Life Lessons Learned

Sometimes working with animals a person learns some valuable lessons that can be applied to everyday life.

I don't know how well you can see all the cows in the picture above, but the cow in the foreground has been teaching me a few things that I'll share with you today.

Lesson #1: Don't lean on your own understanding - taken from the familiar verse out of Proverbs 3:5.

Lesson #2: The value of letting go of the hurtful things that happen in life.

Here's how it all started:

A week or so ago when we had that awful, cold, icy weather, I went to the back of our farm to feed the pigs. I had the cows in the shelter of some trees back there and had to go through their midst, cross over a concrete low water crossing, open the gates into the back pasture to get to the pigs.

Well, the cows were thinking it was time for something more to eat and they could see the green grass across the creek were I was headed. They thought surely I would let them go into the pasture but I wasn't ready for that just yet. I never called them but they followed me across that crossing that was all iced over.

It didn't work out so great for them. Some made it across ok, but some slipped and fell on the ice and it left a bad impression on them.

A week or so later, I was ready to let them start grazing the back pasture and called them and they happily followed me down our pond levees. By this time the crossing was high and dry and they all ran across and started tearing into the fresh, green grass and having the time of their lives. All but one cow.

The cow pictured above came to the crossing, remembered the painful experience she'd had last time and refused to take another chance. Now in one way she's just being smart, but she's leaning on her own understanding and not willing to let go of the past.

I know that the crossing is perfectly safe, that there is lots of good grass on the other side and that all her companions are there but she WILL NOT budge in her position. I worked for quite a while one evening trying to get her to go across but to no avail. She'll look across the creek and call out to her fellow cows but she's not going to go across herself.

Sunday afternoon when I moved the rest of the cows I took part of a bale of hay and set it down right on the crossing thinking maybe that would draw her across but, Oh No! Not her. So, while the rest of the cows are enjoying plenty of grass and hay she's picking through the leftovers from their previous stay.

That's all for this week. Take care,
Craig