Day 192 – Cow Appreciation Day

5

July 10, 2016 – I’ve never heard of “Cow Appreciation Day”, but it was the theme for the 116 Photos in 2016 scavenger hunt I am participating in. And I did find this…..

1995 marked the beginning of the cow revolution, when herds of beef cattle everywhere decided to take a stand for the future of the bovine race. Far more intelligent than the others, Heff R. Jones (now known as Eaton Birds) took his limited grasp of his owner’s language and painted “EAT MOR CHIKIN” on a billboard. With this daring move he set in motion a movement among cows everywhere, to encourage us to eat more chicken, so we wouldn’t be eating them. Cow Appreciation Day commemorates Heff (I’m sorry, we mean Mr. Birds) and everything he’s done for cattlekind.

I live in the city, there are no cows nearby, although I do love cows and did consider driving to the Valley to find some to photograph, but I’m in the middle of preparing for a week long workshop I’m presenting…and am totally wigged out about the week ahead of me. So photography is at the low end of my priority list.

I considered a steak, or one or more of my highly loved pairs of shoes, or some of my beautiful leather bags…I do appreciate cows and all they provide us.

But those seemed in poor taste, particularly since I have a few vegan friends.

But I do love cows, my grandparents had cows and I loved just sitting in the barn with them. They had a soft warmth and a quiet serenity about them that I adored. I loved going to sit in the field and wait. Eventually every cow would come from every corner and stand in a circle around me, looking at me with those soft brown eyes.

Unless that bastard of a bull was around, he’d send me running for my life!

I loved when my Grandad would take me to the barn to milk the cows. I wasn’t very good at it, but eventually I’d pick up the rhythm. And I so appreciated those cows for providing the milk that went on my morning cereal, for that thick cream that settled out on top overnight and made the strawberries and raspberries taste like something out of a dream I’d had. Cows produce the milk that goes into producing all those wonderful dairy products that I savour. Hard cheese, soft cheese, cottage cheese, cream cheese, ricotta cheese, sour cream, ice cream, whipping cream, clotted cream, crème fraîche …. all of them heavenly.

But I do still love all my shoes 🙂

116 Photos in 2016 – 10. Cow Appreciation Day (10th July)