Keighley Show #2
There were livestock classes, not nearly as many as at the bigger shows but still interesting. It's the only time I dare get close to farm animals. I certainly don't relish meeting them when I'm out walking, especially if there's no fence separating us!
The shows are a chance for farmers to get together and chat, so you can often snap nice candid shots.
I liked the very fluffy sheep. I think they're Valais Blacknose, usually kept as pets in the UK.
I wasn't so sure about the bright yellow ones! I don't think they are naturally this colour but for some reason the farmers dye them. Quite striking, I suppose.
Onto the cattle. There weren't that many and I kept well away from the big black bull, magnificent though he was. One of my great uncles used to own a dairy farm. I remember vividly visiting there as a child and being introduced to their huge bull, which had a massive ring through its nose. To a small child, it seemed terrifying. I was glad to escape to the farmhouse kitchen, with its comforting warmth from the Aga. I really loved my great aunt, an archetypal, large bosomed, soft featured farmer's wife, invariably in an apron and always baking. She had such a kind face and was usually smiling.
I enjoy watching the highland cattle. I often wonder how they can see through all that hair.
It is sensible to stay well clear of cattle when you're out walking; I rather walk an extra mile or two before I cross a field of cows, and when we're hiking in the mountains in Austria, Bavaria or Tyrol, I am always relieved when I find the cows from the higher pastures have already been brought down to the village for the winter.
ReplyDeleteThe yellow sheep look very unnatural, but I suppose it's "Yorkshire yellow".