Soule: Frantic Cow and Frantic Farmer

Join Carole for a reading from her second book, “Yes, I Name Them,” at Bookery, 844 Elm St, Manchester, NH, on Monday, Sept. 25, at 5 p.m. Register Here.

The big, shaggy Highland cow darted across Route 106 as I watched, stunned, on the roadside. Truck brakes screeched as the 16-wheeler slowed just enough for the cow to reach the roadside. It was 2009, and this was the second time within moments that the cow had darted across the busy highway.

Miles Smith Farm is a mile up Beck Road, a dirt road that connects to Route 106, a major two-lane highway. That year, we had put most of our cattle in a remote pasture in Springfield, N.H. On that day, they were coming home in three separate trailer loads. One cow, whom I would later name “Miss 106,” had arrived home in one load, and her young calf was to follow in a later load.

I thought Miss 106 would wait in the pasture with other cows until her calf arrived. But when she realized her calf was not in the pasture, she jumped the fence to search for it. We’ve had other cows escape, but they always stayed close to the farm and the other cows. Not Miss 106. She ran out toward Route 106.

When I got to the highway, she was darting back and forth, dashing in front of speeding cars and trucks. A driver snapped a picture as Miss 106 trotted down the centerline ahead of the woman’s car.

As I watched this scene unfold, I was frantic. If a car or truck smashed into the cow, I’d lose a cow, a calf would lose its mother and worse, motorists might get injured. The stock trailer containing her calf would not arrive at the farm for hours. I tried to lure Miss 106 with a bucket of grain, but she was uninterested. She kept crisscrossing the highway, looking for her baby.

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Carole is co-owner of Miles Smith Farm in Loudon, N.H., where she raises beef and shares the joys of her Farm with kids and adults. She can be reached at carole@soulecoaching.com.