Mike’s Meadow Muffin for August 9, 2004

Life’s Little Mysteries

I gathered about twenty cows this morning,

And moved them through the gate,

To the back end of our summer range,

When I finished up it wasn’t too late.

So I headed out cross country

Wandering through the pines

Because there’s at least another forty head ,

I still need to find.

I didn’t find another cow,

Though I covered a lot a ground,

I didn’t come home empty handed ,

a mystery I found.

On a jack pine ridge near Rocky Lake,

On a bed of needles there,

Was one old rusty horse shoe,

And the bleached skull of a bear.

These curiosities I carried home,

Found by chance or strange design,

The Bear’s life and death a mystery,

But the horse that threw that shoe…

was mine.

Mike Puhallo

 PS,  That was Wednesday,   Thursday I had to take a tractor tire to town to get fixed , so I finished the chores early and was ready to head to town by about 6:30.  The dogs where barking and acting up so I turned them loose for a morning run, jumped in the pick-up and headed for town.    Just as I pulled onto the road, I caught a flash of colour out of the corner of my eye there was a thump, when I looked back there was a wounded cougar on the road.  The dogs had chased her out of our horse pasture.  She wasn't dead yet so I ran over her again, that did the trick!

It's been a strange  week.   MP

Other articles by Mike Puhallo