Since the hay was cut in the fields near to our house, we have been expecting the farmer to put cows back in to them. We’ve been rather looking forward to this, but concerned that he might include some of the cows to which, for some bizarre reason, he has attached cow bells.
Now bells make sense on cows that roam open mountainside. No alpine scene would be complete without a sonorously adorned bovine. But here, in the Bourbon pastures, bells round the necks of Charolais cows make no sense at all. And bear in mind, they are not far short of the size of church bells. So, we really didn’t want any of them across the road thank you very much.
A couple of days ago, up the track came a pair of cows each with a calf, and a bull. The five beasts were precariously escorted by some youths and a dog. And into the field by our front gate they went, to be restrained by a single strand of possibly electrified wire.
But no bells!
And we have enjoyed getting to know the new neighbours. They are dreadfully pestered by flies, but always come across curiously when we approach the field entrance.
The bull would be terrifying if he chased after you.
I suppose you could always grap him by the ring, or its attached studded leather strap, and wrestle him to the ground, while avoiding the deadly sharp horns.
But on balance, I think I’ll keep on his good side, and not encourage any thoughts of leaving the field.
Luckily, I have found that he is actually scared of llamas – perhaps the first farm animal that is more timid than they are!
Probably, he’d run away from the chickens.
