Our new neighbors, the Cooks, moved into the former Tucker house with a flair reminiscent of the Hunterdon County of old. They brought two head of cattle with them, beef cattle. One successfully challenged the fence. It hasn’t been seen since.

I can’t help but be reminded of long ago when a similar version of Cattle Roulette occurred. One day an Angus steer had suddenly joined our dairy herd, sort of out of nowhere. Its demeanor seemed practiced, as though it saw nothing out of the ordinary his new digs.

We, in the meantime, went to untold lengths to locate its owner. No luck. We kept trying. No luck. Weeks, then months went by. Who owned this steer??

The fact was, the family was about due for a new beef infusion in our freezer . Another fact: this steer was sufficiently fattened. One day, into the freezer it went. All was good. Very good.

One wonders if there’s something in the air around the old farm