Prairie

Sunny Snowy Saturday

It's been something like eighteen years since England saw this 

much snow.  Maybe six inches or so !  I chuckled about the chaos

it was causing. Growing up in America, I shared my time between 

the States of Montana, Wyoming and North Dakota - where temps

and wind chill were - brrrrrr - below zero most of the time and 

snowfall was so extreme,  it easily reached the rooftops. 

Because it's rare for England to receive this much snow, this paltry 

amount of white stuff  kept six million persons from going to work

this last week and closed many of the schools. For me though, it 

meant a great photo opportunity to check up on my cows and little 

sheep - maybe catch them frolicking in the snow. I really wanted 

to sneak up on them - you know - surprise them. But I wore my 

brown cords and every time I took a step they made a funny noise. 

They heard me coming from miles away. 

I took this photo right outside my front door - one of my first 

with my new camera.  There use to be a wooden bench under

those trees that added character to the scene - it's gone now !!

Sad.

Well there they are the big busters !  White cow is licking his

chops as he just finished eating a big helping of hay.  All this

time I worried that no one was bringing them feed.  Just the 

other day, I was thinking about checking into how much a few

bales of hay would cost.  I'm so relieved that the farmer is caring

for my cows and little sheep.

If you can enlarge this photo by clicking on it, you will see

how really ugly this cow is.  He has one bulging eye that points

this way and one that points the other way - cockeyed !  Also his

stubby little horns are going in different directions.  He looks

like a crazy cow.   He's scary but I love him just the same.

I searched everywhere for little sheep - I was panicking as

he was no where to be seen.  For twenty minutes I looked 

for him.  Then I saw his little feet in the under brush.  The

cows were surrounding him - he was standing in the thicket,

as still as a statue.  He never came out and the cows were vigilant.

No photo of little sheep today.

After three hours of walking the white fields, I decided I had

best head home to St. Ives - I was desperate for the loo.  

The sunny weather was perfect for a walk in the fields, feeding 

the birds at the quay, walking the puppy dog and taking photos.

Everyone I met had a camera - even the puppy dogs !!

After my long day walking in the fresh air, I should be 

drinking a tall glass of freshly made carrot juice tonight.

Instead - I'm drinking a lovely pear cider.  More snow is

forecasted for next Wednesday.  Fun.

The Harvest

Brrrr.....

It's a cold night here in England - a light, dusting of snow

is on the ground. According to the weather girl, the storm 

is blowing in from Russia - imagine that.  When it gets this 

cold, I think about my cows and little sheep. Notice how I said 

"my cows and little sheep?" Like they are mine ? Okay - so I 

love them as much as I love Johnny Dep, and I do love him !

Hope they're getting on okay. Have not been to the lakes to 

check on them recently.  I worry - no one leaves them any hay 

or feed. Soon, I will have a little wander and visit those busters.  

I'm thinking of knitting them all hats. Tonight though - I wanted 

to share this quirky little movie with you. Grab a beer, put your feet 

up and have a look !  It's brilliant.

Moo Cards

 

I was really happy to see my lovely Mini Moo Cards finally arrive in the post.

I was somewhat anxious about the quality of my images and how they 

might indeed, transfer to a teeny card measuring 1 x 2.25 inches.  

I love them !!  The back of the card is simple: my name, phone number 

and email address. Everyone I show them to - asks if they can have one.  

Not your typical biz card and a great marketing tool for my photography. 

If you would like one - send me an email with your address and I'll post 

one out to you. Check them out !  www.moo.com

Leave it to me to order from a company named Moo. 

Oh, how I love my cows !

Then there's La Pêche Enterprises - my little greeting card, cottage industry.

Born by accident and a big bolt out of the blue even to me.  True, I had sold a 

photograph here and there over the last five years to one or two patrons, but 

never thought my photography would take off so well.  Goodness - now I've 

got them in Borders Books even !!  Hoping to launch them on Etsy this year.

http://www.la-peche.co.uk/

I have to admit that I've lost the plot a bit since the New Year.

Maybe it's the grey sky and lack of sunshine here in U.K. - winter blahs.

I originally planned to blog more about being an American living in 

England, the differences in culture and my day to day unexpected 

experiences living in the Cambridgeshire countryside, but instead I've 

created a mish mosh of  little topics that really don't amount to much,

except to me.  I think in the next few months - this blog must go through

an evolution of sorts. I will get it right. 

