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Published: November 19th 2009
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November 16, 2009
ANNOUNCEMENT! ANNOUNCEMENT! Today John and Bill actually turned down the free hotel breakfast and we went to Shoney’s. It turned out not to be so great…but at least it was something different! We began our drive through the western part of West Virginia, which is just spectacular. We drove a roller coaster road through the Blue Ridge Mountains…so pretty. This is definitely some of the most beautiful country we’ve seen…somewhat surprising to me. There were farms with quilt like patches of land, straw colored fields, old barns, bales of hay, silos…and always…the cows.
Perhaps it is time I say a word about the cows. If I had to choose the one single most constant companion on our journey…it would be our bovine friends! They have followed us everywhere; up through the northeast, into and across Canada, down into the north central states, all through the Dakotas, back into Canada along the northwest coast; into the southwest, and then, throughout the south; we literally have not traveled a day without seeing them sprinkled across a magnificent landscape. At times they’ve appeared in the distance looking at first like tiny dots peppering the hillside, undistinguishable from the bales of hay
that share the fields with them. We’ve seen them on grassy plains; brilliantly colored in blacks, whites, browns, beiges; some two-toned; black with white, white with black, their splotches so contrasted and random, they looked as if they had been drawn on by a small child! Sometimes they could be seen lying quietly in a pasture, so still that an occasional swish of their tails was the only clue that they were real. At other times they would be standing, usually with their heads down, enjoying a grassy buffet, their silhouettes taking on an odd geometric shape that may or may not have a name. We’ve seen them in the most unlikely places; precariously perched on the sides of mountains, comical in their poses, as if someone had arranged them just so, or we’ve caught them meandering on tiny patches of grass by the ocean, looking as if they’re out for their morning constitutional, enjoying the fresh sea breeze. Sometimes they are quite close to the side of the road, and I’ve stopped for a better look. They greet me with a soulful patient gaze, their eye lashes amazingly long. On occasion they’ve offered a quick hello before returning to
the matter at hand…chewing. We have seen calves alongside their mothers, spindly legged and curious but never straying far from their source of comfort and food. Sometimes we would come upon a small gathering of cows …huddled intimately together as if engaged in a great debate or deciding on the next play of the game. At other times they’ve been scattered across the field seemingly annoyed with one another and no longer on speaking terms. We’ve observed them standing in a row with their faces pressed tightly against a fence, as if they had been called upon to judge it’s craftsmanship. We’ve seen them walking in a perfectly straight line, their destination unclear to an observer, the lead cow marching in a determined confident way. They have been with us for this entire marvelous journey, a constant reassuring presence… like sentries, each one a talisman... It’s difficult not to feel a certain kinship with them … we are mates, comrades …fellow travelers really, having wonderful adventures, sharing this amazing land…
Today’s Road Lesson: We are one with the cows!
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