By Jennifer Welch
Late one night we heard a call coming from our little pen,
And there we saw two silhouettes in place of where just one had been,
One moo’d softly as we came near, then everyone began to swoon,
As the baby calf took her first steps beneath the light of the fullest moon.
What is it about a cow? It took me thirty years to even begin to contemplate this question. Then, on my 30th birthday, my parents bought me the one present I had asked for: a purebred Jersey cow. And all within my first day of owning, feeding, brushing and milking this cow, I had answered this question a hundred times over. Funny thing is, I don’t know how to tell you what it is about this cow …
We sat around and tried to think of what to call this little cow,
But Claire and Bess and Madeline didn’t seem to fit somehow,
On her forehead we did see a little circle, white and round,
So we named her Little Luna in light of what we found.
Amy and I have known each other for a few years now. We both know what it is about cows. I think it is this shared love that has brought our friendship closer over time. Farming can be a lonely enterprise, so it is nice to find someone who can lend a hand, give sound advice, and make it all a little less lonesome. Sometimes that’s all you need to keep you going.
Every morning we’d go out to milk the cow and feed the hens,
And after we had done our chores, we’d turn them out into the pen,
Little Luna had long legs and loved to jump and play,
Eat and sleep and run around, this was how she spent her day.
Not too long ago, Amy sold her cows. I pulled into the drive just as the cows were heading down the road. I walked up to Amy. She placed her head on my shoulder and cried. I held her tight because I know what it is. Then, together, we walked over to see the special calf that I would be buying from Amy. Little Luna. She will stay with us and Amy can come to see her whenever she wants to remember.
Then every night as darkness fell we’d move them back into the stall,
The cow, the calf, and every hen, we would move them one and all,
When Little Luna walked inside she’d make a soft, sweet sound,
And I would sing a little song from the night she was first found.
Maybe Amy will have cows again someday. Maybe she won’t. Either way, she will always know what it is about a cow. It is impossible to forget. As for me, it is exactly one year after my 30th birthday, and I now have three purebred Jersey cows. And still, to this very day, I couldn’t exactly tell you what it is about them …
Little Luna in the barn, stowed safely from the howling wind,
Little Luna bumping noses, sharing hay, making friends,
Little Luna softly sleeping, bedded down nice and warm,
Little Luna we are happy to be welcoming you home.
Jen Welch lives and writes in the Upper Arkansas River Valley. Most days she can be found trying to convince her husband that they need just one more cow.
