Texas Cattle morning walks

    I’m back in Texas. These cattle watch me intently as I cross the road to take their group portrait. I walk slowly, stop, give them a chance to get used to my intrusion. They are congregated by a fence line and don’t really want to give up their ground. This is a small grouping but there are more cattle on this West Texas ranch. With lots of rain, grazing is good and these guys and girls are fit and healthy. There are new calves in the family and identification tags clipped into their ears look silly, too big for the size of their heads.. Later in the afternoon this family will lie down in the grass under the shade of mesquite trees, their tails swatting insects that torment. They will look like big brown, black and tan rocks in a landscape that is flat and monotonous and rock less. These guys would love Uruguay but they don’t let cattle fly on planes. Bovines take up too many seats, and trips to the lavatory are complicated.