Did you get any snow in your neck of the woods yet? We were outside on Friday night and the white flakes were starting to fall. You’re probably wondering what we were doing outside on a cold, snowy, Friday night? I’m glad you sort of asked.
You may have read some of our family’s earlier animal tales. Well, the saga continues on this funny farm. We got two calves about 18 months ago. One of them is a steer. If you’re unfamiliar with cattle-talk, a steer is a castrated bull. If you’re unfamiliar with medical-talk, I’ll let you google that one. We named our little steer, Wenceslas, after the (famous?) good king you may have sung about in a Christmas carol. Since naming him Wenceslas I’ve learned that not everyone is familiar with the Good King Wenceslas of Christmas-time lore. I love the name Wenceslas so much that I suggested to my patient wife that we use it for one of our children. She loved the name so much that there are currently no humans in our home bearing that incredibly terrific title.
We call Wenceslas, Wency, for short. Wency has brought tension and conflict to our family. You see, Wenceslas doesn’t appreciate fences. Metal fences. Barbed wire fences. Electric fences. He just blasts over or through or awkwardly over-y-through all the fences. Our neighbour, and resident cattle expert, told me early on that you just have to get rid of fence jumpers. And did I listen to the wisdom of the cattle whisperer? Absolutely not.
My children have spent many a summer evening walking down our road searching for Wency, finding Wency, and walking Wency back home. Since I’m a good dad, I keep reminding them that cattle-wrangling builds character. You can imagine the enthusiastic phrases my children say to me when I announce that Wency has escaped again and we need to round him up.
Our last search and rescue operation for Wency failed. He was gone and we thought we would never see him again. Until I got a call the next day from another neighbour. “I think I saw your steer on the side of the road,” about two miles from our place. “Good news, kids!” I shouted. They did not share my enthusiasm. We drove over there faster than you could say “Hamburger Helper” and sure enough, there was Wency tromping along the side of the road. Would he come home easily? Of course not! We got out to walk him home and he awkwardly jumped over-y-through another neighbour’s gate. So now the kids and I were running around in that field trying to separate Wency from the other cattle. I guess he loved that herd of heifers (female cattle) because there was no separating him from them. Thankfully we have great neighbours who also lose their cattle on occasion so they are very gracious and kind to a rookie cowpoke like me. Wency lived in their field for a few months and we finally got him home last week.
But he did not like home. He jumped the fence as soon as we let him out of the barn. Fortunately for my cow-chasing children and unfortunately for fence-jumping Wency, his escapist days are now behind him. That’s what we were doing last Friday out in the snow. We were attending the school of cattle butchering 101 and boy were the lessons tough to learn. Find out more next time! Dad, maybe there’s something you’ve never done before (like butcher a cow) that you want to attempt with your kids? Just do it! Time flies! Make every moment count! Even the pasturey-panicky ones.
Jason Weening chases cows with his 10 children and one wife. Get a Christmas gift for a dad in your life with Jason’s new book, “Yes, Dear…I’m Watching Them,” on Amazon.