During the summer, there’s lots of lush grass down by the creek, and local ranchers can graze their cows there. In winter, it’s more barren, and while the ranchers put out extra food, the cows often find a way to wander out, come up to the top and go looking for something more interesting to eat.
This week, they came a-visiting up here, and this one seemed especially interested in the flower beds outside my window. I opened the window slowly, so as not to scare him off, and we chatted a bit and I offered him a few carrots.
Later in the day the ranchers came by to take them back to their fenced area.
One day, they’ll all be taken off to some huge feedlot somewhere to be fattened up with stuff that’s really bad for them, plus hormones and antibiotics. That’s no fun for a cow – and no good, either, for the person who ends up eating them.
But for now, even when the winter pickings are a bit slim, life here in canyon country in the Southwest is not at all bad for Mr. and Mrs. Cow – not to mention their calves who will be born just a few weeks from now.
Mr. and Mrs. Cow Pay a Visit
By Michael Mountain,
By Michael Mountain
During the summer, there’s lots of lush grass down by the creek, and local ranchers can graze their cows there. In winter, it’s more barren, and while the ranchers put out extra food, the cows often find a way to wander out, come up to the top and go looking for something more interesting to eat.
This week, they came a-visiting up here, and this one seemed especially interested in the flower beds outside my window. I opened the window slowly, so as not to scare him off, and we chatted a bit and I offered him a few carrots.
Later in the day the ranchers came by to take them back to their fenced area.
One day, they’ll all be taken off to some huge feedlot somewhere to be fattened up with stuff that’s really bad for them, plus hormones and antibiotics. That’s no fun for a cow – and no good, either, for the person who ends up eating them.
But for now, even when the winter pickings are a bit slim, life here in canyon country in the Southwest is not at all bad for Mr. and Mrs. Cow – not to mention their calves who will be born just a few weeks from now.