My father has been farming in County Down for many years, and is thinking of retiring soon, so it’s time for the blog to celebrate my family’s long-standing love of cows.
It’s so much easier to photograph animals when they are not nervous of you. I’ve struggled to get any decent photos of birds recently – they all seem to fly away at the merest hint of my presence. But these calves were all around me, thinking that I was bringing food.
It’s great to find subjects who will pose for the camera, even if they don’t present their best angle.
Thank you Dad for making such a success of the family farm!
My brother and I both found different careers. I just don’t have the commitment to be a farmer all year round. But my cousins are running an excellent dairy farm nearby.
I’ve been having a discussion with my husband: which are more photogenic, brown cows, or black and white cows? He thinks black and white cows look good in green fields. So, same question that I asked Crazy Chinese Family in his comment, What colour were your German calves?
They were brown and white. German cows have a distinct regional colour distribution: Black and white (Frisians) up north, brown and white ones in the middle, and tan cows in the “Deep South”, grazing the slopes of the Alps.
You must have felt at home in India, coming from a family of cow farmers! I hope somebody who loves farming will be able to take it over. Please excuse my ignorance/curiosity – what is the story with the earrings? If it is info – why a tag (that can be torn out) instead of a tattoo?
Just reminded me than I took a lot of pictures of cows when we were in germany last month. We had visited a farm with a few hundred animals there but it can be really hard to take a decent picture (the cows tried to lick the camera non-stop!)
I’ve been having a discussion with my husband: which are more photogenic, brown cows, or black and white cows? He thinks black and white cows look good in green fields. What colour were your German cows?
Will you take over the farming? We used to breed pedigree Texel sheep.
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My brother and I both found different careers. I just don’t have the commitment to be a farmer all year round. But my cousins are running an excellent dairy farm nearby.
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I’m sure they are the cutest in the drumlin! ;->
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I grew up in a farming community, and I used to really enjoy playing with the calves. Your photos took me back 🙂
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I’ve been having a discussion with my husband: which are more photogenic, brown cows, or black and white cows? He thinks black and white cows look good in green fields. So, same question that I asked Crazy Chinese Family in his comment, What colour were your German calves?
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They were brown and white. German cows have a distinct regional colour distribution: Black and white (Frisians) up north, brown and white ones in the middle, and tan cows in the “Deep South”, grazing the slopes of the Alps.
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You must have felt at home in India, coming from a family of cow farmers! I hope somebody who loves farming will be able to take it over. Please excuse my ignorance/curiosity – what is the story with the earrings? If it is info – why a tag (that can be torn out) instead of a tattoo?
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Yes the ear tags identify the cows. And yes they do sometimes fall out, and it can be a messy job to retrieve the one that falls in the muck.
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Lovely, funny pictures!
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Thank you. They are lovely funny animals.
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Just reminded me than I took a lot of pictures of cows when we were in germany last month. We had visited a farm with a few hundred animals there but it can be really hard to take a decent picture (the cows tried to lick the camera non-stop!)
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I’ve been having a discussion with my husband: which are more photogenic, brown cows, or black and white cows? He thinks black and white cows look good in green fields. What colour were your German cows?
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They were the black and white cows, also called Holstein-Friesan cattle 🙂
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I like your post and the photos!
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