I love the mountains, the lakes, the folklore (including
cows), the paper cutting and in general most everything – so much so that I
actually took the nationality.
But cows, they are something typical and somehow sacred to
Swiss folklore. So many things from cows, including the cheeses for the
national dishes of fondue or raclette, never mind the very-sought-after
Gruyères cheese.
Once a year there is an exhibition “Swissexpo” concerning
only cows. For the past 17 years it was held in Lausanne, but due to the obsolescence of the exhibition grounds there and the lack of good access, this
year the International (yes, there were some 200 cows from outside of
Switzerland!) fair for cows “Swissexpo” was held in Geneva.
I saw all 1’000 cows, admired them being groomed for show
and duly noted all the agricultural supplies, equipment, etc. on show. German seemed to be the main language and
interestingly enough there were as many young women taking care of them as
young men. I noticed that the girls seemed to work slightly harder as well so
it will be interesting to see in a few years time a farm or group of cows owned
and cared for only by women.
Although I didn’t take too many pictures, there were many a
scene that I wouldn’t have thought of, not being a farmer myself: the dash to
put a pail under the tail anytime a cow decided to produce a leak or more; the
forking over of fresh hay constantly; the attention given to hair cutting (or
whatever one calls it if it is an animal – not shearing as they weren’t taking
all the hair off), the waxing of the udders to make them stand out more, the
precise braiding or fancy cutting of the tails, etc. Truly a fascinating
industry when seen close up.
One also forgets that on top of nature’s “calls” that the milk
cows need to be milked.
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| udderly attached |
And of course there were specimens of the next generation to
admire.
All in all a few hours well spent!
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| utterly adorable |
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