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I always see news reports of the traffic jams in California and sigh. While I grew up in New Jersey and saw my fair share of highway clusterf*cks, I have to admit the traffic issues in rural Maine are much more pleasant to deal with. Like this one we came upon the other day…
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Someone got loose and decided the grass was indeed greener on the other side of the fence.
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While it wasn’t a heavily traveled area, that section of road was a straightaway and people tend to fly by. Not wanting to see a large pile of hamburger on our return trip, we tried to coax the soon to be road block back into the field.
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That did not go well so we knocked on the farmhouse door. No one was home, so we tried a neighbor.
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No luck there either, so we tried again to convince the bovine to rejoin the herd.
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Ever try to argue with a cow?
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We lost the battle, but left a note on the farmer’s door.
The road was happily pot roast free when we came back from our appointment so that’s a good sign.
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River's world..... 
Living in rancher country, Alberta, we often see cows who have decided the grass tastes better outside the fence than in. The grass grows in the ditch, not on the road. My old boss used to try to get ranchers and farmers to care, to round up any animals who had escaped, and they looked at him like he was weird (I witnessed more than a few of these events). No one ever reacted. And that would piss him off. And I had to listen to him bitch all the way home.
So one day, the last time I ever witnessed him try, I asked the rancher why it did not concern him that his cows were in the ditch. He said something like, “When the grass gets really sweet, I let them out. My cows don’t wander on the road because there is no grass on the road. They don’t eat pavement! In 40 years I have never lost even one cow to traffic.”
If my boss ever complained to anyone again, I have no idea. He never did while I was in the car. But he did eventually fire me for no reason that made any sense to me. I think it was for embarrassing him in front of the rancher.
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That’s a good point, and certainly makes sense. But still, the way people travel at high speeds on this particular road made me worry.
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I was not trying to say don’t do it. I was just trying to give you a “possible” reaction you might get from a cow owner. Half of the traffic on our highways up here are semi-trailers carrying goods one direction or the other at high speeds. They pay no attention at all to cows beside the road. They just barrel on through. While they occadionally hit deer, or bears, or smaller animals, I have yet to see a dead cow on the side of a highway.
It breaks my heart to see anything dead, especially the bugs on the windshield and the front of the car, but at the speeds humans travel, death is inevitable for some creatures. (Which was why I loved the commercial of the Dalai Lama driving on a highway, before it was banned!)
But cows don’t seem to try to cross roads, unless some farmer is telling them to cross it, or walk on it, like in England.
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That’s good to know. I feel better about leaving it there now.
🙂
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Glad I could help.
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Nice effort, River. Animals on the side of the road always give me cause to pause too ~ everything from turtles on up.
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My husband stops for all crossing turtles and gives them a personal escort the road…
😉
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I have always done likewise. The more you talk about hubby, the more I like him.
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I’m kind of partial to him myself.
❤️
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You are an animal lover and a good neighbor. Well done!
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We try…
😉
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Mama Red could give ol’ Bessie some pointers on how to play out in the road without getting run over…
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Boy, he really didn’t want to moo-ve, did he?
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It could have been a cow-tastrophe.
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Well done. I can’t top that one!
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That’s one big beautiful bovine there, but I’m glad it wasn’t a road hazard. Because honestly whatever car might have collided with it could have been worse off. Your so caring about domestic animals and wild life. Commuting for work now I see my fair share of cows but thank goodness none of them on the roadway.
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I do not recall ever encountering a situation like this one with wayward wildlife, except for when we stop and wait for geese to cross the road. We have a lot of experience with that. My puns have already been taken, so I’m not going to try and milk them for humor again.
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You showed admirable restraint. And for that I will be for heifer grateful.
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🤣🤣🤣
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Your traffic hazards are a lot more fun then ours.
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Cuter too I imagine.
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Someone got loose and decided the grass was indeed greener on the other side of the fence. <–and THAT is usually due to septic system issues…
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