Hooves in the air, 1500 pounds of brown and cream leapt and frolicked. Never before have I seen such a thing.

Turning my car into a dead end to change direction, three cows looked at me and then danced in someone’s front yard. They kicked up their hooves and romped free and gleeful. Out of nowhere came a fourth, who for a moment, looked like she would traipse right into the trafficked road. Instead, she kicked up her heels, whirled around and headed for someone else’s front yard.

It was the happiest thing to watch, which I did for 5 minutes. Then, I finished the turn-around and my errands. Coming back, I had to see if they were still ambling about, loosed from whatever electric-wire fencing they had somehow escaped. Sure enough, now six cows and two calves were eating dead corn stalks in someone’s back yard.

Suddenly, going way to fast for a little dead-end road, a gray pickup truck sped passed me  and pulled into the driveway next to the cornstalks. The ethers changed immediately. The cows knew who he was: he was The Man. He noticeably calmed with each step as he approached the closest cow, eyed the situation, and wondered how to get his girls home.

Cows frolicking. It was the smile of the day!

reposted from December 2013.