05/05/06 Old corrals

Old Corrals Age and neglect can cause some problems. I'm Jeff Keane; I'll be right back to tell you what I mean. Now when some of you heard the words age, neglect and problems you probably had chilling thoughts about me talking about my body. That's not the case. I was actually thinking about our home corrals - more specifically the loading chute. Most of the corrals were just replaced the other day about forty years ago, but they have had just enough minimal upkeep to still be partially functionable. The main reason the loading chute is a liability is we stopped hauling our cows to summer pasture. Out of sight, out of mind could be reworded to out of use, out of mind in reference to the loading chute. Well, we had to use it last week to load some cows and calves we were shipping. We loaded the calves first and thought the cows would follow the calf scent right into the truck  wrong. I forgot these cows had not been up and down the chute like the cows we hauled to pasture or rodeo stock  the first two started up the chute, froze and fell back over the ones behind and promptly pushed out a side in the crowding pen  did I mention the corrals were old? A quick repair panel, a new lead cow and the cows headed up the chute, which made the whole thing, sway like a re-enactment of Katrina. Thank goodness a side wind wasn't blowing and no butterfly landed on a cow. We held our breath until the last cow loaded. I overheard stray comments about a bulldozer, piled up corrals, a fire and starting over. I think that means work. I'm Jeff Keane.