Morning Trip Report. 3 miles. We got a late start, finishing up at noon, today’s forecast is 55/76°F, foggy & overcast to start, but that burned off to sunny before we got back. I wore my backpack 9#, Yuki did not.
So… 59 degrees was way too warm for fleece, took that off in the first half mile, leaving me in a cotton t-shirt — yeah-yeah, cotton kills. I like the shirt, give me a break. Wished I had worn shorts once I got moving. I can handle the cold a lot better than the heat. Note to self 50s = shorts & t-shirt and move faster.
On the way out, it was foggy, overcast, and the cow field was empty. There was a strange chattering almost-mechanical noise that got louder and louder as we got closer to my cousin’s house. Until you had to raise your voice to speak over the noise. Birds. Birds everywhere in the trees, flitting about, chattering their bird speak and carrying on hysterically. Yuki never even glanced over.
But on the way back, the birds were gone and Yuki met her first cows. Like Bayou, she alerted on them, stood stock still and stared. Good so far. Big dogs, hon, just really big dogs.
Then the wind shifted and the cows did a strange, zombie-cow maneuver. Every head lifted and turned to stare at her. In unison. And continued to stare, unmoving. Not even blinking. Not a sound. Freaked her the heck OUT.
She bolted. Snorted, gyrated at the end of the leash. DANGER, DANGER!
I calmed her down and we motored. But she did most of the next quarter mile walking backwards staring behind me.
Started to freak me out a little, too. They are just cows. But there’s also only 3 thin strands of wire between them and us and cows kill a lot more people in the US every year than sharks do. And now I’m freaking out a little sitting safely at home. Why were the birds normal — we don’t have that many birds congregating at once around here — but the cows freaked her out?
I’m sure they were nice enough cows. Yuki took exception. And I don’t run anymore. I can amble, meander, and hike. But running is not in the repertoire.
But then the cows all went back to grazing. In unison. Strange McStrangeness.
