Today on the hill...

[bunn]

Today on our hill, the cows that chased Mollydog the other day have been joined by some very shiny Dartmoor ponies. I am not sure these particular ponies have been free ranging on a moor before. They were standing together in a little group, looking somewhat horrified at the brambles, the gorse, and the sheer outsideness of it all. Also, I could see from their footprints on the path that they were all neatly shod, which seems a bit odd for a gang of lawnmowers, even very beautifully groomed ones with no tangles or burrs or anything. Not that I am a horse person.

Still, they didn't chase Mollydog, so I have decided I like them better than the cows. Also, no WHOPPING GREAT ENORMOUS HORNS, and no frantic mooing. I am certain that one particular hereford-ish cow has learned that people often run away when she gallops towards them mooing loudly, and she does it deliberately for a laugh.

I do quite like the fact though that in the midst of the age of health and safety, someone at our local council had the nerve to decide that good accessories for the open, public areas of our park, which gets millions of visitors every year, would be a gang of frisky cows with calves, a second gang of buxom young bullocks, and an entire bull (who I must say is a complete gentleman and does an excellent job of keeping his unruly wives in order).

Comments

[sigisgrim.livejournal.com]

Ah, the fun and joy of living in a commoning area. Growing up in the New Forest we had cows, horses, donkeys, occasionally pigs in the autumn for acorns, various birds including guinea fowl (which are annoying buggers). You had to make sure your fences were in good order, all the time, otherwise you'd find cows and horses in the garden.

Watching the tourists from the towns trying to drive through a mass of horses or cattle at a road junction was always entertaining. They'd just stop and look all panicky! The best way usually was just to drive up to the animals, they'd just get out of the way.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Where I grew up on the edge of Clyne Common in Swansea was similar (though no guinea fowl or pigs) but the fencing and cattle grids have been improved a lot since then and I don't think people find cows in the garden any more.

This area (Kit Hill) is relatively small for a common though*, and it seems to have an awful lot of animals on it at the moment, compared with most commons!

*technically it's not really a common, but a council-owned park. But it looks like a common.

[philmophlegm.livejournal.com]

"*technically it's not really a common, but a council-owned park."

Are you sure? It was given to the 'people of Cornwall' by HRH the Duke of Cornwall. I think the council just acts as custodian. It belongs to us, not the state.

[tena524.livejournal.com]

My grandparents ran the last remaining dairy farm in an area that was heavily touristed in the summertime. I can well remember hearing frustrated honking when milking time was near. Of course, the cows had learned to ignor the honking, and just ambled along at their own slow pace. Cows heading across the road, red-faced tourists in rediculously over-priced vehicles being absolutely astounded to learn that cows have right-of-way between pasture and barn, which means said tourist might actually have to wait a further 10 whole minutes for their G&T's.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

I have a strong suspicion that cows have quite a sense of humour when it comes to people...