Cows

I can stop pinching myself about living on a farm, now. The cows have arrived. One very large calf announced that fact a few evenings ago. I was sitting at my computer looking out the front window and admiring the vegetable garden I had planted the day before. It's up on the slope next to the car shed. Around the corner of the shed came this black and white Holstein. Looking a little lost.

While I was wondering what to do about this cow in my yard, the farmer's wife came around the corner with a bucket of food and a wire snare. But before she could capture it, the cow took off right across my vegetable garden! Now that's a helpless feeling! All I could do was cringe and hold my breath.

As soon as they were both out of sight, I went out to assess the damage. To my amazement, not a single plant had been trodden on. There was, however, a neat row of hoofprints right alongside three of the eggplants and one of the peppers. Incredible! The cow couldn't have come any closer without stepping on them.

The iris bloomed this week - a wonderful burgundy. And in the last two days the rose bush has become covered with deep pink blossoms. The pink fuchsia is thriving under the front window eave. The toad has made a home in the clematis, one of which is showing signs of life. I have put up a trellis but it will probably be several years before it takes off. None of the astilbe or phlox have come up yet. We have had no rain since I planted them and it has been a job hauling buckets of water from the bathtub out to the garden.

With the vegetable garden added, it became apparent that I needed a hose. I drove into the city after work yesterday with that in mind and needing a few more herb plants (sage and basil.) I stopped at Dawn and Kathy's who were at the tail end of a three-day garage sale. They have a dish cabinet for me that I wanted to see, though it was too big to take back in the car. They'll bring it out later this week. Lo and behold, Kathy had a hose to give away! It even came in a very cute giant frog.

I came home to find Craig (upstair's neighbor) had also acquired a hose and was watering my vegetables. After some trial and error, I can water my front garden by connecting the two hoses. Mine was not quite long enough to reach all the way around the root cellar to where the faucet is, on his back patio. It seems that Cheryl has left and gone back to her ex-husband. That is a surprise. It has only been a little over a week since Rick had his barn-warming party (before the cows were brought in). It was a chance to sit and chat and get to know her a little bit, and no hint that she was thinking of leaving.

That has made things even quieter around here. Not a bad thing, but a woman needs women friends and I have not yet found the feeling of community around me that I would like to have. While I now have a place large enough for friends to visit comfortably, it is a bit of a drive for them. Likewise for me to drive into the city to visit them. As I get more settled, I will have to reach out and establish new relationships out here in the country.