the smallest Small: Those Scenic Beasts

I had fully intended to post about our "dear" cows on June 1st, as that was the 1st anniversary of us getting them! Then, of course, I forgot until late yesterday. Feeling extra lame, I still decided to write about them because I have been anticipating a reason to finally post all about them. (Now they are starting to sound more like pets than future-freezer-filler!)

We have had cows before, but they looked so normal. I felt no attachment to them, and they probably felt the same with me. (Besides that they were milk cows and required a lot of consistency, which our family just doesn't do well with.) Then we went for 4 years without cows....and no other farm animals, either, like before. I wanted something to eat our over-grown fields. I wanted something more regular to change the scenery than the occasional elk. So my dad found us some of these:

our actual cows

We have often admired this breed of cows in the past, and their fortunate owners. They are so scenic and shaggy. Other than their horns, they look pretty cuddly...or something. When Dad announced that we really were getting a little family of Scottish Highlands, I was overjoyed. They were the beginning of bringing back our old farm...

Now we've had them for a year. I realize that maybe the owners of Scottish Highlands are not feeling so fortunate. I was just glad today to find that they had stayed in the fence all day yesterday. (Although they'll probably make an escape later today.) They have run down the road, broken the fence more times than I can count, and eaten their share of hay and grain. I have had numerous opportunities to be gored, learned to quickly climb through fences, and repaired more fences than I can count. (Or at least more times then I'd care to keep track of.)

Despite the frustrations and set-backs, I am so thankful to have Polly, Wally, and Doodle (as in, "Polly, Wally, Doodle all the day.") to brag on. (While these names are fitting since they get out so often that they often do take a great deal of the day, the bull, who initiates all the broken fences and running down the road, has recently been renamed The Beast.) While I am very tired of them hacking every repair job, I am (usually) so glad to have them around! Scenic, if nothing else.