In a rut

Not us, of course. I’m talking about our neighbors, the cows.

The “next door” property is 20 acres of fenced land covered with cane grass. The owner leases the land to a rancher for pasture.  Cane grass is thick, clumped and grows to eight feet tall, but when mowed, becomes a nice lawn.

When the  rancher moved four cattle to the land, they started eating the fringe of the property where the owner had already whacked a walking path…..and there is now a “mowed” four foot wide strip of grass on the perimeter of the property.

We watch them walk and graze, white cow, brown cow, black cow and “Spot:” one following another….chewing only the mowed area.  Never the tall stalks of cane grass.

And the more they prowl the perimeter, the deeper their hoof prints get, and as it rains, the deeper the ruts.  And still they avoid the nice new tall grass…..and stay in the ruts, heads down…….nose to the grindstone…er….grass.

There is a metaphor for life there, I’m sure…….