Things have been going relatively smoothly of late, well as smoothly as things go when working with animals, and I had this growing feeling that the odds were shortening against something not going to plan. Sure enough last Thursday it happened.
I had arranged with the owner of the cattle grazing at Pegswood to meet with him and move them off site, the job had already been delayed a little due to him being in the middle of lambing.
The lorry was booked for 1pm and we met at 11.30 to get the animals in, plenty of time or so we thought. The pen was set and across we went to fetch the cattle across. Every time I go to check them i take a bucket of feed and make them walk across to the gate before they get any, i then make a point of walking around them and talking to them to keep them quiet and used to being handled so they are easier to catch.
All went smoothly to start with until one of them refused to come right into the pen, before running off. After getting them almost in half a dozen times only for them to run off each time things were getting a little strained!
Eventually 2 hours later with the lorry waiting, and some strong language that would have made a milk maid blush, we succeeded and they were loaded.
The best of it was when they were unloaded at the other end they walked off the lorry quietly and stood looking expectantly at me to feed them.....
It's day's like this that show why conservation grazing is expensive and time consuming even the professionals have trouble sometimes!