Hard times for the herd...

It was a sun-soaked fragrant afternoon on the alm when a tractor trundled its way up the hill. Within a half hour, a pathetic, lowing cortege of cows trailed behind the machine as it carried its cargo down the slope. A mother cow was dead, fallen down a steep slope, likely the night before. One of the neighbouring hut’s herd, everyone seemed to take it in their stride, explaining that years can pass without such incident, then two or three cows can die from falls or lightning strikes in one summer. Then just days later, nature filled the eerie void. An early surprise, a sweet tiny calf was born to one of our cows in the middle of night – and on the middle of the mountain. Mother doing well -- actually she was sold the next day but she looked in good spirits considering her world was being ripped apart. And little Daisy (my top name choice obviously) has her own bijou stable laden with sawdust and hay, and her surprisingly loud moo sounds more like a goat. She is up and running, drinking heartily from a grey plastic bucket with a pink spout, and wondering where her mother is. I told her it's you and me against the world. She seems happy as a goat.

Gold star for Blue Team

Well done, girls! A full action-packed month of eating, sleeping and running away from me has earned you the top category of organic milk measurement. Of the four grades of organic purity assigned by the official Austrian milk men down at the milkerei in Maishofen, you have achieved the highest mark! For those looking to taste the difference, the milk is sold as “Ja, Naturlich!” in Austria – and discerning stores around the world.

An open letter...

PS Dear Little Cows,

Whichever one of you was responsible for last week's reported but unseen-by-my-eyes GROSS infraction of entering the hut not by the barn door but the HUMAN door, running through the for-humans-only kitchen, slipping on the laminate floor and then managing to right yourself in time to squeeze through the for-humans-only three foot wide door (how did you do that?) ... whoever you are, you are in BIG TROUBLE. And, yes, I will try to keep the gate closed from now on.

Love,
Your Bovine Au Pair

O Canada!

HAPPY CANADA DAY!!