There was a warning on the air. Hay Man and Snack Lady had been behaving oddly for days. Moving the herd, consolidating us all to a single pasture -- Napoleonoon his side, and me on mine.
We spoke across the wire so there would be no mistake. Every member of the herd needs to know who is watching out for them.
Hay Man and Snack Lady began rearranging the furniture. They built walls where there were none.
Shipping containers.
A cattle trailer.
Hay feeders turned broadside...
Anything that would stand against the wind.
They placed us near the only warm water. That was odd — but we soon learned it mattered.
The babies were taken into the Snack House. We have never been separated from the babies. We were concerned.
Soon we saw — that, too, was right.
The snow came first.
It stayed.
Then sleet.
Then rain that found every possible low place and claimed it. It pooled everywhere, in every hoof print, every low spot, it clung to every branch of every tree. It was a quiet resistance that foreshadowed what was coming.
Without warning, the cold returned, the wind howled, and the ground no longer gave way under our hooves.
For three days, we moved slow.
Every step carefully chosen.
Ice does not forgive foolishness.
Feed came in bags. Heavy feed. Not the usual way — but this kind of storm changes the work.
I stayed where I could see the fence line.
Where I could hear Napoleon answer back.
Where I could see every herd member in my charge.
I stayed close so I could count everyone without counting.
When the cold finally loosened its grip, the makeshift walls came down. The pasture widened again. But I did not move until I was certain safety from the storm had arrived.
We stood in makeshift windbreaks while the weather did its worst. We did not complain about the storm. We outlasted it by the provision of our Creator.
"For He will conceal me in His shelter in the day of adversity;
He will hide me under the cover of His tent..."
~Psalms 27:5a-b
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