Maple Leaf Angus
Well-known member
Had a cow here a couple of years ago that was the most viscious animal I ever worked with. Bar none. Just to look at her standing over her newborn and then snort through her nose at me was about enough to make the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
" # 88 "
Good cows will come, bad cows will go, but let me now relate,
the chilling saga of one mean cow, ole' " # 88 " .
An Angus fine with udder tight, she showed no fear or hate
Until the day she dropped her calf, within the barnyard gate.
My teenaged daughter let me know about the new calf's birth,
"But dad," she said, "the momma's wild, how much is your life worth?"
I smiled and shrugged, "Oh not to fear, I've seen some nervous cows,
this one's no worse than all the rest, I've come through several rows."
So off we strolled to the back barn dark where dimly in the corner
The new calf lay deep in the straw, but then we heard her "warner"!
From fifty feet we saw her eyes, the whites were fully bared
Her head was high and ears straight for'ard and nostrils widely flared.
"C'mon old girl," I brightly chirped, "let's tag your little one,"
"and just a shot and navel spray then out into the sun".
Now looking back, it's plain to see, I shouldn't have said, "C'mon".
Cause no sooner said than here she comes with after burners on!
The next two seconds were froze in time, the actions just a blur,
I flung the gate across the door and hoped the latch was sure.
She seemed to fly, that devil black, and in one single leap,
she crossed the pen and t'ward the gate, we hadn't time to creep
behind the wall or round the corner to find a safer place
We watched her come at us full bore; she seemed to hang in space.
Would the hinges hold, did the latch drop in? We hadn't time to think.
And then she crashed into the bars, so loud it made us blink.
Now you may not believe this, but some who watched will swear,
That a shower of sparks in graceful arcs went shooting through the air
from the crown of her head as she crashed the bars, and bellared loud and strong,
We left post haste and climbed the fence in case the latch went wrong.
From b'yond the yard we stood in awe as she pawed and glared in rage,
I'd never seen such livid wrath in a cow of any age.
We left her be for mor'n a week , we only threw her hay
While she slowly calmed and we watched our backs as we carefully walked away.
The calf grew big, protected well by momma's full attention,
The times it got out of her sight don't even warrant mention.
Ole' "88's" gone down the road but her actions we recall,
She holds the record on our farm as "the fiercest cow of all".
I've had to wonder since that time, what drives a cow to show,
Such passion deep for her offspring, to any length she'd go
to battle any hint of harm that might befall her baby,
She'd do her very best to kill, and that's not just a maybe.
I guess it's just the way they're made when they become a mother,
They'll give their life to keep their young, through one way or another.
So thank you, Lord, for a mother's heart, when it shows a love so strong
That there's no fear when danger's near, to protect its babe from wrong.
I'd hope that any human Mom, would share that powerful trait,
And protect their young at any cost, as well as "88".
John Schwartzentruber, 2005
" # 88 "
Good cows will come, bad cows will go, but let me now relate,
the chilling saga of one mean cow, ole' " # 88 " .
An Angus fine with udder tight, she showed no fear or hate
Until the day she dropped her calf, within the barnyard gate.
My teenaged daughter let me know about the new calf's birth,
"But dad," she said, "the momma's wild, how much is your life worth?"
I smiled and shrugged, "Oh not to fear, I've seen some nervous cows,
this one's no worse than all the rest, I've come through several rows."
So off we strolled to the back barn dark where dimly in the corner
The new calf lay deep in the straw, but then we heard her "warner"!
From fifty feet we saw her eyes, the whites were fully bared
Her head was high and ears straight for'ard and nostrils widely flared.
"C'mon old girl," I brightly chirped, "let's tag your little one,"
"and just a shot and navel spray then out into the sun".
Now looking back, it's plain to see, I shouldn't have said, "C'mon".
Cause no sooner said than here she comes with after burners on!
The next two seconds were froze in time, the actions just a blur,
I flung the gate across the door and hoped the latch was sure.
She seemed to fly, that devil black, and in one single leap,
she crossed the pen and t'ward the gate, we hadn't time to creep
behind the wall or round the corner to find a safer place
We watched her come at us full bore; she seemed to hang in space.
Would the hinges hold, did the latch drop in? We hadn't time to think.
And then she crashed into the bars, so loud it made us blink.
Now you may not believe this, but some who watched will swear,
That a shower of sparks in graceful arcs went shooting through the air
from the crown of her head as she crashed the bars, and bellared loud and strong,
We left post haste and climbed the fence in case the latch went wrong.
From b'yond the yard we stood in awe as she pawed and glared in rage,
I'd never seen such livid wrath in a cow of any age.
We left her be for mor'n a week , we only threw her hay
While she slowly calmed and we watched our backs as we carefully walked away.
The calf grew big, protected well by momma's full attention,
The times it got out of her sight don't even warrant mention.
Ole' "88's" gone down the road but her actions we recall,
She holds the record on our farm as "the fiercest cow of all".
I've had to wonder since that time, what drives a cow to show,
Such passion deep for her offspring, to any length she'd go
to battle any hint of harm that might befall her baby,
She'd do her very best to kill, and that's not just a maybe.
I guess it's just the way they're made when they become a mother,
They'll give their life to keep their young, through one way or another.
So thank you, Lord, for a mother's heart, when it shows a love so strong
That there's no fear when danger's near, to protect its babe from wrong.
I'd hope that any human Mom, would share that powerful trait,
And protect their young at any cost, as well as "88".
John Schwartzentruber, 2005
