A “Lazy Sunday” at the Ranch, Wrangling Cows with City Slickers

One rainy November Sunday a few years back, my husband called me. I was busy wrapping up a cooking event and he had the day off to do with as he pleased.

“Umm, honey?” he said in an unusual tone of voice.
“Yes, Rob, what is it? Where are you?” I asked, sensing a need for some context.
“Umm, honey, do… do cows charge?” he asked. Trying to control my laughter, I instantly pictured his exact location and activity with a GPS like-clarity. He was calling me from a hillside in Olema, a small town in West Marin, en route across a cow pasture to a secret mushroom hunting location by himself. We always went there together.
“Rob, does the cow have horns?” I asked, trying to ascertain if it was a bull.
“Um, no.” he whispered.
“Ok, are there any baby cows, you know, calves?”
“Yes.” He replied.
“Are you anywhere between a big cow and a small cow?” I continued.
“Well, no.” he answered.
“Ok, you will be fine, just keep on walking.”
“But they are making really weird noises.” he added.
“Yeah, I know, they are cows. That is what they do. Just keep on walking.”

The humor and warmth of that moment is forever burned into our history and it is the best example of our “city-boy/country-girl” romance. My protector and best friend knew just who to call when he needed some cow know-how.

Well, that is no longer the case. On Sunday, we spent a muddy, rainy action packed day feeding and wrangling cows with friend and rancher, Karen London from Spring Hill Ranch & Vineyard. Karen and her husband Chris are grape growers and cow-herding ranchers. Chris is also a full time pilot for United!

Ron and Karen making the “secret recipe

We joined Karen in the middle of her day while she was blending the feed mixture of hay, newly cut grass and clover, corn, alfalfa and beer-mash from San Rafael’s Broken Drum Brewery for her grazing cattle. We made several huge bins of the mix.

Rob meets the new champion Scottish Highland cow
 “Valli” just purchased from a Colorado livestock show 

Karen raises Wagyu cows, the same breed that produces famous Kobe beef in Japan. “Kobe” is a protected brand, but the American version, Wagyu beef is becoming famous as well.

On the ATV, heading out to the far reaches of the land

Massive and magnificent

The rain made the trails almost impassable, I rode on the front of Karen’s ATV and held on for my life as we ripped up and down hills, under the Monterey pines and past stands of Eucalyptus trees to feed the Scottish Highland cows. With an average weight of about 1,500 to 1,700 pounds and a long, mammoth-like coat, these cows are awe inspiring.

Mom and new calf)

Almost at the same time, Karen and I saw a cow far afield. “Oh, wow! She had her baby!” Karen explained that the pair will stay away for about two days while the calf gets stronger and then they will re-join the herd.

A baby much bigger than I am!

 The rain kept drizzling down and we were covered in mud and hay. We fed the herds, cleaned up the equipment and the barn, wrangled the cows to a protected area, watered them and put away all of the equipment. By 5pm, we were hungry, tired and yet so full of life. We only did a half day with Karen, a short one at that. “Yup, just another day at the office”, Karen said as we looked at her in awe. “That is just some of what it takes to raise cows humanely.” 

a young highland, Quantus, with his mom Frost

Once you work on a farm you not only understand, but embrace the value of sustainable meat. These cows live amazing lives, are never given steroids, growth hormones or forced to live in dark pens. The land is fertile and rich and all resources are used wisely.

So, next time you are caught in a cow field and not sure what to do, call Rob. He will know what to do.

master of all she surveys… Karen London