A post about all things cows…
Cows in the News:
So, there is all this hubbub about how cows all over the world align themselves to magnetic North.
Joe and I were talking about it in passing and he said…”Maybe they are just trying to keep the sun out of their eyes.” I love that idea. It just makes logical sense. I’d like to read more about the scientists theories about why the the cows align North/South and it would be very interesting if this action were an indication that the cows have little internal compasses…but I don’t see the evolutionary benefit to eating grass and sleeping while facing North or South rather than East/West.
A more personal cow story…(Mom, sorry if I get this wrong…)
Apparently, we used to own a cow. If I remember right, her name was Bessie. (I’m not even sure if I was born yet…I just hear the stories and feel like I was there but I was just too young to remember it clearly….so I’m assuming I was around.) So, my Dad is a truck driver. When we were younger, he would go on the road for a few days leaving the girls (Mom, 2 daughters, 1 cow) to fend for ourselves. One cold snowy evening in Indiana when my father was away, poor Bessie felt trapped and needed to stretch her legs. She got out and proceeded to run down the street. Upon noticing this, my brave mother had to take off running after this cow. Again, as I wasn’t there….I’m not sure exactly what happened…but I just picture her…frantically running after this farm animal in her nightgown and overcoat….all the while, muttering to herself…”Man, Chuck. When you get back…..” At the same time, Bessie was probably humming to herself…””Can’t catch Meeeeee…….”HAHA. 🙂 After that fateful evening, I don’t know what happened to Bessie….perhaps I don’t want to know.
Probably what Bessie looked like running away from my Mom.
Cows on Parade:
I think I’ve blogged about Cow Parade before…but back in 2000, my mom fell in love for the first time with a collectible item. She is a very “low fluff” kind of person. Her motto is, “The more stuff I collect, the more I have to dust.” So it was a shock to us all when she found amusement with these figurines. Cow Parade is a public art exhibit in which artists take the standard cow form and modify, paint, decorate, etc it. These cows are displayed all around the city, and after the show, the pieces are auctioned off for charity…and they sell smaller replicas for individual households. My mom got such a kick out of some of them…for awhile, it was a running joke to come up with most creatively themed cow. (My brother-in-law was quite good at that…) Some of the cows sold were Tutan-cow-man (dressed like King Tut), Moo-dolph (Santa’s reindeer, Rudolph)…you get the idea.
So my first memory of college is my parents moving me in, hugging me goodbye, and watching them drive off to Kansas City to see the Cow Parade in person. I don’t think they were going to mind being empty-nesters at all! At least I had my own cow…my Mooo-net (painted like ‘Waterlilies’) to put on my desk in my dorm room. (I should note that my family’s amusement with these collectibles has greatly tapered off…but they still have a few around the house that make me smile when I come over to visit.)
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Cheeseburger, anyone?? Mmmm……
Que Sera, Sara... 