The Red Poll Ladies

For all the hubbub about calves and breeding and feeding and haying, most of the time the cows spend lounging around and chewing their cuds:

They have two trees for shade:

They show a fondness for being near the barn, grazing in a section which I kept mowed before the cattle arrived. Perhaps there is more grass and fewer broadleaf weeds there:

They've got the grass clipped short near the barn but it's longer (and weedier) farther out in the field. The brown in the field beyond the fence posts is mostly grass seed heads:

After I took this picture, I went back into the barn and got the weed whacker. I took down all the thistle-like plants and Burdock I could find:

The cows usually avoid the wet areas, but have enjoyed them during our hot, dry summer:

I remember how things were when these girls first arrived. They were skinny and fearful. Things have sure changed in three years!

This is Rosella, just before she gave birth. She was actually much wider than she looks in this photo:

My neighbor comes once each week and drops off a trailer load of grass clippings for the girls to munch:

The Red Poll girls didn't figure out what they were at first, but they certainly know now. The entire load of grass clippings is eaten in about an hour:

And then they come in for a drink of water:

This is Violet, the one cow who I thought would never become friendly. But she is beginning now to think maybe I'm OK after all. I guess it takes longer to win over some hearts than others: