Yesterday, my youngest cleaned out the cattle trough. He did a fine job of it - but left the gate unlatched between the garden and the pasture. The cows figured it out... and decided to help themselves to my garden, which was just starting to really produce.
Sunflowers: gone. All root vegetables: gone. Lettuce, broccoli, kale: gone.
Stevia, basil, cilantro. All gone. Water lines trampled and ripped apart. Flowers eaten.
There might be some dill left. Looks like a few carrots might have survived.
This trellis was completely covered in cucumber vines, and we were getting enough to share as well as enjoy. They ripped out the vines by the roots, and didn't even leave a single leaf. The okra, next to it, was eaten to the ground.
We might still get some tomatoes. They ate about half of them; we'll see if what remains of the vines survives. Same for the peppers.
It's too hot to work out there right now. We chased the cows back into their field. I got the water shut off at the main valve. Came back in the house and cried. I'll be out there this evening, once it starts cooling down, to begin the process of salvaging what can be saved and composting the rest.
It's not like it's life changing, or even that tragic. I have friends with much larger troubles right now. One lost her baby son yesterday. Two others have heartaches because of troubles at home. An acquaintance had to evacuate with her children - one disabled and in a wheelchair - because of the fires up by Rimrock and doesn't know when they'll be able to go home. Even when they do go home, there might not be running water or lights; their well pump is powered by the electric lines whose poles burnt to the ground. Another is putting her life back together after fleeing horrific abuse. Having a few plants eaten by overly ambitious cows that didn't even make it outside of the fencing on our property just isn't that big a deal in the grand scheme of things.
It still smarts, though.
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