After going out into the pastures to see the milking of herd of Saler cows, with their calves, we headed back to Saint-Chamant (Cantal) to go to a dairy farm and watch the afternoon cheese-making session there. Here's the sign that pointed the way.
Not all the cows in the Salers region are of the Salers breed. These are not. A lot of the cows in the area are Montbéliardes. That's a breed from eastern France, near the Swiss border.
The Montbéliardes give good milk that resembles Salter cows' milk. Montbéliardes don't need their calves to be present to get the milk to start flowing, so they are easier to work with.
As we drove toward the farm from Saint-Chamant on this narrow country lane, we came nose-to-nose with a small herd of cows that were headed, I think, back to the pasture after being milked.
The cows surrounded the car. They were curious but not aggressive. Thanks to my friend Evelyn for this photo from that evening in September 2009.
More cows, thank you!
ReplyDeleteIl n'y a pas de quoi...
DeleteI'm glad cows are part of our world. That is an odd photo that I took for sure! You could have titled this series "when the cows come home."
ReplyDeleteI like the photo. It was surprising to be caught up in a herd of cattle that day. I should have thought of that title. LOL
DeleteOne thing I fondly remember from our trip to the Cantal was the several times we were stopped by a herd of cows in the road. It delayed us, of course, but hey, we were on vacation.
ReplyDeleteOnce in Provence, on the Mont Ventoux, we were caught in a traffic jam caused by a flock of goats blocking the road. The atmosphere smelled strongly of goat cheese that day.
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DeleteYes, we've also been stopped by goats. And sheep.
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I love the cow pictures, especially the last one.
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