We've all heard that saying….. And we know what is meant when someone uses that phrase. But, what I have been wondering about cows is……..

Have you ever sat and watched the cows, grazing in the fields? They mill about from here to there, chewing on all manner of things. Sometimes they are settling down for a rest, feeding their calves, just generally doing whatever it is that cows do. Then suddenly, you notice they are headed, en masse, toward a destination….home we presume. What is it about this place that qualifies it as "home" for a cow? How do they know when it is time to go home? Why do they need to go home? They can sleep just as comfortably out under the stars in the midst of a field, can't they? How convenient would that be, when they wake up in the middle of the night and want a snack! And tell me, who or what determines the pecking order? There always has to be a first one to head toward home, and the others follow. Why was it that that particular cow made the first move? Is it that same cow every day or do they take turns, depending upon rank in the herd? Why do the other cows follow? Don't some of them stand back and think "I'm not following HER!" but then see all the other cows are so, putting whatever hard feelings they have aside, figure they might as well follow too.

It always amazes me to watch them. One will set off toward the place called home, and the others follow. Soon you will notice a few dawdlers….like a 9 year old child, goofing off, then looking up and realizing that mom and dad have continued on, and the child must run to catch up. There are those cows that dawdle. I guess they want just one more taste of that grass they are eating. Or maybe they'd been busy watching a bug of one sort or another, crawling around, deciding whether or not that bug would be a tasty little dessert before heading home. Soon, the dawdlers are hustling to catch up with the herd. What happens to the last cow home? Do they get grounded? Maybe it means they have to sleep furthest out from the group…the coldest spot. If they get home early, they get to be in the inner circle, where all the other cows crowded around help protect them from the elements.

I also love to watch the cows as they engage in their form of cow play. Especially the young calves. They frolic about, just generally totally happy about being a cow. And then there was the time recently, the young calf was being a bit too curious about the human activities in the area. Momma cow…..or maybe it was Aunt Cow….or maybe just the babysitter cow…..anyway, I watched as she appeared to scold the youngster. She moved toward the little troublemaker, and I felt like I could almost hear the little one say "Oh shoot….she caught me. I'm in trouble now". The day I was watching, Momma moved the young one away, then for good measure she poked her nose into the young ones behind…prodding it to move a little bit faster, and ensuring that the young calf understood who was boss. The funny thing was, the cows and calves had been standing in the middle of a ranch road which I was driving on. I felt like I could hear the momma saying "See, that's why we don't play in the road!"

I guess cows have their own language. To me, a moo is a moo. Yes, there are different tones, and I feel like I can tell when they seem to be irritated, or in distress, or when they are calling their young. But I can sit and listen to several mommas’ calling out, and their calls all sound exactly the same. How do the young calves know which momma is calling? Do they name their young, so when I hear "Mooooo" they are actually saying "Come here, Margaret!"? And maybe the next one is saying "Come here, Sally".

And what about rituals of sorts? Not too long ago, on my way home, I saw a cow lying down, and I could just tell, even from a distance, that the cow was dead. I made the appropriate notifications and didn't think much about it. About 3 days later, I was driving by that area again, and there was that cow, very obviously dead now….with about 8 cows standing around, in a circle, looking down toward the dead one. It seemed kind of like it was the funeral service for the dead cow. They had all come to pay their respects. Maybe they were reminiscing about the good old days. Maybe they were lamenting the fact that she had died too young. Was it an accident? Maybe, just maybe, that cow had heard she was about to go on that ride in the trailer….the one where their friends have gone before and never come back…..so maybe she ate some poisonous plants on purpose, or antagonized a poisonous snake so that it would bite her repeatedly. Was it a self-inflicted death? And of course, it could have been some horrible cow disease or just old age. The other cows are standing there, looking down, with only the knowledge that their friend was now dead and they don't know why. Or maybe they understand more than any of us ever will. Was this ritualistic behavior typical?

Tell me…..just what are cows thinking? We watch and wonder what it would be like to be a cow, to wander aimlessly around a field, eating whatever appeals to us at the moment. That might be some luscious looking grass, or brown dried up weeds, fresh corn or hey, maybe that orange safety fence over there, and look a really cool yellow rope someone left out here for me to chew on. They lie down when they want to, they just lift their tail and relieve themselves whenever and wherever they want. They don't care where they are or who is watching. Cows just do what they do, without regard to anyone else in the neighborhood. They watch us as we move about in their world. Do they look at us and think "what is it like to be a human?" "I sure wouldn't want to wear those restrictive garments that they always have on." "Look at them move about in those funny looking contraptions"….in their eyes we are here one minute and gone the next. Do they wonder where we go, and why? Is there a cow out there somewhere, relating a story and questions about humans, just as I am doing now about cows?

We most likely will not have any answers while we are still here on this earth, so we can just continue to ponder these questions "until the cows come home".