Thursday, May 1, 2008

Belted Galloway Cow

If you've never seen a Belted Galloway Cow, do a Google image search now and take a look.  Is such a perfect thing true?  The strict delineation of black/white/black is, to my eye and mind, totally captivating.  Surely these must be happy-go-lucky beasties, if their physical aspect is so charming. 

A few days ago, I drove from Philadelphia to Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Wanting the most direct route, I drove route 80 across much of Pennsylvania and through Ohio to Maumee.  Somewhere vaguely west of Cleveland, I passed a farm on the south side of the highway.  A large field was full of Belted Galloway cows with little calves, probably only a few days old.  The coloration charming on an adult is mind-boggling on a tiny calf.  I wanted to pull to the side and dash across 6 lanes of traffic to worship at the fence line.  I won't claim that good sense prevailed:  it was the intimidating presence of tractor-trailer trucks that kept me moving.  And in Ohio, one tractor is allowed to pull three trailers.  This is as unnatural and baby Belted Galloways are supremely true to nature.    


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