Meeting at the gate by shepherdman

Meeting at the gate

Any walk down to the village is often followed by a climb to the top of Croft Hill. The footpath leading back home passes conveniently around the bottom of the Hill, and it’s only a short detour over the stile onto the field that leads up to the “trig point” at the top. The short climb is steep enough to get your heart racing and to exercise the lungs, and there is a nice view to be enjoyed at the top as any wind blows the cobwebs away. In summer and autumnn cows, generally bullocks, graze the Hill, controlling thistles and nettles, precisely five cows each year, the size of the mini-herd no doubt carefully calculated to ensure weed control without overgrazing. They are always very placid beasts, and tolerant of dogs, but nevertheless our two stay on the lead when close to the cows, and if they are gathered around the stile onto the Hill, we tend to walk on by. On this occasion Tia ran up to the gate to greet the cow who was peering inquisitively through the bars, totally unfazed by Tia’s barking. I tried to capture the conversation between bullock and dog, but Tia was clearly uncomfortable with the eyeball-to-eyeball encounter, preferring to continue the conversation with the beast from behind my legs.
Love the cow, love the story. Well done.
November 5th, 2014  
Aw, I love cows.
November 5th, 2014  
I had 2 golden retrievers when we lived in the country and we used to walk past paddocks of cattle. They would follow the dogs right down the line of the fence appearing to be totally fascinated. I wonder why Tia was barking
! Perhaps she could sense superiority!
November 5th, 2014  
Awww .... cutie! :)
November 5th, 2014  
Nice "portrait" and story to go with it.
November 5th, 2014  
Typical Tia! These bullocks are so friendly that I stroked one on the nose last week. They are lovely and you've caught this one really well. Love the look on its face. Fav
November 5th, 2014  
Great expression, just crying out for a caption!
November 5th, 2014  
Love the expression! faved
November 5th, 2014  
wonderful photo
November 6th, 2014  
Awe, great shot. Fav
November 6th, 2014  
And the cow looks totally unconcerned. Fun story.
November 6th, 2014  
:) Nice story! This bullock is very handsome. Nicely captured.
November 6th, 2014  
You even got his whiskers!
November 6th, 2014  
Lovely capture of an inquisitive cow. Our mini dachshunds, always on leads usually have a bit to say to cows. A bit to do with little man syndrome methinks :)
November 6th, 2014  
Neat shot.. I think he wants you to open the gate..
November 6th, 2014  
What a cute face. Nice capture.
November 6th, 2014  
Love the expression a mixture of surprise and curiosity. Fav
November 6th, 2014  
Beautiful photo
November 6th, 2014  
Awwww cute, great shot!
November 6th, 2014  
Great capture!
November 6th, 2014  
Sweet image!
November 7th, 2014  
nice compo
November 7th, 2014  
Nice!
November 8th, 2014  
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