After finishing my daily routine work, I went out to help handle the calves at our feedlot a few nights ago. This is the busy time of the year, the yelling calf finally stopped yelling, but needed to be vaccinated and treated for the disease.

Because I tend to be a bit slow in pitching or any other tasks that happen when I catch the ball, I almost always work from the back, bringing the calf into the barn from the outside. Although it would be a little uncomfortable to have cows around, considering my small size means that I cannot see them, I tend to work with calves that have been weaned recently. This fall, most groups were fairly calm and walked into the barn in an orderly manner. In addition, I can see their backs.

But the other night, my husband warned me that I had a calf with a sore foot, and be careful of him. I thought he meant that I need to pay attention to the calf that is good for the leg so that we can recognize and treat him. I kept thinking about it until we identified that calf and he ran around at me, his feet hurt and so on. When Brandon told me to be careful again, I froze for a while, and then I jumped onto the fence to avoid injury.

The steering is not mean, it's just super. He really didn't come after me, he just wanted to escape, especially away from the people in the fence.

Mavericks crossed the alley, bought some extra medicine for his feet, and then moved on.

After the calves had passed through the chute, we moved them back to the fence. At this time, it was already dark. As often happens when I raise a cow in the dark, I think of a scene in the John Wayne movie "Cowboys", when a young boy was trampled by a frightened cow in the dark.

We have done a lot of things on the farm and ranch that might end badly. We take these things for granted and don't think too much about what will happen if something goes wrong. On the same night, a fairly steady rain began, turning several places in one of the sorting fences into mud. I thought afterwards what would happen if that super Maverick decided to run at me at my worst, and my boots just got stuck a little bit. I can't move fast to avoid him.

Nothing bad happened to the Mavericks who worked that night. However, in retrospect, bad things can happen at many critical moments, and I am not sure if I am always vigilant in the way I should be. I will take care of my children soon, but I don't always take the same precautions to myself.

For cattle raisers, it is a busy time now, feeding is already underway or about to begin, and then calves for those who participate in the competition. We end up in close contact with animals that are hundreds or thousands of pounds heavier than us. It is important to remember to respect the danger of the situation we are in, even if we have been in it many times before.

It’s okay to clarify what someone means by "be careful."

To read more about Jenny Schlecht's "Sorting Pen" column, click here.

Jenny Schlecht is the editor of Agweek. She lives on a farm and ranch in Medina, North Carolina with her husband and two daughters. You can contact her at jschlecht@agweek.com or 701-595-0425.