Nature, you know moves, in cycles. Spring follows Winter. Summer follows Spring – at least we hope it does, and Autumn follows Summer. Then it’s back to Winter, and round we go again.
Last year there was a small hiccough in the smooth flow of our year. When the weather warmed up, our corner cows had a pressing engagement elsewhere and were unable to fulfil their obligations. They sent their apologies, leaving us with just the occasional sheep to break the monotony, while a whole herd of moles moved across the field like a tectonic plate leaving a string of volcanic islands behind them.
This year, the cycle picked up where it left off, that’s one of nature’s strong points. At the corner, when we made our customary pause to ensure that the gate was closed and the field was still safely contained, this years cows stopped their ruminating and came over to have a chat and to rub their chins on the top of the gate. They had only just arrived, they explained after we had introduced ourselves. Having only lived in a barn, the fields seemed vast – were they expected to eat all this on their own, they asked? We assured them that we had every confidence in them.
