Sunset

We had this beautiful sunset Saturday evening after a day of rain. The sky suddenly burst open with color; I understand there was a rainbow behind me that I couldn't see through the trees.

On Sunday we had a bit of excitement here. My husband and I were in Rocky Mount trying to spend some time together and relax. His cell phone rang and it was a neighbor telling us the cows were out.

We raced home in record time and arrived to find two deputy cars here and several neighbors wandering around trying to round up wayward animals. People were excited and waving their arms. A woman I did not know kept talking about seeing a cow wander through her backyard (there are a number of small homes bordering the farm).

My husband, who was a little aggravated and frustrated by this whole scenario, sent me down the road to open one of the big gates, which I did. I then walked across a field and told a neighbor who had corralled a cow that we could get her through that gate, but he wanted me to open a smaller gate at the loading pen so he could try to put her in there. I opened the small gate and stepped back so he could shoo the cow on into the pen.



Older picture of a cow with a newborn.

The cow did not like that and she turned and charged at me. I shrieked and jumped up and tried to scare her to stop her and get out of the way at the same time. Such shenanigans in an old overweight lady are not to be, and my feet went out from under me in the damp grass. I hit the ground hard but since there was a 1,600 pound cow coming at me I climbed back up on my feet immediately, cursing as I did.

The cow swerved and headed for the road. I made a small effort to limp along after her but it was useless and I did not get far.

This animal was not going to be taken easily, and ultimately one of the neighbors on a utility vehicle and a policeman in his vehicle managed to get her through the gate. I certainly wasn't up to chasing after her.

I ended up with a sprained wrist, a big bruise on my lower leg, and another on my hip. It could have been worse, I suppose.

Ultimately we learned that the report was of two cows out, but we only found the one. My husband counted the cows and said they were all in the field. Perhaps one of them found her way back through the fence without help. In any event, he patrolled the fence and patched the hole he thought the cows went through, and that was the end of that.