Holy Cow! 7/13

One of the things most people don't realize about cows is that they are extremely crafty   What I mean is, they are much smarter than one might think.  Case in point:  Fences.  Lets say you have a 15 acre pasture fenced in with a nice barb-wire fence.  You have maybe 20 cows in that pasture and they wile away the days munching grass and chewing their cuds...they seem to be just dumb cows doing nothing all day long day after day, but they are really  watching the fence.  They are watching for the slightest slack in the wire, a branch down,  a low spot under the fence....because more than anything else in life they want out.  They really believe life on the outside will somehow be better so they make it their life's work to plan "the great escape".
(photo credit scandal-cow)                                                               

The farmer has a herd of cows near our house on rented land which backs up to a campground.......a pentacostal campground where members of the denomination come to celebrate their faith.  Apparently,  the farmer's cows also seek the Lord because frequently, they heed the call and "crash" the tent meetings.. uninvited.  As you can imagine, this causes a bit of a stir.  Such has been the case again over the past week.  Whether because of the extreme heat we have been experiencing, or because the Lord's call has been particularly loud, we have received at least one, usually two or more calls from the very patient and long suffering camp leader requesting that the farmer come and retrieve the uninvited four-legged congregants....quick.

In the farmer's defense, these must be EXTREMELY intelligent beasts, as he has ridden fences and ridden fences and to date has found NO holes, no trees down...nothing...no escape route.  He is beginning to think they have a secret tunnel.  On Sunday, things reached the critical point.  Before 8am, the poor preacher had called twice with cow news....first one was out, then several....eating flowers, grass, making themselves "at home" on the camp lawns....all while the farmer was not home.  When I finally reached him to pass on the news, he had already been there for an hour (and the temperature was already over 80) trying once again to round up the holy herd and find their escape route.....to no avail.  Now the farmer is a very even-keeled person and not one quick to anger, but this was too much even for him.  I had visions of him "going-off" and yelling and cursing the bovine escapees (as I have seen in the past), and thought this might be a little much for the Christian campers.  Instead, he grabbed both farmhands and they took off again for camp.

 Much later, when all was said and done, the escapees were returned to their pasture and the campers could once again pray  in peace.  The farmer's theory is that the cows were making their escape through the fence that runs across the creek, so he shored it up using a very sturdy gate. I however, am very afraid  the lure of outdoor worship may be too much for them, and the holy cows may try to join the faithful yet again.....stay tuned.  In the mean time, please keep the poor campers in your prayers.....