Tuesday, November 15, 2022

Things I Don't Understand: CATTLE*

 A new introduction to 'Things I Don't Understand' :' Cattle! I grew up on a farm that produced mostly 'feeder' cattle (for meat), though my dad experimented at least once with dairy cows. (My Grandpa DeVries had a working dairy for years in Coopersville, MI.) Brother and I helped raise a few calves -- for a while there, I was going to school with milk specks all over me, glasses included. (The calf had to eat before the schoolbus came -- but it kept butting the pail.)

*And, as any farmer's daughter knows -- the term 'cows' applies primarily to the female persuasion. Not bulls and steers. Otherwise, it's CATTLE. But bovine enthusiasts have gradually been changing 'cows' into popular usage nowadays.

This post is dedicated to our beloved 'Auntie Gertie,' who would gallop across the pasture to meet us whenever she saw us coming. I miss her still.


P.S. If you really enjoy these, type in "Things I Don't Understand" in the search box on my blog. Turns out I've done more than I thought -- dozens! And they range all over, from Christmas to cats to Kathy Griffin. Think of the fun you'll have.







Get it?   (Yes, I'm being funny.)








'Early Morning' by William Roelofs



Look closer. See the heart?







Quiet confession:  I actually like the smell of cow manure. 
In moderation.









Now, that's a rip-snorter...






Obviously the 'signer' noticed these Belted Galloways nearby...
my dad preferred Black Angus and Holsteins.

And finally:

Dana Lyons' classic Cows With Guns:





2 comments:

Jill said...

Love this post! I have always loved my cows and spent many hours as a child curled up next to them, just like in the photo.

Cindy Brick said...

So glad you enjoyed it, Jill!

I have five or six cousins close to my age. Summer nights, they would come over sometimes. We would drag a few old mattresses out in the pasture and sleep under the stars. Several times, I woke up to a bovine face staring down at me, wondering how the heck I got there. Cows are incredibly curious -- if you just lay down in the pasture, invariably they will wander over to see what you're doing.

(I love them, too. Auntie Gertie included.)

Thanks for writing.

So There You Go...