Friday, September 27, 2013

In the Country? The Cows are Miffed

It is no secret I love living in the country. 
I love our new hometown of Orange, VA and everyday brings a new experience.

One thing Steven and I like to do is sit on the front porch at night, looking at the stars and listening to the quiet.

It IS quiet out here.  Such a change from the suburbs we came from. Eventhough we live in town, this is a very small town surrounded by farms.  Orange County is almost entirely agricultural and the miles and miles of farmland attest to exactly what our neighbors' livelihood is.

Which brings us to the cows.


The above pics were taken less than two miles from our home.

As I said, we like to listen to the quiet. The country quiet is occasionally punctuated by a train whistle or the mooing of a cow.  We love the trains, and can schedule our days around them rumbling through town.

The cows are even cooler.  Every evening, around dinner time, we can hear one of two cows mooing off in the distance.  When we first heard them they seemed so far away we weren't quite sure if we were hearing a cow because, as I said, we live IN town.  Sound travels out here evidently.

So yep, definitely a cow.  We still laugh everytime we hear nightfall's first moo and will sit, happily, for an hour listening to them let their farmer know "Hey! It's dinner time."

[At least we think that is what they are saying. Who speaks cow?]

Last night was different.  Last night was a cow cacophony. 

As we sat on the front porch chatting we heard the first sounds of our bovine friends.  I giggled at their perfect timing and continued talking about the day. Suddenly that one moo turned into four cows mooing, which multiplied into what sounded like six, ten, twelve?

It was a lot. 

Then it was the entire herd of [what sounded like] some pretty ticked off cows.

It went on for over an hour.  They sounded really upset and kept going on and on, voicing their displeasure.  It started to get a little sad because they sounded so unhappy.

Then I figured it out - this week the farmers were separating the calves from their Mommas to send them off to the livestock auction this weekend.
Bye Momma
Ah, such is the country life.

And just so you know - I lost a bet this week to our pal Joe over at These American Servers. We are both die hard baseball fans with Mr. Sixtop having the greater fortune of a much better team, the St. Louis Cards.  So if you like, pop over to Joe's and read up on an early restaurant memory of mine. The words "drunken" and "debauchery" come to mind. ::wink::

Take care Tadpoles. We'll see ya' on the flipside. xo Janine

[Disclaimer No, I am not sad about the "circle of life" or farming or anything else. I grew up around cows, calves, auctions and the local butcher. It's just a blog post, okay? No worries.]

23 comments:

Joe Sixtop said...

Hi. I told my (our?) readers nice things about your writing skills. They just saw an example of that on TAS AND got a link to this episode of yours that prove me right. Cow cacaphony? O hell yea!
Thx again, __-Joe

Joe Sixtop said...

O wow. With that enticing endorsement I just saw I think I'm fixing to be famous!

life in the mom lane said...

Sounds like when we go to the mountains- in the middle of the woods at first you think its quiet, but when you sit and really listen you begin to hear the wind, the birds, the chipmunks & squirels etc... but all of those sounds are relaxing and soothing. :)

Linda said...

Cows and trains, even cow cacophony, beats city kids and the thumping that passes for music blaring from their cars.

CWMartin said...

I was just finishing a blog post about a friend's cat passing away. Every step in his last day with the cat mirrored our last day with Scrappy's predecessor, Fred. Needless to say, my eyes were a bit blurred when I came here next... until I THOUGHT you post said the cows were MILFED. Always can count on a laugh here!

Oh, and Joe? It doesn't matter how good the Cards are, they still blow. Good luck with the Dodgers, buddy!

Anonymous said...

Country sounds are the best. Even though I live in a far Chicago suburb, my sister still calls it the "sticks."

We are a good two miles off the main road, on the channel of the river - so the boat and jet ski noise isn't too bad and we don't have much traffic at all.

No street lights either - the darkness took me a LONG time to get used to because I grew up on busy streets my whole life.

Which is why I get such a kick out of Lyle the Squirrel and Mo the Chipmunk - that would never happen in other houses I lived in.

Hugs and Love!

ellen abbott said...

