Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Pleasant Neighbors: The Cows

Do you have good neighbors? I have some great neighbors! They are rather unique though and not your typical neighbors because they are of the four legged variety. They are cows! I just love living close to a bunch of cows. In fact, I often prefer them as neighbors more so than some of my 'real' neighbors. For the most part the cows are pleasant, they play with the dogs (as in the dogs chase them then the cows chase the dogs once they realize the dogs can't get through the fence), mow the field, are quiet, and are only mildly interested in what I do in the garden.Occasionally they come by to say hello and check out what I am doing in the garden. On this particular occasion I tried to be a great neighbor by offering the cows a treat from my garden. One cow took me up on my offer. The cows are really most sweet. Great neighbors!
What kind of unique neighbors do you live near? Dogs? Coyotes? Horses? Rabbits? Chipmunks? Are they friendly? Good neighbors?

in the garden....

35 comments:

  1. Cute post Tina, cows? What fun. We had cows next to us in Spardorf, but not here. My unique neighbor is my mother. ;-)
    On the critter side we share our space with a lot of water birds and muskrats and a few otter. Most all are quick to disappear when I go outside.

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  2. Our neighborhood is full of horses..I'd take cows over some of the two legged characters around here any day!

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  3. Uh-oh, they eat hostas?? Cute photos, Tina,do you getfertilizer for free..lol. I'd prefer these as neighbors, too! Mine are just the plain ol' two leggged kind who DON'T garden, so I never see them!

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  4. We have cows all around us too and they are nice to have close by. I do wish they would find a place a little farther from my bedroom window to chew their dinner all night. My hubby is very deaf and daughter is a teenager who sleeps like the dead so i am the only one who can hear them. lol

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  5. Well, we just have the regular two legged neighbors around us. And the occasional squirrel. Our Robin, Jezebel and her son Junior still hang around so I guess they count?--Randy

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  6. Not a sole around us...yet. We have deer, turkey...tons of geese from the lake. A neighbor saw a bobcat not long ago. It's wonderful, we use to live in town and hated it.

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  7. LOL, except for some yapping dogs, I think I prefer four-legged neighbors, in general, to the two-legged kind! :) I'm glad two side of my property border a park, so I only share a property line with one neighbor... but even there they do things I prefer they wouldn't like discard bright orange snow fence in their way-back corner which is one I see directly from my garden... (and after 7 years the dog still barks its head off whenever he sees me. Um, hello?!)

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  8. Good morning all! It seems neighbors are important to us and I can see many of us prefer the four legged kind-NOT the barking or noisy chewing kind though. I've surely had those kinds before. Birds are great too! Everyone have a great day and make an extra special effort to wave at your neighbors:)

    Janet, Muskrats are great fun!

    Darla, Horses are great. I'm with you for sure.

    Lynn, The cow really didn't eat the hosta and they haven't bothered my plants. They do nibble a bit at the trees but not enough to bother anything.

    Heather, OMG-a noisy chewing cow!

    Randy, You bet they count!

    Brooke, That is a dream for sure!

    Monica, You are way better than me to not complain about that dog. That is awful! I've been there for sure so I'm with you on the four legged kind.

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  9. Most of the critters you mentioned except no cows. The closest dairy farm is more than a mile away across the fields and the sheep and horses are a little farther. No people either, the closest ones are at the dairy farm. The wild neighbors aren't very friendly, they seldom drop by to visit but I see them or hear them in the case of the coyotes.
    Marnie

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  10. Tina, We have great neighbors...they don't care what I do in the yard and the only problems are the yapping dogs across the street!

    We have two newer neighbors that have begun to cause problems...Mr Coyote and Ms Deer! They share the woods across the street! I probably don't have to say anything more!

    gail

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  11. Tina-- cows are fun. I raised a Holstein calf when I was a kid. I don't have any cow neighbors here, but our neighborhood was once a dairy farm (200 years old). I should have taken you up to our "public space" that is the old barn and silo.

    My neighbor across the street is planning to bring her horses here after she builds a barn. I used to own Arabian mares and raised 13 foals; and grew up with miscellaneous horses, no purebreds back then.

    Cameron

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  12. Cows are great neighbors! I never realized how weird they are until I lived right up next to them. Our dog chases the cows too, DH always said that they were playing, but I thought he was only picking on them.

    We also have 2 sheep neighbors (formerly 3) they protect the cows from coyotes. I think they would trample the coyote if they had a chance. I need to take pics of them, but there are never in the right place.

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  13. Neighbors...hmm... horses... bears...chipmunks...owls...hawks...voles...bobcats...mtn lions...those last ones scare me the most.
    Rosey

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  14. I have one neighbor and he is no bother, more wildlife than anything else. Cute cow.

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  15. Morning Tina.
    Only 2 legged neighbors. Wish they were the 4 legged kind. Neighbor across the street is only one that try's to grow anything.
    Hello Skeeter, Anonymous, Dawn, Jean & Nina. Have a great day.
    Eye check-up today.

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  16. No neighbors at all till 6 years ago and they are okay but I am still not used to seeing that house next to me and I hate it. Then on the other side as you know, your sister built there a few years ago but I don't mind that. Once in a while we get a moose, deer or coy dog but mostly they stay in the woods.

    Lola you also have a great day.

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  17. What nice neighbors! I wish we had some neighbors that cute. Our next door neighbors had ducks for awhile and my daughter loved to peak through the fence at them. Now we just have people and dogs and cats.

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  18. An excellent idea for a meme! I enjoy seeing our horsey neighbors, as do my two horses.

