I grew up next to a dairy farm in Indiana in the 80s and 90s. There was a long rolling hay/soybean/corn field between our house and the farm to the north. Across the street was their eating field and they would cross the street to it by walking under a bridge that was there. The eating field had a nice small pond that was full of catfish.
One Saturday night I was out there fishing on a summer night about 2am, I was around 14 years old. I had a half full oil lamp and, seriously, a cane pole because the pond was too small to cast in without hitting the other side at night. It was a great night, all alone I thought then I turned around and was totally surrounded by the cattle. They had bells on too, but still managed to sneak up on me.
That same summer, I was trying to sneak into the field on a full moon night because I saw the cattle there in the field. They never were aggressive so I was not worried. About 100 feet into the field I realized one of the cows looked different. The farmers had left the bull with them. I ran towards that fence as fast as I could but he still almost got me. I ripped my pants up very badly on the barbed wire fence as I went over it.
When I was 15 in Fall of that year, I slept with the windows open because it was a warm Fall. I was awoken one night by a cow looking in my window at me and mooing. He was right outside. I was one of those "totally afraid some aliens were gonna try to eat my brain" kid.... so you can imagine how I slept for a while after that. Honestly come to think of it, I may still be that "totally afraid some aliens were gonna try to eat my brain" kid.
Funny how things change but never change.
That farms still there but the cows aren't. The children of the farmers felt it was too much work and let it go. Now it sits rotting. The only good parts are in my memories. I wonder what the children in two generations will experience, that isn't beeping or blinking. I know they won't be woken up by cattle.
