Tree Trimming

I was rounding the up the main herd so we could move them from one grazing area to another when the head count was off by two cows. I went further into the outskirts of the grazing area to find the two cows contentedly munching on the lower branches of an old apple tree.

We had the spring fruit tree pruning completed earlier in the spring but don’t get around to those heritage trees scattered around the farm at the edge of the pastures and grazing areas. The cows are in charge of trimming those trees from the ground up.

The gnarled limbs of the old tree begin to droop this time of year with the new leaves growing in weight each day. The limbs begin to hang low enough for some of the taller, longer necked cows to reach. And so they do. On this day I found the two cows lagging behind under the apple tree and trimming every branch they could stretch to reach, wrap their tongue around a leaf or two pulling the leaves off as the slide the branch through their teeth. Evidence showed that many limbs had already been denuded and were hanging down without any leaves on them at all.

The pair would have rather stayed working on the tree all by themselves for another hour or two but I convinced them the rest of the herd was heading to a greener pasture and they quickly decided to catch up with them.

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