Bit of Earth Farm

Isabelle turned 12 not long ago. She spends her days as she chooses, munching last summer's hay with her two calves or resting on a comfortable bed of straw in the barn. 

She seems to enjoy winter weather. Sometimes Isabelle stays out in a snowstorm as if contemplating whatever it is bovines contemplate. She stands looking peacefully off in the distance, steam from her nostrils joining white swirling snowflakes. She's seen enough seasons to know that spring will return, bringing fresh grass to the pastures around her. 


Isabelle's life was recently described on Culinate. Sadly her pastoral existence isn't the norm for dairy cows, as this Alternet piece explains. Expedience and short term gain cannot guide our practices. Nature teaches us to approach life with respect for wisdom we can only barely comprehend. Isabelle teaches us every day.