Ch-Ch-Changes

We live near one of the very old paths that lead up the mountain. In the past, most of the local livestock was taken up the path in the Spring to remain on the high pastures all summer. One of our neighbours, he is about seventy years old, has told my bipeds stories of when he was a boy.

He said that once a week someone would climb the mountain with a donkey carrying food for the men who were spending the summer up there. He often went. The day before the trip, everyone in the village who had someone up on the mountain brought packages of food to his mother’s house. He would get up before dawn and load it all onto the donkey and he would set out just before first light. He would arrive at the pastures before the real heat of the day and spend the day up there, returning in the late evening.

Not many farmers take their livestock up the mountain anymore, but there is one farmer nearby who still takes his cows up every year. He brought the cows down a couple of days ago. They take nearly an hour to go past the end of our road. I don’t know how many there are in the herd. I would like to go out and supervise, but I’m never allowed to do more than watch from a distance!

Cows going by the end of our road

It looks really tranquil. Look a little closer and you will see that they are all wearing cowbells.

Cow with cowbell

I had never heard cowbells until we came to live here. I had a romantic notion that they would sound pretty. I can tell you that there is nothing romantic about the cowbells in this area. They are purely functional and designed to be heard from as far afield as possible. The sound is like someone beating a big metal saucepan with a wooden spoon! Multiply that sound by the number of cows in the herd and you will understand why my bipeds say that they can’t hear themselves think when the cows are going by. Yet they still won’t let me go and hurry the cows along!

That’s two changes I’ve told you about – a seasonal one and a change that’s happening with the passing of the years. I now come to another change! I recently asked my bipeds to help me make some ch-ch-changes to my corner. They asked me what I meant and I explained I thought I’d like to give my blog a makeover.

There was hysterical laughter. They reminded me that my makeovers haven’t always been a success! They said the bathroom was a mess when I’d finished and that the bench in the kitchen collapsed. They laughed even harder and started talking about the changes I made to the water barrel in the garden and how I’d turned the lawn into a rabbit warren.

I waited patiently for them to come back to the matter in paw. They helped me decide what I was looking for in a new theme. The top of my list was that the theme should be responsive, so that it works well for you however large or small your screen.

I hope you think this makeover is a success! Please let me know if you have any difficulties with anything.

If you’re puzzled by my title, all will become clear if you listen to “Changes” by David Bowie.

See you next Wednesday!