I drove to town the other day to do some errands, and was surprised to find myself in the middle of a cattle drive on the gravel road. I kept driving -- 5 mph -- right through the herd. None of the cowboys yelled at me.
At the end of the road, they came up to a paved highway, with fast car traffic. So they turned right, just before the paved highway. Except for two of them. I actually used my van to herd those two cows into a right turn. The cowboy gave me a friendly wave.
Actually, the cowboys looked pretty bored. They were also over-dressed -- as Colorado cowboys usually are -- which made me roll my eyes. But their Australian shepherds were having a great time!, and doing most of the work.
On the return trip from town, the cattle drive was pretty much over, except for one lone calf who had managed to get stranded out in the middle of a field. How did he even get there? There was a barbed wire fence in the way.
The dogs were furious with the calf, but the barbed wire fence was unusually obstructive -- they couldn't get through it. So the cowboy got off his horse and lifted the dog over the fence. The dog hit the ground and took off after that calf like a cruise missile.
Seeing this image in my rear view mirror was a lucky break. One shouldn't see things too easily and clearly, lest they lose all their mystique. The dogs reminded me of that scene in the classic family movie, "Babe", in which the two border collies go after the herd of sheep. The cinematographer and director really knew what they were doing when they shot that scene.
Whenever somebody starts mewling about the "meaning of life," I look off in a different direction. I am just not that interested. That is especially true if the writer is a professor of philosophy or theology.
But the topic becomes so enlivened by the cinematic image of those dogs chasing the calf.
At any rate, this experience put me in a fine mood: I finished the drive back to camp, feeling sentimental and nostalgic, like the opening scene and musical score in the classic western, "Shane."
At the end of the road, they came up to a paved highway, with fast car traffic. So they turned right, just before the paved highway. Except for two of them. I actually used my van to herd those two cows into a right turn. The cowboy gave me a friendly wave.
Actually, the cowboys looked pretty bored. They were also over-dressed -- as Colorado cowboys usually are -- which made me roll my eyes. But their Australian shepherds were having a great time!, and doing most of the work.
On the return trip from town, the cattle drive was pretty much over, except for one lone calf who had managed to get stranded out in the middle of a field. How did he even get there? There was a barbed wire fence in the way.
The dogs were furious with the calf, but the barbed wire fence was unusually obstructive -- they couldn't get through it. So the cowboy got off his horse and lifted the dog over the fence. The dog hit the ground and took off after that calf like a cruise missile.
Seeing this image in my rear view mirror was a lucky break. One shouldn't see things too easily and clearly, lest they lose all their mystique. The dogs reminded me of that scene in the classic family movie, "Babe", in which the two border collies go after the herd of sheep. The cinematographer and director really knew what they were doing when they shot that scene.
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| from piercescowdogs.com |
Whenever somebody starts mewling about the "meaning of life," I look off in a different direction. I am just not that interested. That is especially true if the writer is a professor of philosophy or theology.
But the topic becomes so enlivened by the cinematic image of those dogs chasing the calf.
At any rate, this experience put me in a fine mood: I finished the drive back to camp, feeling sentimental and nostalgic, like the opening scene and musical score in the classic western, "Shane."
Comments
The great thing about dogs is that they don't ask stupid questions (What is the meaning of life.) Nor do they have stupid opinions about 1001 things.
George