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  19. Hi Tina, I hope the wind blows the right direction so that you don't have to smell your neighbors! I grew up in a farm town with several dairies, and when the wind blew in certain directions . . . yuck. But those neighbors won't harp on you if you don't mow the grass EXACTLY along the property line (hey, what's the big deal about a few inches?), which would be nice. Actually, I have really nice neighbors overall, though.

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  20. No cows here either Tina but I agree, they would make nice neighbors. We have prairie dogs in the field behind our house which bring in hawks, bull snakes and other fun creatures. I also have plenty of toads & rabbits. My human neighbors are pretty nice although I wish one of them gardened!

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  21. How wonderful the cows come to visit with you! You know I would have cow treats around if they lived next to me. lol. We once had a cow escape a nearby pasture and end up in our yard.. Our favorite neighbors have the two horse’s, a cat and dog which we adore. The not so great neighbors have about 5 dogs but they only bark occasionally so we are lucky about that. They had geese at one time but the dogs killed them. They also had Chickens come over for corn before the coyotes got them Arggggg… We have the normal assortment of wild critters Birds, Snakes, Turtles, Deer, Coyote, Squirrels, Fox, Rabbits, Voles, Moles, Frogs, Lizards, Bats, Salamanders, Stray Cats & Dogs and Crayfish when the dry bed creek is moist. A neighbor down the street have Alpaca which are like a llama. So lots of critters around us. I will take an animal any day over a human.:-)

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  22. Great post Tina. I like cows too. Seems to be the only one I DON'T have. The mooooooos would be nice to hear sometimes.
    When I did my 'journey' post I showed my sheep neighbors and horses too. No wild late night parties - the best neighbors to have. Lately we've been seeing a little squirrel run out of the woods across the road, head straight for one of the birdbaths, get a drink, grab some seed and head back over into the woods. Doesn't even stay long enough for a picture. Looks like it's a daily thing now cause he knows right where he's headed when he gets into our yard. About the only bad neighbors are the deer and rabbits when they are 'munching' but I still love to see them - if they behave themselves!

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  23. I don't know if I'd like cows for neighbors. Sometimes they bring in lots of flies. My father-in-law's dairy farm is one such example. I suppose having cow pies might make up for it though. I hear that's some really good fertilizer! ;~P

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  24. All of our neighbors behave themselves--well, the adult ones do, anyway. No livestock nearby, but the other evening when Micah and his parents were visiting, we all heard a rooster crowing from another neighborhood nearby! Micah was so delighted with the new sound to imitate.

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  25. Marnie, Critters are the best!

    Gail, Pooey on the yapping dogs. Silly things.

    Cameron, Cows and horses are fun!

    Lzyjo, Sheep and cows are great! The dogs are so silly.

    Rosey, That bear would surely scare me!

    Dawn, The wildlife is great for sure.

    Lola, 4 legged neighbors are most interesting for sure.

    Mom, It is great Terri lives right next to you. Can't beat the wildlife either.

    Catherine, Ducks are cute. I sure don't blame your daughter for peeking at them.

    Sweetbay, Horsey neighbors would be great!

    VW, The cows sure don't complain-a good thing!

    Kathleen, Having a two legged neighbor who gardened would be so great! Prairie dogs are so cute!

    Skeeter, Yeah to the 4 legged creatures. Your neighbor's horses were way cool.

    Linda, That is the best part-no late night parties or other illegal activities from the critters at all. They simply eat and say hi every now and then. Sheep and horses-what fun!

    TC, It's not so bad really. I keep saying I'm going to go get some 'fertilizer'. My neighbor the farmer is amused. I haven't yet but one of these days...

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  26. W2W, Now there is a great sound-a rooster. I bet Micah got it down right away and his parents are delighted. Hope his aunt did not tell him roosters do it at dawn:)

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  27. My neighbors are messy, neccessitating the planting of various screening type trees and shrubs. I'll take cows anytime! You think my nigella may sprout again even without seeds? Hope so!

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  28. I wish I had cows as neighbors! I think they are so cool. H.

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  29. What delightful photos! Aren’t you lucky to have such neighbors. I bet you enjoy the fertilizer too. I loved having cattle down the road when we were living in England.

    I appear to have answered this post with my own by coincidence. Great minds think alike?

    My favorite visitors: pileated woodpeckers, hummingbirds and a young red tailed hawk. The worst: skunk and drunken teens.

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  30. Cows are great neighbors, as long as they're in a pasture and the "fertilizer" doesn't smell too bad:) We had milk cows when I was a girl, and I had a favorite named Patsy. She always came to me for petting. Then my Dad raised a few beef cattle; I didn't want to make pets of any of them, needless to say. We don't have any "neighbors" next door to us, but there are quite a few horses down the road and, would you believe it, elk! You've made me realize I should do a post on them some time.

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  31. Cool! Great neighbors that don't care if you're out photographing in the garden. And a species that understands that gardens really ARE great places to be.

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  32. Cute cows...I think would like a field full of cows next door to me.
    I'd say our strangest neighbors are iguanas...big 3 foot iguanas.

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  33. Cows would work, although in the city across the street from a park might cramp their style.I would love it though. Fun post!

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  34. Cows...(-: We have cows in the winter months here. They are not my favorite neighbors at all. Not just because I am allergic to them. They will break through the fence and trample the garden every chance they get. They watch for a gate to be left open and they run as fast as they can to get inside. They know when I leave and they will sneak a peek to see if I left the gate open that time. Everything they don't trample or eat they dump a load on. They are cute and I enjoy them as long as they don't get in the yard(-:

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  35. Yay cows! Thanks for sharing the picture, they are so sweet! I don't have anything of the sort. I'd love to have more animal neighbors, but the significant other says our city house is as rural as he's willing to go. At least I got him out of apartment living.

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