April 7th
Cosne d'Allier
April 7th, 2009
We had an April shower today in central France. The pebbled ground around the chateau was starting to get some puddles and the sky still spat all day. I was sitting around and finally decided to go for a walk after checking Facebook and seeing a movie quote quiz phenomenon that was raging around the world (aka DJ and David Pierce). I wanted to join in so I started to contemplate what movies to select for the idea was to pick your favorite movies but its hard for me to select my favorite anything. Maybe I'm just not firm in my convictions concerning pop culture stuff.
So I went for a walk and mailed some things at the post office, passing the town's market. I saw four carts of fruit, clothes, meats, and poisson. That was actually my first walk. In my second walk, I did not go into town but around our chateau's grounds and an adjacent neighborhood. Behind the neighborhood is a pasture, always with a couple dozen cows. Always eating and chewing, they look slow, fat, and dumb. However, as I started to come to them, I noticed some of them watching me, chewing as they stared- a rather unsettling sight, I don't know why. Some others looked but went back to the circular holder of straw or hay. The one with some small horns -apparently a bull who looked young and ambitious and temperamental- was soon the only one left watching me. He wasn't chewing anymore. So I stopped whistling but kept walking. I also grievously noticed that the only thing keeping this beast from charging into me was a tiny wire fence. I prayed it was electric but wondered how much even that would stop him if he wanted to come to me.
As I kept walking alongside this pasture, the rest of and the majority of the herd noticed me. They started walking away from me, but not diagonally or directly straight away from me; they were walking parallel with my direct path. One cow ended up perfectly aligned with me although some many meters away. I watched her walk, noticing fairly up close – but not too up close, that bull was still back there- her muscles and tail swish from side to side in the mist the resided after the steady rain all day. I stopped walking. She glanced at me and without any hesitation bolted. The entire herd started to move, too.
My imagination ran with her and I was immediately nervous that the entire herd would stampede all across the pasture. Thankfully, their trot quickly slowed to a walk and the cow I was watching caught up to the rest of the group who all were just casually walking now. I continued walking, too.
As I passed the fence where they could not follow, I looked back. They were following me, looking at me curiously. Some stopped to chew the grass just waiting for them by the fence but some of them kept staring as I grew distant.
When I had been walking for a about half a minute, I turned back again and they were all immersed in their food. Maybe cows are more intelligent than I thought, but not that intellectual. They were scared and curious, similar in ways to us humans. If something new approaches us, do we just stare at it as it comes closer or do we run from it with reckless abandon and then watch it go, reflective?
So anyway, I had a relaxing day, did some writing, wrote a Facebook note and chatted to some friends online. What more can I ask for?
April 7th, 2009
We had an April shower today in central France. The pebbled ground around the chateau was starting to get some puddles and the sky still spat all day. I was sitting around and finally decided to go for a walk after checking Facebook and seeing a movie quote quiz phenomenon that was raging around the world (aka DJ and David Pierce). I wanted to join in so I started to contemplate what movies to select for the idea was to pick your favorite movies but its hard for me to select my favorite anything. Maybe I'm just not firm in my convictions concerning pop culture stuff.
So I went for a walk and mailed some things at the post office, passing the town's market. I saw four carts of fruit, clothes, meats, and poisson. That was actually my first walk. In my second walk, I did not go into town but around our chateau's grounds and an adjacent neighborhood. Behind the neighborhood is a pasture, always with a couple dozen cows. Always eating and chewing, they look slow, fat, and dumb. However, as I started to come to them, I noticed some of them watching me, chewing as they stared- a rather unsettling sight, I don't know why. Some others looked but went back to the circular holder of straw or hay. The one with some small horns -apparently a bull who looked young and ambitious and temperamental- was soon the only one left watching me. He wasn't chewing anymore. So I stopped whistling but kept walking. I also grievously noticed that the only thing keeping this beast from charging into me was a tiny wire fence. I prayed it was electric but wondered how much even that would stop him if he wanted to come to me.
As I kept walking alongside this pasture, the rest of and the majority of the herd noticed me. They started walking away from me, but not diagonally or directly straight away from me; they were walking parallel with my direct path. One cow ended up perfectly aligned with me although some many meters away. I watched her walk, noticing fairly up close – but not too up close, that bull was still back there- her muscles and tail swish from side to side in the mist the resided after the steady rain all day. I stopped walking. She glanced at me and without any hesitation bolted. The entire herd started to move, too.
My imagination ran with her and I was immediately nervous that the entire herd would stampede all across the pasture. Thankfully, their trot quickly slowed to a walk and the cow I was watching caught up to the rest of the group who all were just casually walking now. I continued walking, too.
As I passed the fence where they could not follow, I looked back. They were following me, looking at me curiously. Some stopped to chew the grass just waiting for them by the fence but some of them kept staring as I grew distant.
When I had been walking for a about half a minute, I turned back again and they were all immersed in their food. Maybe cows are more intelligent than I thought, but not that intellectual. They were scared and curious, similar in ways to us humans. If something new approaches us, do we just stare at it as it comes closer or do we run from it with reckless abandon and then watch it go, reflective?
So anyway, I had a relaxing day, did some writing, wrote a Facebook note and chatted to some friends online. What more can I ask for?
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