A Thousand Words
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. It's been a cold January and it's taking me a long time to share all my photos. This one is my favorite so far. Not everyone sees the same thing when they look at a photo. So, I'm going to tell you about this one.
The winter-feeding routine begins with all the cattle close to home, then Ryan & his guest of the day (often a kid, but me on this very cold day) climb into the truck and head out to feed hay to each pasture. Cold makes it not as much fun, but snow and ice make it slower. Driving conditions require slower speeds, water must be checked at every location and the counting and viewing of cows is more thorough. You try to look at each cow checking for signs of sickness or limping. Cows can fall on the ice just like people (probably less than me) and sickness progresses quicker in lower temperatures.
The last pasture of the day had only recently begun winter use. We didn't use this pasture in late summer or fall to save grass (which looses only minimal nutrients) for winter grazing. So, these cows are not used to coming up each day for hay. Ice or snow make grazing more difficult, so we always feed hay on those days. As we got to this last pasture it was around 330pm and we had not eaten lunch yet. Ryan is still toasty warm, but despite the trucks heat, cutting net wrap had left my toes very cold. We called and called, but no cows. Now when cows are hungry, they wander and search. So, if we had simply left the hay, they likely would have found it. That isn't how Ryan's cows are cared for. So, he kindly let me sit and warm up while he walked a half a mile one way until the cows could finally hear his calls. They know his voice and trust he brings only good things, so they follow.
When I look at this photo, I see a man and his love for farming. I see the hard work and pride. When I'm warm and browsing photos on my phone I love the beauty of those cows walking through the lovely snow-covered trees. I'm not always motivated to go feed when I know I'm going to be cold for prolonged times, but I do love this farm, this life and that man. So, when you look at the pictures I post or bite into a melty warm hamburger, know it comes to your table with love.
