OUTTA MY WAY!

Old Daisy Mae got what was coming to her last night....

Normally, when "breakfast" or "supper" time rolls around, Miss Daisy is waiting by the back door of the barn. As the door opens, the impatient Bovine runs through the opening, squishing everything and everyone in it's path - and trots through the passage way to get to the stanchion to feed her face.

After the stampede, Mabel, waddles her fat, pregnant belly through the door way, then stops to eat from the dish I have waiting for her. I try to get myself in position between the stampeding and the waddling, in order to close a gate between the two.

This gate is designed to prevent Miss Waddles from getting into the hay stash after she finishes her food.

Then, Miss Stampede will finish HER food (and being milked), let me exit the milk room first, follow me to the aforementioned gate, and allow me to open it. Waddles, on the other hand, sees me coming, and SLOOOWWWWLLLLY backs down the passage (even though she COULD turn around...), and out of the door.

It's an easy trot from there for Miss Super-Sonic to follow Mabel's lead - and go outside.

Unfortunately, there is one TINY spot that a cow can fit her nose through and snag a MICROSCOPIC mouthful of hay.

This always causes Daisy's nose to become glued to the spot. It usually takes me 2-3 minutes to unhitch her face from the ground, and get her moving toward the door again.

It's a twice a day ritual around here - "Cow with face glued to ground" vs "Hillbilly with a stick". She CAN'T be getting enough hay to make it worth the effort to stop, so she HAS to be doing it to irritate me.

Well - last night, Daisy got her "comeuppance"....

It all started yesterday morning when we looked out the window and saw Mabel and Daisy doing a "chicken dance" with each other. They would walk around in circles with their noses glued to the other's hind end, then try to "mount" each other.

It was decided that Daisy was "in heat".

The kicker was seeing Mabel get her fat baby-belly off of the ground and wrap her arms around Daisy's midsection. Daisy just stood there, so we knew something had to be done.

Enter, Ann, the AI Tech....

Ann arrived about sundown. I opened the back door, and the Ballistic Bovine zoomed through the barn because she thought she was going to get fed. Little did she know, we had other plans.

Although Daisy DID get fed, she had to pay for it. Ann put on her hip waders and shoulder gloves, and proceeded to do "the deed".

For some reason, Daisy wasn't as hungry anymore....

We let her stand in the stanchion for awhile, to let the "swimmers" swim, then let her go.

Instead of waiting for me to open the gate, she RAN to it before I got there. Mabel had started her waddle toward the outside, but wasn't moving fast enough. I opened the gate and Daisy tried to run poor old Miss Waddle over, trying to escape.

And the "glue spot" wasn't even THOUGHT of on her way out....

Maybe I should have gotten Ann to leave her cap or something. That way, the next time Daisy starts to glue her nose to the floor, I can bring out the cap, and it will remind her of the night she was "violated", and she'll run for freedom.

If only....