I just got back from a short walk. I found some cows in an orchard, and their water tank was full of thick green weed. I thought -that may be no harm for cows.....(unsure) Then I watched them, and when they came to the tank to drink, they were definitely trying to avoid it.
So I got a big Ash stick and spent some time fishing the thick weed out. They watched me curiously, and I whistled them a tune. They all gathered round, fascinated by my hauling out great swathes of weed. (That must have taken ages but I lost track of time.)
Then I bid them good-bye, and carried on walking. I sat at the top of the field and looked back. One or two cows were obviously more than thrilled about their clean tank! Insead of drinking, they were putting their noses right in, then pulling them back out again, and spraying water all over the place. I could see that this was 'just for fun' -a game....not plain old drinking. One cow was spraying her neighbour, and she retaliated by giving that cow a dose of her own medicine!
It was great to see they appreciated my efforts -in a way I hadn't anticipated!
So I got a big Ash stick and spent some time fishing the thick weed out. They watched me curiously, and I whistled them a tune. They all gathered round, fascinated by my hauling out great swathes of weed. (That must have taken ages but I lost track of time.)
Then I bid them good-bye, and carried on walking. I sat at the top of the field and looked back. One or two cows were obviously more than thrilled about their clean tank! Insead of drinking, they were putting their noses right in, then pulling them back out again, and spraying water all over the place. I could see that this was 'just for fun' -a game....not plain old drinking. One cow was spraying her neighbour, and she retaliated by giving that cow a dose of her own medicine!
It was great to see they appreciated my efforts -in a way I hadn't anticipated!
