Cranking Up the Lawnmower(s)

Usually some time in October, I mow the yard for the final time and put the lawnmower in storage in the garage for the winter months.  I leave it sitting there for as long as possible.  Around this time each year, big patches of lush, green, White Dutch Clover pops up in the yard.  In order to get the yard looking spiffy after months of neglect, it is time to get the lawn mower out of the garage.  Or better yet, get the lawn mowers out of the pasture.

It's a shame to let all that clover go to waste when Daisy and Rosie can take care of it better and more inexpensively than the John Deere riding mower.  I got the step-in temporary posts out and put them in place and then got the reel of poly-wire and unrolled it, encircling a portion of the yard that contained some of the clover that needed cutting.  I didn't even need to attach the electric fence charger as the cows have learned their lesson and respect it, 'hot' or not.

Lawn mowers in action

It was a nice Saturday and the cows were pleased to get out into the yard and mow down some clover rather than stand around in the mud eating hay.  They welcomed the opportunity and as I led them out of the pasture, they broke into a gallop (if cows could gallop).

Happy cows filling up on clover

They clipped down the clover almost as fast as I could have done it with the lawn mower.  Clover is very nutritious for the animals and must taste great as they really eat it up quickly.  I'm pretty careful to limit their access to it, though.

Clover is a legume that if the animals overeat, it causes gases to build up in the rumen.  Normally this is not a big deal.  The cows belch and eliminate the gas.  In some cases, though, the animal is unable to belch and severe bloat ensues.  Left untreated, this can be life-threatening to the animal as they have difficulty breathing and can suffocate.  As a boy I read a great book by James Herriot called "All Creatures Great and Small."  It contained the stories of a country veterinarian in England.

Dr. Herriot treated cows with bloat and I still remember the story in which he used a tool called a trocar.  The trocar he used was basically a funnel with a sharpened bottom and a flat area on top for hammering. When the doctor would get called out to treat a bloated animal, he'd position the sharpened funnel in the hollow of the animal near the flank and hammer the funnel through the hide and into the animal's rumen.  Ouch!  The gas and accompanying partially digested grass would blow explosively out of the animal's stomach, covering everyone nearby with green, smelly rumen contents.  The animal's life was saved and after a bath, everyone is better off!

Fortunately, our 'girls' have never had to be trocarized, but in watching a television program called, "The Amazing Dr. Pol," I learned that modern trocars look like this:

Image Credit

The trocar is hammered in and then screwed into place and then the stopper is removed to 'un-bloat' the animal.

After the cows had eaten for a while, I noticed that Rosie sat down in contented fashion to chew her cud and Daisy's eating had slowed down, letting me know that they were ready to go back into the pasture.  They had eaten just enough to be satisfied.

Happy Cows (even though I can't detect a smile)

I'll put the cows in this temporary paddock in the yard one more time to clean things up.  Then I'll get the John Deere lawnmower and mow the leaves and remaining grass into piles.  I'll then rake the leaf/grass mixture into piles that I'll carry to the garden and compost.  That organic mixture will become rich compost that we'll mix into the garden soil next year, making an encouraging environment for earthworm activity and subsequent fertility for vegetable crops.