Tis the time of year for the weather to be a changin'!
We have a herd of cows that spend time pasturing in fields behind our property from early Spring until the end of October.
It never fails, in the Fall, groups of cows seem to always find a weak spot somewhere along the lines to escape the humdrum of short grass.
They wander into the fields of maturing beans, and corn, to complete their diets, to get ready for harsher weather ahead; even though they are headed for a more sheltered location in a few weeks.
Hubby has been seeing the marauders from the air when he takes flight, and buzzes them back in the direction they should go to get home.
There have been two cows and three calves hanging out in the ravine close to his runway the last few days.
This morning we saw two cows and two calves when they decided to walk the quarter mile up the drive to the house to see if there was any new vegetation to sample. Somewhere they had lost the third calf, even though I believe I heard it still in the general vicinity.
Apparently, they didn't approve of the location of some 10'x10' deer food plots I am grooming for next year. 2"x2"x24" wooden stakes were pulled up from the corners to make room for better grazing. There are 10 foot grass seperations between each bed which didn't seem to be sufficient...
Sadie, of course wanted in on some action. She is getting really bored these days. No Pheasants to chase don't 'cha know. ;) However, she remained inside so as not to stir the wrath of the "Big Bossy Cows."
The Roving Cows stayed around just long enough to make things comfortable for the next visit???
In Iowa we are finding more and more ways to incorporate some valuable resources provided by the natural geography of the land.
The area pictured above runs along the famous Lincoln Highway. An optical illusion has the the wind turbines looking as though they are apart of the Don Mangels Wildlife Area,a public hunting spot developed by Story County and the local Pheasants Forever Chapter . Actually, the turbines are just beyond the perimeter.
As time passes we are finding ourselves becoming host to fields full of several sources for energy production of one source or another.
Beginning in Northern Iowa , the first to be groomed by the now defunct Enron Corporation years ago, miles of the alternative wind turbines were erected. In recent years those first turbines have seemed to sprout co-workers to assist in the growing demands of our electrical needs.
Whether it be from the winds that blow reliably, or the corn in the field that could be directed to the ethanol plant within 15 miles from this location . We are one State of many working to gain alternative sources of energy, so lack will not cause us to wish we had planned ahead.
Hubby volunteered to do a fly over of the turbines straight north of our homestead eight miles, to give us a bird's eye view of the Fall landscape. ;)
