Eschol Moos

It started last spring when our neighbor whose house is behind our big barn moved back home with her two kids. The buffalo were so fascinated with the kids playing in their yard that they'd run up to the fence to watch whenever the kids were out. One day, instead of the usual little grunts that the buffs make whenever they're on alert about something (usually the prospect of a tasty treat), I heard Eschol moo. Buffs aren't supposed to moo and this really wasn't a classic moo. More of a grunt that got stuck in the on position.

I think Eschol was a little surprised himself but he just stood there and listened to the sound coming out of his mouth and went with it. For a few days after that, every time he saw me, he would moo at me. He'd moo when I walked up toward the barn and again when I'd leave. Sometimes in the mornings, I'd hear him mooing as I was coming out of the house as if to say, "Hey lady, it's getting late. When are you going to come bring us some hay?"

By the time the grass was growing again, he had largely stopped making any noise. Until this week. The moo just came back. I think he's trying to tell me that they've lost interest in the plants that are left in the main pasture and would like to be moved (no, I refuse to do the obvious pun here) to lusher pastures. I've been giving them brief forays in the fish pond as a reward for passing through the chute/stanchion.  Today, I saw them eating the giant ragweed that's growing like crazy in the fish pond. Good buffs. Yes, you may eat as much of that as you like.

On a sad but not unexpected note, the swarm of honeybees did not take up residence here. They left a little more than 24 hours after they appeared. Oh well. I'll take my weedeating buffalo over a fickle swarm any day.