 Nature's diary - October
I'm prompted to write this by Nightshade's thread re angling experiences - though mine relates to a walk.
My brother-in-law was visiting my husband and I about 8 years ago, when we decided to go for a walk. After a few miles through a variety of terrain, we had to enter a field containing cows. The herd was at the top edge of a hill and we kept well towards the bottom, following a nearby hawthorn hedge. Cows being cows they became more and more curious about their visitors and decided to saunter down towards us. The gate we were heading towards seemed to get further and further away. None of us actually commented on the progress of the cows, but it became obvious that we were all becoming more and more nervous - each of us eyeing up the possibility of flight through a gap in the hedge. No such opportunity presented itself, and eventually the cows were almost upon us. Panic set in. Our legs began to speed up - my brother-in-law being smaller than us - his little limbs having to do twice as much work. Men being men they were not going to let on that they were as anxious as me, but chivalry deserted them and they broke into a sprint, then flung themselves over the five bar with me struggling behind as the cows, having also gathered speed, caught up with us. Every man for himself!! It might have been October, but we were all boiling hot. Panting and roaring with laughter we were never so pleased to 'escape' and were creased up all the way home. My brother-in-law phoned his wife when we got back, only to be asked 'What have you been up to'? He burst out laughing and replied 'You'd never believe me, if I told you'. I still have a mental image of those two fleeing before me and it still makes me chuckle.
But - what should we have done in these circumstances. Is there a right/wrong way to behave when confronted with a herd of cows? That is, apart from avoid the field.  |