Cattle Coaxing

Today's photo came out of the blue after an afternoon walking with a friend in the Scottish Borders and when many scenic shots of the gentle landscape were in the bag. An interesting situation occurred when, back at my friend's house, a kerfuffle arose outside. A farmer, transferring his Highland cattle from a hill location to a meadow, was having a bit of bother. His attempts to coax them to cross the road were meeting with no success whatsoever.

By the farmer's reckoning the cattle remembered that many months before the road had been icy when they set foot on the tarmac. However, patiently and skilfully with his bag of food and additional help of my friend's son at the rear to block their retreat, he gained their confidence and two animals eventually stepped out boldly, and the rest followed. It made a unique capture and a great memory of the day.