In Harney County, Oregon where we have property there are many areas of "open range" on stretches of road. Knowing this we watch carefully when driving the roads. If there is a group of cows not far from the road you slow down because you never know when a calf could dart out onto the road. Most are easily shielded by the tall sage brush.
The last time I was in Princeton, I ventured out to the Round Barn Gift Shop and Museum 10 miles from our place. Most of the 10 miles are in open range. On the way back, I noticed a cow and calf standing next to the road. I slowed down and stopped. They were looking up the road and back toward me like we are all taught to look before crossing a street. I sat there smiling and waited. When they decided I wasn't going to move the calf ran across the road and the cow crossed in a leisurely fashion.
4 comments:
Great post. Being boxed in by a herd of cattle being moved is a great experience if you know it's coming. Even here, close to a small city, the land is open range.
Thanks Stephanie. It is fun to be boxed in and watch the people on horseback and the knowledgeable cow dogs.
My first experience of this was with sheep. I was looking into the distance and the road was bubbling. The whole distance was bubbling. When we got to the edge, the cowboys parted the herd which closed in behind us so we rumbled through like a ship on the sea.
Terri, that reminds me of growing up. We had a large herd of sheep/ When we'd doctor them they'd be packed into the barn and sometimes the only way to get through them was to walk on top of them. Now that's the closest a person will ever come to walking on clouds!
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