Counting Cows in October

When my daughter told me this morning that she was on her way out the door to take Shelby to work in the Corn Maze down the road ~ yes, it is already October ~ and then she had to come back and check the cows, I thought to myself, "I can't miss this!"

It is a beautiful Fall day in Caldwell ~ one of those Saturday mornings when you have already gotten a lot of light housework done and the outdoors is calling you! I quickly messaged Gail that I should ride with her to check the cows. Of course, she thought I was crazy. Her 70-year old mother surely didn't want to ride behind her on the 4-wheeler????? I told her to ask Shelby. She told her I have ridden with her before! So, in less time than I could get my jeans and tennis shoes on, Gail was in my driveway, texting me that she was ready ~ where was I?

I grabbed my camera and we were off. Gail doesn't have to check the cows often. Only when she is the only one around. Charles and Brenda have been away for a few days with friends enjoying the scenery of the Amish country and Troy is on duty at the Fire Station in Roxboro. Someone is always here though. That's the way it has to be when you have animals to care for.

It really felt good to be able to get close enough to the cows to photograph them. Gail pointed out things about them that singled them out, such as markings they have, or how they acted. Number 24 is still with us ~ I took several pictures of her last year when I called her my favorite. We still have the two white or grey cows, too. There are two new calves so far. One of them has a mom with pigment markings on her bag that make it half white. She is nursing in the picture I took.

All of them were gathered in the woods behind the pasture below Gail's house. I was hoping they were closer to my house, so we would have further to ride! Maybe next time.



Content and Images:
Copyright 2014:Judith Richards Shubert, digital format used.