Fresh Green Grass

In the winter, cows were kept in the barn overnight and let out to forage in backwoods areas. Each spring, when green grass had grown a foot or so tall, the cows were let out of the barnyard into designated fields. Fed dry hay all winter long, the cows became ecstatic when suddenly offered fresh green grass – just like humans switching from stale dry bread to fresh bread.

I watched the scene with curiosity one spring morning as a field of green grass became available for grazing. The field was rectangular, with the longest side equivalent in length to about two city blocks. When the gate was thrown open, the huge, normally slow-moving cows suddenly became excited and, like a stampede, they ran into the field to feast on tasty green grass. One cow ran a few feet, and then barely stopping, reached out to the right side and hastily grabbed a mouthful of grass. Then off she ran another few paces and reached out to the left side and grabbed another mouthful. I couldn't understand where that grass was going since the cows didn't seem to have time to swallow it. In about half an hour, I would guess, the cows had reached the end of the field and the level of excitement had diminished.

However, one would hardly believe the odd and unexpected behavior that developed next: About half of the cows began reaching through the loosely wired fence next to Farms Road to eat the dusty and dryer grass and weeds on the other side. I then began to understand that cows – as well as many humans – often tend to think that the grass on the other side of the fence is “greener.”