Okay - will stop my whining now and show you one of my 

lovely cow photos.  I've made him my official mascot. I think he needs a name.

Any suggestions ? I rescued him from a local charity shop for 49 pence (74 cents)

The night temperatures in England have been bitter cold lately.

I wonder how my Limousin cows and little sheep are doing ?!

Whilst all the other cows were taken out of the fields - hopefully

back to a friendly barn and not to a dinner plate - these busters have

been left out in the pasture to fend for themselves for the winter months. 

Early in the morning, they huddle closely together, next to a hedge of trees

for warmth. The cow on the left, with his head in the trees, is trying to keep 

his ears warm I think. Have never seen anyone bring them hay nor is there

any sign of feed pellet leftovers on the ground.  Just call me cow crazy.  

I'm thinking for 2009: calender, post cards, canvas, exhibitions

and retailing to shops in London.  How about shooting for Country Living ?!!

Now that would be a dream come true.  Wonder if they would like a feature

cow article - hmm. Maybe I should have a local exhibition - of cow photos.

Anything is possible.

I so need a holiday.

Gassy Cows

You probably have gathered by now from reading my blog,

that I'm very fond of bovines.  Smelly, drooling, gassy cows !!

I found this hilarious video some time ago - cute animation.

Also - it has a sheep in it - just like the little sheep that lives

with the herd of cows at the lakes near my house. Cute buster !

You really must read my very first post - "The Land of Tea and Lovely"

to understand the relationship between these two critters.

Best Wishes for the New Year !

I had a lovely day today, this last day of 2008.  Although it was

a brisk day, I bundled up and took a long walk along the river to 

take photos and visit my cows and little sheep.  Thanks so much 

to everyone for stopping by to visit my blog. Sending you love and 

my best for 2009. Have a happy and safe New Years evening, 

drive safely and easy on the champagne !!  Here are some photos 

of my day.  Warning: Yes, there will be cow photos. 

Sorry - I love my cows ! xxx

 

 

Bonjour Little Sheep

The very first Prairie blog I ever wrote - was about a little sheep 

who lived with a herd of cows. (see post: the land of tea and lovely) 

I captured some incredible pictures of a cow, tenderly nudging this 

little sheep, to get up and follow.  While most of the cows outside 

my window have been moved by the farmers, this herd + little sheep 

are still grazing like crazy by the lakes near my house.  I took a walk 

yesterday to see if little sheep was still hanging with the herd. 

And there he was !! 

He's so fat now in his winter coat.  Looks as if someone

has put him in the dryer - on the fluff setting ! 

Some might call me a silly cow ( there's that cow word again) for taking 

photos of cows - but I can't help it. They are just so gosh darned photogenic !

Move over Cindy Crawford - you are being upstaged by Cindy Cowford !!

I mean - look at 'em !  Vogue a la natural !

Getting back to the sheep.  Look at him checking me out !

Should we name it ? Any suggestions ?  Fluffy ?

Besides taking photos of sheep and cows, I love taking photos of 

the ancient, twisty trees that grow in this pasture and around the lake.

And back to cows again - I love them !

 

Goodbye Naughty Boys !!

The dreaded day has arrived. This morning I woke up to an empty field. Naughty Boys were no where to be seen ! Either they were eaten by some Eastern Europeans or the farmer has taken them back to his farm. But since I've not noticed any people walking through the field with knife and fork in hand, I would hope it's the latter one.

The remark about Eastern Europeans may not seem kind or politically correct - it is how it is - here in United Kingdom. With the influx of Eastern Europeans to this country, vast amounts of fish are being netted from England's rivers and the Queen Mum's beloved swans, which are protected species, have been slaughtered and wings piled six feet high next to migrant camps, evidence of recent banquets.

What's next ? A Barbeque Swan Wings franchise next to the fish and chips shop ?

Although Eastern Europeans may be breaking UK laws, I empathize with them. My very own Grandparents, poor as church mice, emigrated to the US from Ukraine and with no strict laws against it, fished, shot and skinned anything edible to feed the their six children. It's no wonder then that the masses of buffalo disappeared from the prairie lands - mark and learn.

Enough of that, I'm here to blog about bovine, not use this as a platform for social and political beliefs.

