As I’ve explained before about the cows at the family farm, there are several pastures, some open and some full of trees and brush, and the cows are moved from enclosure to enclosure as the grass grows.

I snapped these photos while I visited there earlier this month.

Facing away from the front of the house, one of the pastures borders a creek and offers lush vegetation in many forms, from thicket to arboreal giants.  Although they’re difficult to see in the smaller version seen below, there are a handful of cows downhill from the gate on the left side of the photo.  You can see them behind the gate and camouflaged by verdant grass if you look at the larger version.

And yes, if you must know, I totally had the camera on the wrong settings for that particular shot.  That’s why the sky looks bleached and the contrast of the trees looks like too much gamma correction has been applied.

Get over it.

The next two photos are on the opposite side of the house facing away from its back porch.  There is another pasture there full of East Texas’ second growth and scrub.

In this first image, you can see Mom in the lower-left corner as she offers a bit of affection to one of the calves.  That baby’s mother, having had her fill of attention and people in general, can be seen walking away at center.

As soon as the juvenile bovine realized its mother was leaving and it had to choose between some petting and maternal protection—and food—it promptly dashed to the elder cow’s side and followed her to the other end of the pasture.

Even Mom’s stunningly powerful charms weren’t enough to overcome the family link between mother and child.  But then again, Mom certainly understands that premise and the strength of such bonds.