Oh yes, separating moms from their calves. No one is happy. It sounds like where we live...13 acre hay field behind us, agricultural fields at the near end of the street, train track at the far end of the street and agricultural fields beyond that. The livestock auction is just down a county road or two and I hear them mooing on auction days. We do get some traffic noise though as one of the main roads in to town off the highway is also at the far end of the street and sound travels here too.

Unknown said...

I understand the circle of life and all that, but I even got upset when we got our puppy, just because I kept thinking she would be missing her mamma. It is sad in a way, but then life goes on.

Southhamsdarling said...

Hi Skippy. This post did make me smile, with the cows starting to Moo at an appointed time!! Sad that the calves had to leave their mummys, and the cows were crying, but, as you say, that's farming life for you. Love it how you and Pooldad love to sit on the porch like that - you old romantics you!!! Hope you are doing well at the moment my friend. Sending you hugs x

Gypsy said...

Your cows remind me of when I lived in Ireland - the mamas would cry for days after they took their young ones away.

Celia said...

Yes, I remember that area when I lived there. Beautiful country. I am thinking about the see n' say. "The cow says MOOOOO!"

Juli said...

My grandfather owned a dairy farm for years... the circle of life was learned very early here.

Not unlike the day I found that out "pet" pigs were being ground into sausage in the kitchen one morning.

It's amazing I don't need more therapy.

Lyndylou said...

Hee hee great post. Glad you are really enjoying your new home xxx

Susan Flett Swiderski said...

Aw crap. Yeah, sure I may upon occasion point out a veal running around in a field, but that's just 'cause I'm a smart-ass. But I don't like to think about the mamas and babies singing a bovine dirge when they're being separated. Yeah, I know it's the circle of life and all that jazz, but it's still kinda sad. (Doesn't mean I'll never eat veal marsala again, though. I'm a bleeding heart, but I'm also a carnivore.)

12:34

Sally said...

I don't know how I missed this post until now! I wish I lived out in a place like where you live. I grew up in a rural "town" of about 160 people, so I like the quiet :)

Jean said...

Not sure how I missed THIS post but your last one left me feeling out of touch so I'm thinking I've missed more than one.

I grew up with cows mooing at the lake but then - we were out in the country. I don't hear any where we are now and not sure how far I'd have to go to find a dairy or beef farm - not overly far - they are all around - but the farms I pass by each day have mostly corn and wheat and if they have livestock, pasture them away from the road. However, I hear the train regularly and what's funny is that it's the same train crossing signal I heard growing up - I'm just closer to it now.

1st Man said...

Ah the reason I love having our place in the country, even though it's a work in progress. It's just so relaxing compared to the hustle and bustle of the city.

Enjoy!

Anonymous said...

I wasn't able to comment on your last post. You are an incredible person with much love in your heart. The world full of people like yourself would be a very nice world to live in. Enjoy your time with your family as they are number #1. Take care and thanks for reading my blog and commenting on it.

Yum Yucky said...

I found a workaround since the comments on your final post are closed... I love you. I've said it plenty, but I truly mean it. You have made me smile and made me feel extremely loved. There is no doubt you are one of the most wonderful people I've ever known.

Redhead said...

I'm commenting here since your final post is closed. I will miss you and your clever, happy posts. I will miss your comments on my blog. I wish you wouldn't go, but I understand your reasons. I hope all goes well for you in the future, I wish you all the best; take good care, we will be thinking of you.

Marilyn

Anonymous said...

I will miss your posts, but I totally understand. You need to spend this time with your family and now I am pissed I didn't make the trip to see you this summer when I was in Virginia -shame on me!

I love you, and am sending the biggest virtual hugs to you!!

Yum Yucky said...

Hi Skippy Momma. I don't know if you receive blog comments in your email any longer, but just wanted to let you know that I think of you often and hope you and your wonderful family are doing well.

Love always, Josie

aapkinews said...

on your nails before painting to make incredible stripes, two-tone impacts, or other fascinating plans. Take a stab at utilizing matte cleans alongside polished ones for a multi-finished impact. AAPKI NEWS
AAP KI NEWS