So then, back to my cows.
I've always suspected Naughty Boys were girls but since I'm more city girl then country girl and know nothing about cows and cow bits and parts - I call them "boys." I believed the farmer to round them up around November time, not this soon ! No more waking up to see them queuing for turns on the scratching post, nor will I see them running full speed to huddle together, sheltering from the steady pouring of rain, beneath the row of trees just outside my window.

Hopefully, you will not think me too "barking mad" for posting cow photos and blogging about these critters.
Some might say that to be barking mad - is a good thing.

Cows, bless 'em, are messy, mucky creatures; bovine have a constant glob of gooey ooze from their eyes and they drool, slobbering a gelatinous slime that hangs from nose and mouth. They also chew with their mouth open, stink of poop, and have a fog of annoying flies that follow them everywhere. Cows eat and eat and poop and poop and poop ! Nevertheless, I love these critters ! Each one has a distinct personality, some days they can be playful and loving life and other days, grumpy and unsociable. Just like a typical British man.

But cows are more than just drooling, pooping fly catchers. They are highly intelligent, curious creatures. It's proven that cows are problem solvers and have incredibly long memories - never forgetting humans who have hurt them. They also interact in socially complex ways amongst their own, forging relationships that last forever or perhaps holding a grudge against another cow who has treated them unfairly. Like humans, cows are capable of learning lessons from each other, some are slow learners and others are very bright. It is said that a cow's intellect is matched closely to that of a dog and slightly above a cat's IQ - by a whisker. (bad pun)

No matter what you think or may not think about cows, I hope after reading the last paragraph, you might see them differently somehow and not merely as; cow + baked potato.

Goodbye Naughty Boys - I'm sure going to miss you !

{post script} This was originally posted 21 September 2008.

The Land of Tea and Lovely

I had all sorts of misguided expectations before I landed on this lush, green island called England. Fanciful visions of infinite curtsying, of crinoline and petticoats, and gentlemen wearing top hats. Romantic, chivalrous gestures on every street corner of stately men forever throwing down their capes over puddles so that delicate ladies might cross without getting their shoes soiled. Alas, methinks the lady has watched one too many BBC period dramas !!

Although life in modern day England is not like living in a Jane Austin novel, there are a good few traditions that have endured still. One, of course, is the custom of drinking tea. Britons drink copious amounts, millions of cups per year. And they also, love to say the word "lovely" over and over again. "That's lovely" or just "lovely" in a very lovely voice. Whenever I say "lovely" it doesn't sound as - lovely - must be my stilted, nasally, Yank accent.

I'm very fortunate to live in a pastoral area of Eastern England and opportunity affords me to wander the bucolic countryside taking pictures of just about everything. I've been obsessed with cows lately and my fondness is for a herd, the eight, who I call "the naughty boys" that graze in Wilhorn Meadow just outside my front door. They can be an ornery lot somedays, never pausing once to look up from the relentless grass gorging so that I might take their photo. I will sorely miss their grumpy faces when the farmer collects them back to his farm for the winter months.

Some weeks ago whilst on the hunt for wild blackberries at the lakes near my home, I discovered another muddy rabble of bovines, munching happily, swishing tails and pooping piles. I was halfway across the field, when one looked up from his meal and stared - dead pan stare - watching, watching, watching...

Slowly, like a gentle, lumbering elephant he started making his way towards me, his head bobbing up and down in mechanical momentum as he trudged across the meadow. Then like an unspoken secret cow code, one by one, each cow followed suit, trekking after their horned leader. At ten feet from me they stopped, standing all in a row, to get a closer look at this human visitor and to greet me in proper cow style. Moo. The cows back in Montana can certainly learn some manners from these prim and proper English critters !!

You might title the above photo as "The Stand Off"

Do you spy the little, dozy black faced sheep laying down to the left of the herd? Clearly, the cows have accepted him as one of their own. He's made himself quite at home - this little sheep - and has no idea that he's not a cow. Using a long lens, I found myself much too close to frame everyone to my liking so I turned around and traced my steps across the meadow. When I turned around and looked through the lens again, this is what I happened to capture. Cow wants little sheep to get up and follow the herd - so he gently nudges...

How cute was that ?! So there he is, the little buster - standing there in the midst of all his cow comrades. I'm going back to the lakes soon, weather permitting, to check up on him and to see whether he's learned how to moo yet. I'll keep you posted.

*Note: As of today, December 1, 2008 - little sheep is still hanging with the cows.

{Post Script} This archive was originally posted Friday, 5th September 2008.