Huli-de-Vana: May 2020

Finally we have a watering hole for our bovine family!

Each day after the cows are milked, they are let loose to graze around, walk around and sun themselves. These are the Malnad Gidda variety of cows and unlike a lot of other cows who are content to stay the whole day in the stables, our cows get quite unhappy if they are not let loose. They need that exercise and the outing. They all proceed out in a group and are capable of walking quite long distances. Quite often we have spotted them up the hill, far from home. But all of them unfailingly (barring a few incidents) always return home by 3 pm.

When they return back, they have to wait until we open the gate to let them in. We have a common gate that leads to our home and the plantation with a small path cordoned off for the cows to walk straight into the cow shed. Our cows know the routine pretty well and walk down the path to the cowshed un-erringly. They sit patiently in the shade outside the gate and it is always a pleasure to see the content expression on their faces.

All throughout the rainy season, there are umpteen brooks and streams that enrich the landscape, but come summer and all of them dry up.

Even the ‘Holle’ that roars past our farm leaves not a trace behind. So this means that the cows have no water to drink until they are let into the cowshed. We keep quite a few buckets of water for them, but they push each other to get to the water first and often overturn the buckets. So we had to find a solution for this, to provide ample drinking water for them. And we found it on one of our trips further south. We were returning from a trip to Vitla and spotted a Plant nursery on the way. We stopped to check it out. It was really huge - lots of fancy plants and /saplings with fancy price tags too. After the first few rows of roses, chrysanthemums and colourful hibiscus, all with perfect flowers, there were rows of indoor plants and colourful crotons. Then came the saplings of the large trees. This was interesting as we could buy some for the farm and the forest. We picked quite a few of these. Then at the very end, I spotted a whole array of pots and planters- mud pots, plastic ones, hanging ones, name it and this nursery had it! And in one corner I spotted a huge stack of giant tubs –just the type that I wanted for the cows’ drinking water. They were meant to make fancy lotus ponds to place in the foyers /lobbies of buildings and hotels. They had all the apparatus to make an artificial fountains and a mini water fall as well. But the tub was all that I wanted, and we got it.

Back on the farm, we decided to install it just outside the gate, so that not just our cows, but all the ones passing by can quench their thirst.