Something You Don’t See Every Day

Hmmm, was it a sign ofthe unpredictable times in which we are living?
I was on a hikeyesterday at Dundas Valley Conservation Area. There were a lot of people outand about taking advantage of a nice day after a rainy week past and anotherrainy week ahead. Rather frustrating weather now that we are emerging from thepandemic lockdown and regaining our freedoms.
I was heading backtoward the Trail Centre going downhill through a wooded area. Up ahead I sawwhat looked like two people leading horses up the slope. There was nothingunusual about that as horseback riding is encouraged there. I assumed thepeople had dismounted and were giving the horses a break as they climbed thehill.
However, as I got closerI noted that the horses seemed rather short. A few more yards down the hill Irealized to my great surprise and consternation that it was not horses theywere leading but two cows. Yes, cows.
I exchanged a friendlygreeting with the two people as we passed resisting the urge to ask: Why in heaven’s name are you walking cowsthrough a conservation area? A few yards further on, I looked back and wastempted to take a photograph. I decided not to as it felt disrespectful.
I cannot for the life ofme come up with a rational explanation for this strange behaviour. Believe me,I have tried. But even my active imagination was not up to the task. And maybethat is the point in and of itself at a time when Virgin Galactic’s RichardBranson is blasting off for the first privately funded flight into outer space.
Taking cows for a walkthrough a conservation area – something you do not see every day and a randomact of metaphor for the increasingly out of character and unpredictable timesin which we are living. Learning to not ask why is becoming a survival skill.
~ Now Available Onlinefrom Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites ofPassage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet
~ Michael Robert Dyet is alsothe author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel whichwas a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’swebsite at www.mdyetmetaphor.com .
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