Hmmm, was it a sign of the unpredictable times in which we are living?
I was on a hike yesterday at Dundas Valley Conservation Area. There were a lot of people out and about taking advantage of a nice day after a rainy week past and another rainy week ahead. Rather frustrating weather now that we are emerging from the pandemic lockdown and regaining our freedoms.
I was heading back toward the Trail Centre going downhill through a wooded area. Up ahead I saw what looked like two people leading horses up the slope. There was nothing unusual about that as horseback riding is encouraged there. I assumed the people had dismounted and were giving the horses a break as they climbed the hill.
However, as I got closer I noted that the horses seemed rather short. A few more yards down the hill I realized to my great surprise and consternation that it was not horses they were leading but two cows. Yes, cows.
I exchanged a friendly greeting with the two people as we passed resisting the urge to ask: Why in heaven’s name are you walking cows through a conservation area? A few yards further on, I looked back and was tempted to take a photograph. I decided not to as it felt disrespectful.
I cannot for the life of me come up with a rational explanation for this strange behaviour. Believe me, I have tried. But even my active imagination was not up to the task. And maybe that is the point in and of itself at a time when Virgin Galactic’s Richard Branson is blasting off for the first privately funded flight into outer space.
Taking cows for a walk through a conservation area – something you do not see every day and a random act of metaphor for the increasingly out of character and unpredictable times in which we are living. Learning to not ask why is becoming a survival skill.
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Tags: cows · Dundas Valley Conservation Area · metaphor · Michael Robert Dyet · Richard BransonNo Comments