Ode to the Bovine

I had a wild and wonderful weekend playing nursemaid to a heifer, calving, warming a baby bull calf, and--wonder of wonders--castrating my first two bull calves ever! And so in honor of that large and lumbering beast, here is a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson:

The Cow

The friendly cow all red and white,
I love with all my heart;
She gives me cream with all her might,
To eat with apple tart.

She wanders lowing here and there,
And yet she cannot stray,
All in the pleasant open air,
The pleasant light of day;

And blown by all the winds that pass
And wet with all the showers,
She walks among the meadow grass
And eats the meadow flowers.