Friday, June 27, 2014

Mabel: Episodes 1 Through 3, and a Preview of 4


Episode 1:  Mabel arrives in an agitated state, begins to settle down nicely in the role of expectant Jersey cow getting comfy in the pasture and learning to love the bucket of sweet feed. 

Episode 2: The Schoolhouse family goes on vacation, leaving Mabel to entertain herself, with only daily visits from Phyllis, her part-owner. On the last day of vacation, unknown to anyone, Mabel stages her break-out. In the rain.

The family arrives home at midnight. Anna goes to the pasture to check on Mabel at sunrise. The field is empty, the little gate is wide open. She spreads the alarm.

Felix skips church to track Mabel up the hill, where she has apparently laid down in some long grass. All the signs point to a westward getaway.

Later that day, Felix leaves for England. Meanwhile, Phyllis makes up "Have you seen this cow?" flyers and distributes them around the neighborhood. The handsome white-haired Swedish therapist across the road calls to say Mabel spent Saturday afternoon in his yard.

She has gone eastward.

Episode 3: For three weeks Mabel continues to roam the back fence-lines of the neighborhood. She doesn't come to the other cow pastures, preferring instead to walk up and down the mown strip known as the utility cut. She uses this route to evade her two owners: Neal, usually on a very slow horse, and Chuck, often on his mountain bike.

Comedy, swearing, and heartache ensue as Neal and Chuck go out through heavy brush and woods, spotting her almost every day and losing her as she runs away. Neal carries a lasso but never gets to use it.

Finally, one afternoon, Mabel shows up in a neighbor's driveway, allows herself to be lured into a fenced pasture by brave neighbor Susan, and Chuck has the privilege of slamming and locking the gate.

(Preview of Episode 4): Mabel is driven down the cattle chute into Neal's trailer and driven straight to the place where she will have her horns removed (having used them as weapons on many scary occasions) . . . . 









21 comments:

Sarah H. said...

Having grown up with cows, I completely empathize and I laughed heartily!

Anonymous said...

Horn removal. Great idea! Carol

Tracy said...

Mabel sounds....determined. Mischievous. Wiley. Sometimes intelligence is not used for good....even in cows.

Fiona said...

This is priceless. For a moment at the end there, I thought you were going to say Mabel was headed for the table...

Rose said...

Haha! Love it, has Daisy written and illustrated the book yet? I wish I could have seen the neighbour with the lasso.

The name "Mabel" was ringing a bell with me so I just did a search to discover why, see paragraph 3 here: http://pleasantviewschoolhouse.blogspot.com.au/2008/04/vocations.html

and the post here: http://pleasantviewschoolhouse.blogspot.com.au/2008_04_01_archive.html

kath said...

...And hilarity ensues...

Unknown said...

Hi Anna, love your blog, have not posted before however love cows, such gentle creatures although....horn removal?? maybe not so gentle.

best wishes
anne

Anna said...

Anne, we would all much rather see Mabel keep her horns. However, she's injured three of us in scary ways with them. She's very capable of causing serious harm with them--so they have to go.

Anonymous said...

Hah! See, I told you they are herd animals and get lonely. Ours escaped too and was found wandering the country road at 3AM.

Farrah said...

Does Mabel supply you with milk?

Hana - Marmota said...

Oh my. This really does sound like a book...

Wendi said...

What an adventure!

Anna said...

Farrah, she's pregnant so won't be giving milk until after the calf arrives.

I can't say that she seems to be seeking the company of other cows--she's been running away from them for three weeks. It's solitude she's after, apparently. We did get her trapped temporarily in a pasture with other cows just a fence away, but she broke out and headed for the woods. That was five days after the original jailbreak.

Lisa said...

What a tale!

Lisateresa

Farrah said...

Introverts need time alone. :)

Heather Job said...

I might change her name to Bonnie...as in Bonnie and Clyde.

Heather said...

I know nothing about keeping cows, so this was very eye-opening and humorous. :)

Sam I Am said...

What a funny story, now that Mabel has been caught. I think it is time to sell her and get a bucket trained cow. Having a farm myself, the motto here is , "Either you're friendly or you're food!"

Polly said...

This just cracked me up! I had to read it several times to get the full comedic effect. I love on a farm and we have Angus cattle. I love them but they are rascals when they escape. One notable incident occurred in May. We came home from church to find a cow standing lazily in our yard. We attempted to herd her into the field (adjacent to the yard) but she eluded us and dashed down the lane. I called my uncle, who lives at the end of the lane, for backup. He got her into the field and couldn't find the hole in the fence. Next morning, I am preparing to take the children on a solo road trip to Charleston....& I see my uncle going past and know that means one thing. She was out! So I was helping to herd her back in *in my pajamas* while my children stand on the front porch under strict orders not to leave. Lo and behold, we got her into the alfalfa field and I walked back to the house--and my children had closed the big door behind them. We were locked out!!!! On the day we're to leave for Charleston! In my jammies!! My husband works an hour away!!! Fortunately a neighbor saved the day......

Farm life can be such a comedy of errors.

As for her horns, you are making the right choice. I'm sure you're sad to see them go, but after several incidents, it's either the cow has to go or the horns have to go! I know you'd rather keep Mabel around.......

Thanks for the laughs!!

Unknown said...

Goodness, she sounds feisty! Very entertaining, imagining all this.

Anonymous said...

When I first started reading your post I thought "Oh, this must be some delightful new television series that I have missed". Upon further reading I realized that no this a series that I have NOT missed as my parents had a cattle ranch for awhile and I know about escaping cows.
It did remind me of the pigs we raised. One Sunday, they escaped their pen. We looked high and low for them in the 100 degree weather. We were afraid they would have died of heat exposure. After several hours of hunting we came back to their pen and there they were sleeping peacefully in the shade! Alls well that ends well as we are now enjoying them on Sundays in the form of roasts and other such delicacies.
Amy F.

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