden, with the "help" of Anni to round up some sheep. Not surprising I catch Wanda first, dump her over the fence with the other sheep. She looks as if she's too fat to squeeze through the fence again - hope so, 3 roses are trying for the umpteenth time to put out leaves - it's August ! The other 5 look dead. Chasing the other two lambs, around and around. They are too clever to get caught in the small gap between the fence and the edge of the ramp up to the shed. I open the gate to the lower barn enclosure and we try again. Anni lies and watches them, seems to head them off, but doesn't have the know-how to actually round them up. Me giving her instructions doesn't help at all either. The boy lamb runs into the enclosure, the girl not. The boy tries to come out again, so rush and close the gate, around and around after the girl, between the 2 enclosures, back across the drive-way, around and around, over my flower garden, around the cars, through the roses, around and around.
I give up. Go inside to pour the milk, go fetch the jars from the garage, look out the back window, no sign of the cow. Think I'll have lunch. Heat up leftover pasta with vegetables from the other day, sit and eat while drinking my morning tea. It's 2pm. Text Tina about Gracie being AWOL, call Jackie as I'm supposed to be going to pick blueberries with her today, don't know if I'll make it now. Go back out to see if I can catch the lamb. Nope. Maybe I should just go back to bed. My arm is battered blue and yellow from Gracie 2 days ago, my leg is cut open from moving the chickens and ducks out of the front garden yesterday because of the fox, and today I'm lashed with thorns while bundu-bashing after a recalcitrant cow. Remind me again why I'm stupid enough to think that I can farm.
Will take another run around back to see if Gracie has made an appearance, will have another go at the lamb, then will go over to Jackie. Think I need a change of scenery, or a frontal lobotomy, or something.
Caught the lamb, eventually. She was greedy and went into the chicken yard for their grain. I shut the gate and the doors and after chasing her a few times around the front and back chicken yard, caught her mid-jump. Dumped her over the fence into the lower barn enclosure with the other boy lamb. Went to check on the whereabouts of Gracie. She was all the way around the hayfield again, grazing on the other side of the fence to the cows. Decided to leave her there while I went to meet Jackie.
Stopped at the Saranac Deli to pick up some egg money from the delivery earlier this week, then went to pick up Jackie. Off to her Mennonite farmer, Darlene, to pick up some fresh produce. Really good value, got tomatoes, green peppers, cucumbers, potatoes, spanspek, green beans, then on to the farm that sells cherries, but we were too late, only frozen cherries available - I'll have to think about them. Then on to the u-pick blueberry farm. $2 / lb for unsprayed blueberries - good deal. I picked 5.5 lbs, planning on making cobbler, muffins, syrup, jam and maybe some just canned in a light syrup. Paid Jackie for the beetroot I got from her last week, also from Darlene. Will get some more next week seeing as our beetroots are still tiny tiny.
Arrived home to find Gracie on the back lawn, well further back up against the pasture fence. She came all the way around again, finishing up past the vegetable garden as the temp fence I rigged over the passage way between the chicken yard and the pasture was still intact and she was pacing up and down in front of it. Just opened the gate, shooed her a few times, she back-tracked only once, and in she went. Had to walk to the other side and open the next gate for her, so Gracie is back in the pasture with the other cows. Tina is coming tomorrow early afternoon to help with her. Going to load her in the trailer and take her back. I can't fight like this every day. Have 5 cows in milk and only milking one. Not OK !
Off to bed with me, I'm exhausted.