I've Gone Country A blog about a city girl learning a whole new world

We have friends that have owned a few Buffalo for a couple of years.

Billy and I have always thought that was the neatest thing.   It is not common around our area to see them.

The buffalo stories have entertained us.  They are extremely strong animals and when they want out….they get out.  They have bent and twisted gate after gate, like it was made out of tin foil. They have disappeared for days….and sometimes weeks.  I’m not real sure how an animal this big….especially 5 of them…can just disappear for weeks without anyone sighting them.   But it has happened….on more than one occasion.

We had a lot of fun one day as we all rode on four wheeler’s through all the back woods and pastures that connect or were even near our friend’s property.  We tried our best to find them.  We did manage to find some tracks, but never did find them that day.  I’m not real sure what we would have done if we had.   They are huge animals.

Eventually, they all would come back to their pasture.  It was a constant wait and watch game.  The “replaced” or “repaired” gate would have to be left open for them to be able to get back into the pasture.  Then they would have to check daily to see if they had indeed meandered back  home.  If they had…they quickly closed them back in.  Securing and strengthening their surroundings each time….but to no avail.

The males are the ones who seem to always want to get out and take the girls with him.   A few years ago, one of the males, …Bob….was …well…used for food.   Bob filled 2 freezers full of meat for the owners.   And they were still able to share plenty with others too.

The girls were pretty good about staying in the pasture….without Bob.

One day this Spring I took these pics of them…

Just hanging out.

They don’t look big here…next to each other….but they are really stout beast.   These are the girls….and they are small in comparison to the males.  One day we saw and heard them run across the field.  Wow….. You know in old cowboy movies, they always act like the cowboys could hear the herd of buffalo coming before it got to them…..Well…they probably could.  They rumble and make the earth rumble when they take off.  And they are surprisingly fast.

One of the girls had a baby boy born about 4 years ago.   They named him “Buffalo Bill” for Billy’s enjoyment.

Billy wanted to start buffalo in our pasture.   But….after all the escape stories…we decided that wouldn’t be a good idea.  We already have a dog that is a master at escaping.  We sure didn’t need to add anything else to our “round up” list.

Meanwhile, “Buffalo Bill” grew…and grew….and grew.  He too started leading the girls out of the pasture, taking out gates along the way.  No matter how much upgrading was done to the fencing….they managed to break through whenever they wanted.

One day around a year ago…he too…blessed many people with his girth.

His meat was used to help many households that were struggling financially.  I think that is neat, it is good healthy meat and taste good too.

We did get a couple packs of the ground beef.

Since he was already gone….I figured that I might as well get the head mounted for a surprise gift for Billy.  It took the taxidermist almost a year to get the mount ready.  I had to tell Billy last year…that his Christmas, Anniversary, Valentine and Birthday gift….all rolled into one was going to take a while to get here.

The taxidermist  said it was one of the biggest buffalo mounts he had ever done.

He was delivered the other day while Billy was at work….this was Billy’s first look at him….

WOW….he’s big….that is about all he kept saying.   Wow….look at that.

Wow…he’s sooooo big!

He measured 42 inches long at the base, and the mount weighs about 150 pounds.

He weighed over 2,000 pounds when he died.  He had his winter coat…which made the hair about 3-4 inches long.  Everything is original except the eyes of course.   It is both beautiful and creepy at the same time.

The horns are supposed to still have some blue paint on them from the last fence he took out.

It was a job to hang.  I helped best I could…but Billy really had to wrestle with it.

It was awkward this week when I fixed Spaghetti with-Buffalo- meat…..

You know…

like someone was looking over your shoulder.

In all sincerity….I am truly amazed when I look at this animal.  I am also appreciative for all the food he supplied to so many people.

It is an amazing and wonderful cycle of life.

And….we like having Bill hang out in the den with us.

Billy….is very excited.  When someone comes to the house that is the first thing he shows them.

And I….well….I… am wondering how I’m going to dust that thing…….

Since he is part of the decor now…..

I suppose at Christmas…I need to hang some garland around his neck and light up his horns or something.

Of course we also have the Long horns we hung last year.  Then there is the eight point deer our neighbor shot with his bow and arrow……that now stares at me while I am working at my desk. Maybe I can sprinkle some tinsel here and there.

I’m thinking we are just about out of wall space around here…..if you know what I mean.