calves (big ones) and the confessions of a naive city girl

Photography Challenge, Day 24 of 30: 'Animal'.

Is it just me or does this calf have a crazy look in its eye?

I know they're the lunch, but they were making me a little nervous.

Normally when we pass the cows on this paddock they back away as we walk. We try to inch closer to them. Today the herd consisted mostly of curious little big calves who don't know the rules yet.

They were walking over and checking us out. They had us cornered in three directions at one point. (There is no zoom on this lens.)

Has anyone ever been mauled by a calf? This thought may have popped into my head as I stood a little taller and shuffled a little further in front of my babies. Anyone from the country is probably laughing. Debs, I imagine you are rolling your eyes at me right now. ;)

I was very cool and collected. If I was a little more used to cows I would have let Sophia pet them. (She was begging me.) But they started scraping the dirt with their back feet like bulls do and it was making me unsure.

Eventually they got bored of us and walked away. No food here sorry girls!

Do any of you know much about cows? I know it sounds completely naive but...has anyone ever been bitten by one? What was with that dust scraping action? I'm just curious because next time I'll let them come even closer if I know it's safe. Sophia was in heaven.

You see, as much as I wish I lived in the country I really am just a curious city girl.

I secretly wish I was a horse whisperer. Or an animal whisperer of any kind. (The larger the beast the cooler.) I wish I was the one who could read the animal's mind and put everyone else at ease.

I used to pretend I owned horses and had pet lion cubs as a girl and a part of me (the little girl part that has never left) still wishes I did. :)

Sophia adores animals and is completely confident around them, which thrills me. There is a paddock right next to our local coffee shop and we often stop to pet the horses. One of the best parts of Sophia's day. I like to hang back and let her go for it. She runs off and climbs up on the fence and giggles when the horse lets her pat its nose. She is very gentle.

In the back of my mind I know that horses can bite. The mum next to me held her children back. Is this what I should be doing also? Is patting a horse too much of a risk for my girl? We've chatted with the owners and they were pretty confident that their horses are safe. But it is a risk, right?

It's that tension between wanting to keep your kids safe and wanting to let them experience life. I have been thinking regularly of this post by the lovely Simone from GreatFun4Kids. A brilliant post about allowing your kids some good old fashioned freedom in this world of cotton wool anxiety and controlled activities. I guess what I am saying is that I have weighed the risks and I choose to let my daughter experience the thrill of this simple thing--going up and petting the horse by herself--because I think that what this gentle risk is doing for her character outweighs the possible danger. Something about that feels right to me.

I just want to continually be wise enough to judge when to allow my kids more freedom and when to gently loosen off the reigns (in spite of measured risk). I want to eventually be able to teach her to weigh up her own risks and make the right choices by herself after all. Don't I?

So maybe next time we'll pat the cows. Baby steps, baby steps. (I'll just wait for your instruction on bovine antics first.) ;)

Back tomorrow with 'something pink'.

Happy Friday all!

:)

x