WILD Grass-fed Beef..

Yes wild, thats what I said & that is what I meant.

Lets start with a little backstory.

Since having our girls for the last four months or so, Drew has made it habit to check on them every afternoon or early evening. We love our cows, we give a holler "HEY GIRLS" & they come running. Meatball is the "black" cow & Getty the "red" Hereford. Typically you see Meatball tailing Getty like it is her job.

Getty is sweet, she'll come right to ya, let you pet her and so on. Meatball, not so much. If you have food in your hand then you stand a chance, without it just forget it, she's walking away. Most days we spend hours outside but the last 4-5 days ( I really can't keep count) have been freezing.

It is COLD, single digits, teens at most... Drew & I constantly breaking up ice in the water troughs & trying to lure them into the barn. The girls are out in the pasture, usually laying down up against something, won't go lay in the barn. We put out a round bale of hay for them to munch on, moved the water closer & put out some grainy treats. We just want them to bed down and relax, stay out of the cold & snow.

Guilty, I'm not paying as much attention to them as I usually do, but Drew is out there every afternoon/night like he usually is, they're fine.

No they're not.

Can I say we have the best community around here. If you're local you may have seen the posts.

There she is.. That IS Meatball. That's water, an island, a little tiny bridge.. The post was made, calls started coming in, neighbors & friends showing up. I will say Im impressed, we moved quick.

So many questions, some answers.

How long was she "missing" for?

• At the absolute most, dark Tuesday night, but maybe Wednesday early morning until Wednesday 11am.

• We were there within minutes to get her home.

• It took about 90 minutes to get to her, get her safely off the island, walk her through the woods, through a creek & onto the trailer then back across the rd.

How & where did she get out?

• I don't KNOW! she had to have walked right on over the fence. We have walked the entire fence row a handful of times now. We have taken notice of one low spot where a tree branch fell on the fence.

• She had to have been spooked by something larger than normal. She is the follower, it is very unlike her to wonder alone...

Did we know she was missing?

• is it horrible to say no... I will say that morning I didn't see them together which was unusual but I didn't think any further about it. Not until the post was made did I know she was gone & that was her.

How far did she go, where was she?

• a decent bit, she wasn't just in the neighbors yard.

• if you're local, she crossed 512. How is a mystery, how wasn't she seen, how is she okay & in one piece....

• Oh and she landed her self on an island in the middle of a small pond.

Did she get hurt, is anyone hurt?

• NO!

• oddly enough Meatball didn't have a mark on her, no brush, no briars, no sticks, no twigs. No cuts, bumps, just the tiniest bit of blood.. When she was crossing from the island to land, the ice was thick ( thank god) but she was slipping around and bumped her nose.

The difficulties:

Well all of it.. Have you ever had to walk a 700 pound dog on a leash, thats never been on a leash before...

It was icy, slippery, freezing cold, we were on someone else's property surrounded by water.

Series of events:

I talked to who made the post & got the address. Jumped in the tractor to check the fence line quick just to make sure Getty wasn't going to get out while I was gone.. I got a bucket of grainy goodness, because come on, animals love food. My father-in-law walked the fence again. As pulled up Travis was already on the island with Meatball & Brandon was approaching with more ropes & the bucket of grain. I was a few minutes behind them as I waited for my in-laws to show and babysit during this. I didn't want to run, slip, fall or even spook her but holy sh!+ they could probably use some help. They got her roped up, she's off the island, on the ice, slipping & sliding (this is where she bumps her nose). There is a little rinky dink slatted bridge, maybe 2 ft wide x 10 ft long, & it looks like her hoof tracks on it, there's no way.... She's on solid ground now as I'm feet away, Both Travis and B are gripping onto that rope as if their lives depend on it. They took a break, all 3 of them huffin n' puffin..

& were off, she was ready to walk so joint effort to guide her. I pushed her rear as they steered the front. There was a bit of stop & go, she reared up a few times, she didn't like being "on a leash" & we didn't like having to pull her around on it.

So we conquered the ice & the island.

We're moving through the woods, over logs & ice, branches & brush.

There's a bridge ahead or a creek. Of course we tried the bridge first, nobody wanted to get wet... But to the creek we went.

Oddly enough once she crossed that creek she walked right on up the driveway & into the trailer. Much smoother than we all thought....

Here we are now. We've put up another gate to keep them closer to the barn because they really don't need 8 acres of pasture to graze on when the ground is frozen.

Many, many thanks to our dear friends for their hard work as if it was their own problem. I couldn't & wouldn't have done it without you guys. The township page, thanks for the kind regards & sincere interest. To the homeowners who's land we pulled up on & trekked around, we appreciate you. Also the township police, Officer Marino was nearby blocking the roads, just incase she went running.

Finally, in the barn.

xoxo Getty & Meatball (tailing behind)