20 Comments
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Liza's avatar

Love these beautiful portraits of what I like to think of as big dumb dogs… especially the white-faced one with the questioning eyebrows. Glad y’all kept safe from the killers. 😂

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Mark Foard's avatar

Thanks, Liza. I love cows. Such beautiful animals and, yes, they are lovingly dumb. Just watch out for the psycho ones.

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søren k. harbel's avatar

Funny man! Having been chased across a field by an ill tempered horse once, I am not sure who takes the prize. Isn't there something about donkey's kicks being particularly dangerous? A fun read. Thank you! And the photographs are nice too....

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Mark Foard's avatar

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the read and the photos. I guess the truth is that many domestic animals can turn nasty.

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John Charlton's avatar

Closer. Closer. Closer.... Ok, too close, get away. This is why I always carry a package of Tic Tacs with me. You never know when you are going to have to placate a killer cow. I like the juxtaposition of the regal manor within your composition. All in all, a very satisfying series of images.

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Mark Foard's avatar

Thanks, John! I really appreciate your comment. Do you shake the Tic Tac container to make a noise and scare them away or offer them one to placate them?

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John Charlton's avatar

One has to read the situation very carefully. No mis-steps with killer cows!

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Mark Foard's avatar

😆😆

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Diana Pappas's avatar

Oof that sequence of photographs had me on edge... I am always very nervy around cows. And as an American I just don't understand these public footpaths in the UK that go right through a field of cattle... like really? Is this ok? But now that I know people actually die I think being ill at ease is appropriate in this situation.

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Mark Foard's avatar

I can understand being nervy around them. We would have been too if the gate wasn’t there. There were 40 of them in total and some were getting quite “frisky”. It wouldn’t have been fun being surrounded by that lot.

The English are fanatical about their public footpaths. They defend their right to use them in the same way and with as much passion as Americans defend the 2nd Amendment. The pathways have been used for centuries and landowners are required to keep them accessible. If they don’t, Hell hath no fury like a rambler (walker) with no path to cross (cows or no cows).

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KewtieBird’s Photo Journey's avatar

Interesting story and lovely images of those curious (killer) cows. 😃

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Mark Foard's avatar

Thanks, KB!

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Mark White's avatar

The last 3 brought a big smile. Great way to bring the post to its conclusion. 👊🏼

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Mark Foard's avatar

Thanks, Mark. The last three are my favourites.

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Shital Morjaria (she/her)'s avatar

Love the light and shadow in some of the photographs Mark. Interesting post I did not know that these were killer cows. If you ask me, I would say cows should be protected from humans. In fact all animals. We don't treat any of them right. Also these look so harmless... just seeking your attention. Quite sweet I thought.

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Mark Foard's avatar

Thanks, Shital. I don’t think these particular cows had killed anyone but we were very aware of how powerful they were due to their size and how easy it would be to get knocked down and trampled by them, not from aggression but their curiosity and desire to get close to us. They were really sweet and friendly and it was lovely hanging out with them for a little while.

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Neil Scott's avatar

Lovely encounter!

Also reminds me that I want to watch Andrea Arnold’s film https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cow_(2021_film)

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Mark Foard's avatar

Yes, it was a really nice experience and the cows were lovely. Hadn’t heard of that film but I’ll have to see if I can view it here in Canada. Sounds interesting.

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Neil Scott's avatar

You might need to be in the right mood, but looks very intimate: https://www.justwatch.com/ca/movie/cow

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Mark Foard's avatar

Thanks, just watched the trailer, looks really good. I’ll add it to my watch list.

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