It’s summer. The low hanging misty clouds greet us in the warm mornings and sun beams peak out to roast our afternoons. I seem to lose track of times and dates while I keep up on pastured-poultry watering regimes, hay season, and the never-ending list of things to repair, rebuild, and build anew for the farm. Sometimes I am lulled into a false sense of serenity as the sun warms my face, tiny hands pick wild berries and the critters pretend to behave themselves. While other times I find myself driving down the road to see one of my steers literally running down the double yellow line.

Nigel, last years’ bottle calf is a family favorite. He’s sweet, plays with guardian dog and will follow me anywhere when we move the herd. However, I wasn’t really confident in those attributes as I saw him trotting down the road towards an oncoming bicyclist. My head was reeling with questions, was he going to run down this nice stranger? Where was the rest of the herd? Mrs. B the pregnant cow is not known for her docility… How will I wrangle Nigel back to the farm? Where should I park the pickup with my children to do said wrangling?

But as I pulled into the farm drive way and leaped out ready to chase down my steer on foot, the bicycling stranger called out that he was going to circle around Nigel and try to get him to stop running. Bless that bicyclist it worked! Nigel paused long enough to hear me holler at him in the nicest yelling voice I’ve ever done, “Hey Nigel come on back!” as if it were any other time to move pastures or get produce treats. Unbelievably that bovine turned and trotted back to me like a happy pup, let me scratch his horns and as I waved to the already retreating bicycling savior I jogged Nigel down to the barn and discovered the rest of the herd! There were a few more really exciting minutes as I re-parked the kiddos and moved cattle into appropriate fields, but the afternoon definitely took a turn for the better.

What’s incredible and horrifying about farming are these types of adventures. Neighboring farmers have lost cattle to the huge trucks that frequent our country roads. That could have easily been our cattle if not for a lot of luck and the good fortune of meeting one of the kindest, bravest strangers that was willing to round up a running yearling steer on a bicycle.