Ruminations on Ruminants

Disclaimer: Today's posting includes some images that are somewhat graphic in nature. 
Prior to reading further, you may want to finish your oatmeal or put your breakfast taco away for a while, for the discussion topic today is cow poop.  Ah yes, the ubiquitous cow patty.  I know, I know, it is often talked about around the water cooler at work and is a close second to maybe only SEC football as a discussion starter.  Although much maligned, the cow patty is an integral part of the farm economy and specifically, the production of milk.  (This post is going to embarrass my daughter - sorry Laura.)

We have to back up a bit, though.  It all starts approximately 92,960,000 miles away with that huge burning sphere of hydrogen and helium we call the sun.

Our sun shines its rays on fertile soil and coupled with refreshing rain, nutrient-laden lush, green grass grows in the pasture.  That lush grass is consumed by cows.  Those cows transform the sun's energy from the grass into delicious milk.  Those same cows fertilize the grass and the wonderful cycle continues.  How do the cows fertilize the grass, you ask?  Okay you can't say I didn't warn you:  Behold, the meadow muffin!



This is a nice, fresh cow pie in all its glory.  You are fortunate today as you'll see how this smelly pile of steaming nastiness transforms into something beautiful.  After approximately one day of sitting out in the hot, Louisiana sun, this piping hot cow patty dries up somewhat and looks like this:

Notice how it has crusted over somewhat after baking in the sun all afternoon.  What you don't see is that flies have been attracted to the irresistable pasture patty and have laid their eggs in it.  Those eggs will hatch and in three days, plump maggots will tucked in the safe confines of the cow chip and be at their peak of deliciousness for our feathered friends, the chickens.

Here comes the Cock of the Walk, the king of the barnyard.  You can almost sense the excitement in his demeanor.  He spots that chow chip ripe and ready.  Oh, what a prize he has found!  This Explorer of Excrement, this Conquistador of Kaka has made a delectable discovery.  He leads all of his hens to the cow patty and with a few scratches of their strong legs, they've transformed the cow patty into something that looks like this:

They pick through it and gobble up all the bugs in the patty.  As an added bonus, this "sanitation crew" cleans up the pasture and has broadcast fertilizer evenly across the pasture.  Who needs a manure spreader?  This fertilizer, in turn, grows a dense, healthy patch of bermuda/bahia grass that the cows love!

The cows eat this grass and the cycle continues.  It is a wonderful cycle that, although it may have some particularly gross aspects, it is interesting to see how God's creation works together to produce the meat, milk and eggs we eat.  (We just don't talk about the details at the table.)  Gotta run.  Here comes Tricia with Rosie.  It's evening milking time.

We'll talk again tomorrow.  I promise the conversation will be more pleasant.