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Monday, October 24, 2016

Visitors



Welcome and Unwelcome Visitors.


They woke us up at midnight.
All 300 of them were trapped on our property.






This was not the first time.  In the past we received a visit checking on the damage.  Alas, the old farmer has passed on and the Young Ones don't care. 





They had walked more than 3 miles.
I know that you have not heard 300 cows mooing at midnight...
So, I won't even ask.  





Our Pond must have been a welcome sight.  







Only a few days earlier my helpers and I planted 600 tulip bulbs.





and hundreds of new Daffodils. 




Now for the good news

Friends stopped by and brought persimmons from their Lemon Grove.



All grown on their beautiful estate in Rancho Santa Fe, California,




along with  oranges and lemons and limes.
Thank you dear Friends. 





Nothing ever stays the same.  

New doors open, old doors close. 

Wishing you a week full of good news and good health.

Gina 






16 comments:

  1. Gosh Gina - that must have been some racket in the middle of the night - I do hope the cattle did not damage all of your newly planted bulbs.
    I love persimmons, they are one of my most favourite fruits, but to have some freshly picked would have been a real treat.

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    1. Dear Rosemary, It truly was a racket. It took me a minute to realize what the sounds meant and then I became aware that there must be hundreds all grouped together not knowing where to go next.

      We tried to repair what we could. Because of the weight the tulips were pushed deeper than they should be. We will not know until next Spring.
      Our friends have two persimmon trees in their lemon grove. The trees look so strange, laden with fruit and not a leaf in sight.

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  2. Gina, it looks from here that the new cattle farmers have a lot to learn...and some apologies to make, too. The cattle are innocent, and probably yearn for the old farmer, too.

    Goodness!

    I hope that your next post will bring some news of a resolution. xo

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    1. Dear Frances, The resolution will be that we repair the damage. The young farmer is a surly fellow. He should have taken a page out of his father's book.

      Our property is not the formal kind. The grassy areas are pretty and green but the land kind of rolls along very naturally. Imperfections will not be noticed much. I'm only concerned about the Spring bulbs. We will have to see.

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  3. Oh my, how awful that has to be when they come onto your land, and I hope that they did not destroy anything permanently during their brief visit. The lemons and persimmons are such lovely fruit and displayed in one of your own creations makes a beautiful study photo. We don't dare plant a single more bulbs here, they will get moved by creatures, or eaten, or disappear altogether. I hope that you are doing well. The door handle in the final share, so lovely, I wonder how many hand touches it has received in it's use on that rugged, gorgeous wood door. Take good care~

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    1. Dear Mary, No structures were damaged, only lots of deep foot prints as the cattle gathered in big groups.

      Like you I have almost given up on planting more spring bulbs. This time I interspersed Daffodils with Tulips hoping that the critters will stay away. My large Daffodil patch from years ago, has naturalized beautifully. Since their bulbs are poisonous all marauders have left them alone.

      I'm the eternal optimist, I will give it another go.

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  4. I can only imagine the mess they made, hope the tulips will be ok. Growing up on a farm in England I know what noise cows can make at night, when the calves were weened, I would often listen to hundreds of cows mooing all night long! Now we are raising our own children in SW France. We have a huge persimmon tree in the garden, kaki, as the French call it. Right now the fruit are ripening nicely, soon as you say, the leaves will all be gone and we will be left with a bare tree covered in thousands of orange fruits. But they are delicious, something to look forward to as winter approaches.

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  5. Hello French Oasis, Our friends, who own the lemon grove, also bake delicious little cakes from their persimmons. I don't have the recipe right now but it has been promised to me.
    Sounds like you had a lovely childhood. It is good to have had those experiences. You can learn so much from animals.
    Thank you for your visit and comment. It is very much appreciated.

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  6. Came over from Susan's to see what the cows were all about! Hope you have a quiet night now:)

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    1. Hi Pinky, All is well again here. The cows are back in their pastures and hopefully, they will stay there.
      Thank you for your visit.

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  7. Lifetime big city girl, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, 1.5 years country girl.

    A neighbor's cow, just 1, came onto our property. Discovered it by first seeing the hoof prints. OMG, HUGE. Cannot imagine 300 cows in your garden. Did you notice I wrote 'property'? Not here long enough to create a garden. Cannot imagine what those 300 cows did in your garden !

    Sadly, about 6 months ago, neighbor 'lost' their dairy cattle. Someone reported them, having driven by for weeks, for cattle being too thin. Government official came, agreed, they had to sell their cattle. 3rd generation diary farmers. What did I know? All those months in heaven living next to a dairy farm. Then learning they had been suffering from hunger.

    Our property is only 4.5 acres, ca. 1900 American farmhouse. Next to larger farms.

    Your farm is a dream, more, your knowledge. Agricultural, livestock, gardens, cooking, art, history, and you were a 'Land Man' for petroleum industry. You go girl.

    Thank you for leaving your note, so happy to find YOU.

    Garden & Be Well, XOT

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  8. Hello Tara,

    How do I know that you have lived in Texas? It's because you called my profession "Landman". So you moved to the country. Isn't it a wonderful place to live! We don't miss the city life at all.

    Cows, because of their size, are very destructive. You were lucky. Only 1 cow came by to visit your property. What a terrible story. How sad to hear that your neighbors mistreated their animals in such a way. What were they thinking? Undernourished dairy cows do not give good milk or even enough to milk them twice a day. I am glad that someone noticed and reported them. It's hard for me to believe that they were 3rd generation dairy farmers.
    I grew up in a small farming community in the Old Country. The country is a good teacher. We don't work so hard anymore but enjoy all the good things life has to offer.

    Thank you for stopping by and leaving such a nice comment. I have become one of your newest followers. I look forward to seeing your future blogs and I will also take a little time to read some of your older entries. I am also so pleased to have found you. ox, Gina

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  9. Hello, I can only imagine hearing 300 cows mooing at night. That must have been crazy, I hope your property was not damaged by all these visitors. I hope your tulips will survive. The young farmers need learn how to care for their cattle. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend!

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    1. Hello Eileen, Happy Sunday to you and yours. After being sound asleep it is almost unreal to first try to recognize the sound. Because there were so many it was even more eery. We will have to wait until Spring to see what has happened to my tulips.

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  10. Hi Gina, I'm sorry they trampled your bulbs.

    It sounds like their new owners are not responsible enough for a heard of cows.
    ~

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    1. Hello Thunder, It is not unusual to have cattle, horses and sheep break through their enclosures. Because we live in such a small community, everyone helps. The help was a little slow this time because it was right after midnight.
      Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment.

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