{"id":9128,"date":"2021-05-28T11:05:53","date_gmt":"2021-05-28T15:05:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=9128"},"modified":"2021-09-09T06:55:09","modified_gmt":"2021-09-09T10:55:09","slug":"episode-352-rounding-up-a-lost-herd-of-cattlemay-27-2021-fifth-line-erin-township-wellington-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=9128","title":{"rendered":"EPISODE 352 ROUNDING UP A LOST HERD OF CATTLE\u2026MAY 27, 2021, FIFTH LINE, ERIN TOWNSHIP, WELLINGTON COUNTY"},"content":{"rendered":"
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EPISODE 352      ROUNDING UP A LOST HERD OF CATTLE\u2026MAY 27, 2021, FIFTH LINE, ERIN TOWNSHIP, WELLINGTON COUNTY<\/div>\n

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alan skeoch<\/div>\n
May 28, 2021<\/div>\n

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ALAN MEETS THE ‘CATTLE WHISPERER’<\/div>\n

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I was pitching stones into the rock pile when Jim Sanderson\u2019s daughter approached me.<\/div>\n
\u201cAt last we found the remaining three cattle from the herd that got away three days ago. Mr. Skeoch.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cI have not seen any cattle.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNeither had we until now.   Do you want to see them\u2026take a look at Anthony Acres winter wheat field on<\/div>\n
your son’s farm\u2026over here.\u201d<\/div>\n
Jim Sanderson\u2019s daughter is known locally as the Cattle Whisperer because she has a way of settling<\/div>\n
down animals who might be easily startled.  She seemed amused by the adventure.  She seemed confident although I<\/div>\n
could not see how these cattle could be rounded up and led like lambs back home\u2026miles away.<\/div>\n

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\u201cCan\u2019t see any cattle\u2026\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cSee that white dot way in the distance?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWell, I\u2019ll be damned.  How did they get there?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNo one knows.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cHow long have they been gone?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThree days.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhere did they come from?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cFarm on Trafalgar Road near Ballinafad.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s several miles from here\u2026maybe 3 or 4!\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWe got the others but these three were a mystery until now.”<\/div>\n

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PAUSE HERE FOR A MOMENT:  Study the picture.  See if you can<\/div>\n
find a tiny white dot.  Do it now.<\/div>\n

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\u201cThere got them on my telephoto lens\u2026got them munching water wheat.”<\/div>\n
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As we looked, trucks began to arrive.   One truck had an ATV in a trailer.  Sort of a suprise to me.   I was brought up when cattle round ups were<\/div>\n
done with horses.   And done by cowboys.  Jim Sanderson\u2019s daughter soon disappeared on the ATV sneaking in behind the cattle.   I thought that<\/div>\n
would be done by John Wayne \u2026or Roy Rogers on Trigger\u2026or The Lone Ranger on Silver\u2026\u201dHi Ho, Silver, Away!\u201d   Instead, and probably better,<\/div>\n
Jim\u2019s daughter would whisper, \u201cTime to go home, let me show you the way.”<\/div>\n

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This began to look like an illegal Covid 19 roadside party<\/div>\n

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This was not my best picture but does credit to one of the cattle wranglers chest.<\/div>\n

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Then the owner of the herd appeared with his cell phone.  Maybe the cattle were wired!   Maybe they would respond<\/div>\n
to the cattle call\u2026.\u2019Co boss..co boss\u2019 which I remembered from the past.<\/div>\n

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He seemed a little startled as I clicked my camera.<\/div>\n

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\u201cHow can I help?\u201d I said.<\/div>\n
He looked me straight in the eye and said \u201cThe best way you can help is by staying out of the way.\u201d<\/div>\n
Now that sounds like a mean thing to say.   There was no malice in his comment.   Cattle can be<\/div>\n
startled by strangers.  Sort of ignored his advice anyway but did keep my distance.<\/div>\n

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The cattle were on the move.<\/div>\n
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They burst onto the road for a while and then were herded back into the wheat field while the<\/div>\n
trap\u2026the corral\u2026was being assembled and baited.<\/div>\n

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So, as nightfall approached the corral trap was set and baited.   I do not know the end of this story.  Which would be the happier<\/div>\n
ending?  Either the cattle remained in the field until next fall or the cattle enter the corral and someone closes the gate.<\/div>\n
As we drove down the road there was no one there to close the gate.  And the cattle were back in the field beyond our vision.<\/div>\n

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Steer Talking:  \u201cWhat do you think Elsie?  Is that grain in the trough  trap?\u201d<\/div>\n
Heifer Talking:   \u201cI think we should just stay here\u2026whole field of fresh wheat<\/div>\n
and lots of water in he swamp.\u201d<\/div>\n

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Alan Thinking:  \u201cI do not think anyone in this drama appreciates my presence with my camera\u2026<\/div>\n
except, maybe, the guy whose bare chest I managed to snap\u2026and neighbour Jamie who <\/div>\n
got same advice I did\u2026\u201dStay out of the way\u2026block the hole in the fence in the back field\u2026out of sight.”<\/div>\n

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CONCLUSION<\/div>\n

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Alan ; \u201cWhat was the best picture I managed to take of the Great Cattle Round Up?\u201d<\/div>\n
Marjorie: \u201cNo doubt about that, Alan.\u201d<\/div>\n
Alan: \u201cThe telephoto of the cattle?\u201d<\/div>\n
Marjorie: \u201cNo, the picture of the owner of the cattle telling you to STAY OUT OF THE WAY!\u201d<\/div>\n

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Years ago when our boys were young Marjorie and I and the boys would sing our hearts<\/div>\n
out replicating Eddie Arnold\u2019s Cattle Call.   Great days were those.  If only we could<\/div>\n
remember the words maybe Jim Sanderson\u2019s daughter would ask us to join her on<\/div>\n
the ATV in the big Fifth Line round up.<\/div>\n

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“Cattle Call”<\/span>

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[Moan]<\/i>
The cattle are prowlin’ the coyotes are howlin’
Out with the doggies bawl
Where spurs are jinglin’ a cowboy is singin’
This lonesome cattle call [moan]<\/i>

He rides in the sun till his day’s work is done
And he rounds up the cattle each fall
[Moan]<\/i> Singin’ this cattle call

For hours he will ride on the range far and wide
When the night wind blows up a squall
His heart is a feather in all kinds of weather
He sings his cattle call [moan]<\/i>

He’s brown as a berry from ridin’ the prairie
And he sings with an old western drawl
[Moan]<\/i> Singin’ this cattle call… [moan]<\/i><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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EPISODE 352      ROUNDING UP A LOST HERD OF CATTLE\u2026MAY 27, 2021, FIFTH LINE, ERIN TOWNSHIP, WELLINGTON COUNTY alan skeoch May 28, 2021 ALAN MEETS THE ‘CATTLE WHISPERER’ I was pitching stones into the rock pile when Jim Sanderson\u2019s daughter approached me. \u201cAt last we found the remaining three cattle from the herd that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9128","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9128"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9128\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}