Sometimes our dreams are stranger than some story we might write, but at the same time, they can be utterly realistic. I went out to do the chores, which meant in this particular dream, feeding the heifers, checking the stock tank, and feeding the horses. Making sure I hooked the wires back, I walked around the barn to where the horses were in the north pasture. Sliding open my pocket knife, I cut the strings and flung the flakes of hay over the fence. I don’t normally feed this way, but it seemed the right thing to do in the dream.

Then I saw them. Thirty-five heifers (don’t ask me why 35) were running pell-mell for the gate that was open across our road. Now, our yard is not fenced in, nor do we have a gate that opens and closes where you would turn into our yard. But, it turns out that for this dream it was a good thing we did.

All but five of the heifers turned at the gate and ran back through the yard. The other five headed up and into the twist of hills just west of our house. Um, yah, there are no hills there, but they disappeared into them anyway. I stood there by the horses and thought hard about whether or not I’d actually hooked those wires and how much trouble I was going to be in because those five heifers were running wild in the hills. I remember seeing the last one kind of kick up her heels in freedom as she vanished beyond my reach.

In the dream, I went through various scenarios for how I could manage to get them all back in the pasture before my husband got home. I opened a gate into a corral and decided those in the yard would find their way as somehow, I’d already managed to spread some hay in that corral, all while I stood by those horses. Then I decided that a pick-up full of hay and cattle treats would bring those five renegades back to the yard gate begging to get in. Then I woke up, content that I’d done a fine job gathering them all back home.