The question is “where have the cows gone”. This has been a source of worry for me for at least a month. I have even reduced my beef content on my dinner plate, thinking perhaps I am eating a piece of Bluebell, the cow second from the left. Have our cows now served their purpose by eating the meadow empty? Perhaps the udder is now dry, the calves now being independent enough to produce their own milk.
I live in a village surrounded by cows, the population of cows almost exceeding that of humans. Where are the bulls you might ask. They live on their own in a special place called artificial insemination centre. I will not go into detail, but they are well cared for although perhaps not so much fun as they should have in the necessities of life:
But where are the cows. I went for a wheelie in my chair today and noticed one of the local farmers replacing some wire at one of the cow enclosures: are the cows being resurrected? I greeted the farmer with a “good day”. In Switzerland if you start a conversation with a cheery hello it melts any tension and ensures an answer. I continued and told the farmer since a month at least I have not seen a single cow anywhere and can no longer enjoy my beefsteak or hamburger, not knowing if the ingredients might be a cow I once took a photo of.
The farmer looked at me as if I came from another planet, but realised I must be an ignorant foreigner. He informed that the weather is now far too hot for a cow to graze on the meadow during the day as they also have their problems with the summer heat it seems. They now remain inside during the day and are only let out at night. If you ever visit Switzerland you will know why the fields are full of cows during the night.
I was relieved, Bluebell is still alive and supplying the coffee cream and cereal milk. When I arrived home I told Mr. Swiss the good news and explained the disappearance of the cows, “Of course” he said, he could have told me and saved me many sleepless nights.
Chronicles of an Anglo Swiss 
I feel much better. Eating Bluebell would have ruined your whole dining schedule. I’m sure it would have ruined mine!
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I am not a vegetarian, or vegan etc. etc. but I like the animals on my plate to remain anonymous
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Well told story. Thanks for the information not only where the cows have gone, but also, how to greet as Swiss. We will again be hosting a Miss Swiss soon.
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It is always good to begin a conversation with a “Gruessech” or “Grütsi” just a plain hello.
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I’ll practice that. Thank you or merci
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I thought I should mention that our local cows have pastures — several pastures — by the Blackstone River. If they graze on the south side of Chestnut street, they get the deep shade of the oak trees and breezes off the river, but if it’s REALLY hot, he lets them graze on the north side where there’s a little stream. They love standing up to their hocks in the water. Turns out, cows like wading. I’ve never seen one actually try to SWIM and to be fair, the water’s not all that deep, but they will stand in the water all day look and look happy. What a nice farmer! He also feeds the wild turkey’s, so there are tons of them hanging around the chicken areas.
The chickens used to roam free, but I think between getting run down by cars and trucks and eaten by coyotes and foxes, he finally decided that some fences were in order. So now, they have huge fenced yards to keep the birds near home (and out of the road) — and keep the lurking predators away. We have coyotes, foxes, and fisher cats, as well as some pretty sizeable raccoons, eagles, and red-tailed hawks. Chickens look like lunch to all of them.
If it sounds like there is river everywhere, there is. I don’t think you can be anywhere in the valley and be further than a quarter of a mile from the river or one of its tributaries or streams or ponds. Nice for the wildlife, as long as we keep getting some rain. It also means we have a LOT of wetland and swamp. You have to be careful where you park or you’ll sink right into the bogs.
The big of rain last night was great. Today the garden will be very happy having gotten thoroughly soaked last night!
Must have been an extremely local shower because none of the local weather reports seem to know it happened. Maybe it was our own personal shower.
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Switzerland is one big pasture with a few towns and villages in between, and vineyards of course. We just have a river running through it known as the Aare, the longest river in Switzerland. Eventually it flows into the River Rhine. Switzerland can get quite hot in Summer, we always have a couple of weeks with constant 30° C temperatures and if it doesn’t rain, it can get quite dry. Hence the reason the cows stay indoors. Humidity is not a big problem here, although it can also happen.
Cows do not seem to be fussy where they stand, and the last wet season it turned their pasture into a muddy mixture, which they were all standing in. I took a few photos of mud legged cows at the time. We have no wild turkeys here, only those that are bred for their meat. We have red kites that swoop down from the high slopes now and again and the chickens are not keen on them when they appear. I am hoping the survival rate of the chickens will now improve since they have two long horned goats in their enclosure.
Today was a dry day, although I heard it thundering in the Jura.
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So relieved. I was going to comment on the cuteness of the 2nd cow from the left–it is Bluebell! Ignorant foreigner?? Did he not realize he was speaking to the famous, almost Pulitzer prize winning photographer, Mrs Angloswiss?! For shame….
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It seems asking where the cows go in summer is not something a Swiss would ask. They stay at home to cool off apparently. They only know me as the golden oldie in the wheelchair with the camera
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relieved –
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Me too
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Oh good …. mystery solved … with a happy ending ….. where they are during the day …. are the barns air conditioned? Otherwise it could hot even in the barns. Yuk.
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I assume they are in the barns, but it is in the farmers own interest that they habe happy and content cows. We have them mainly for milk production
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We rented a house in Switzerland once and it came complete with a telescope so the owners could watch their cows on the mountain on the other side of the lake. I loved it. They said in the winter they sometimes had to airlift hay to the cattle if the snow was too deep.
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In our part of the country the cows are inside during the winter months, but in some more remote regions they are supplied with their winter food by aur lift. Cows are not just cows here, but family members.
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