Spoiler – I got cow poo flung into my eyeball…
Every second Sunday we cart cattle for the sales. In case you don’t understand the slang – it means Jackaroo and I hop in a cattle truck, pick peoples cattle up and bring them back to the saleyards for the sales the next day.
We often have to deal with some snotty cattle, and it’s a long day generally, but we get to see some beautiful properties and areas. I love going trucking! Running around yards, climbing up the sides of the truck… It’s all fun and games until someone gets sloppy cow poo flung into their eyeball. I’m not a prissy lady, I judge how hard I’ve worked by how dirty I am. Poo in the eyeball is where I draw the line though.
Last time we trucked cattle, there was one lot who were particularly stirry (cranky). I was positioned at the back door so that when the cattle flew up the ramp I could shut them in quickly. When on the back door, you have to make sure that the cattle don’t try to run back down the ramp, so you keep an eye on them through the gap between the bottom of the crate. I generally wear sunglasses, but it had started getting dark so I took them off. BIG MISTAKE. When I was looking through the gap, a cow ran up into the truck, kicking a big bit of slop straight into my eyes! When I say kicking, I mean it was enough to leave a bruise and scratches. When I say slop, I mean 8hrs of cattle poo, pee and dirt from their feet all mixed up into a sloppy goodness. I did have a photo of my face, with the scratches and puffy eye, but I decided it was most unattractive and I would limit who saw me in that state.
The worst bit of the ordeal? Explaining to people what happened to my face for the following week…
Ah the trials of being a cow poke.