Listening to: Typical Girls Volume IV
Year ago I used to volunteer as a barn worker for a local rescue. S.A.I.N.T.S. in mission is a pretty unique place. A home/refuge/hospice that specializes in older animals. So looked forward it every week.
As I cleaned out the stalls, various animals would participate. Chewie would always make mischief. Tipping over your wheelbarrow JUST when you finally finished filling it. So much character, he always got a skritch between the horns when I wandered by.
Pigs, goats, llama, sheep, horses, dogs, cats, birds, rabbits and more inhabited the place. But some of my favorites were the cows.
Percy (pictured) was a 2000 pound steer hand raised after being rescued from a calf auction. The closest thing to a “lap cow” you’d ever meet. Always curious, he would run over to say hi when you passed by. It should be mentioned he was a bit licky. OK, a lot licky. I mean, in an affectionate way, like a dog. But with a massive tongue that felt like it was going to take your skin off when he wrapped it around your arm.
And he smelled good. Perhaps it was growing up on and around farms as a kid, but the smell of cow has always been a strong olfactory memory. When biking through nearby pasture country I’ll always cruise slowly with my visor up, taking in the barnyard smells.
Heck, as kids we played “king of the hill” on mounds of dried poo. Good for the immune system I once read.
If the world ever returns to normal, S.A.I.N.T.S. used to have tours at 11:00am Saturday and Sundays. By donation. Totally worth it.