There WAS a fence between us

Gentle or aggressive? It seems to depend on which website one is searching. Wikipedia (below) says Longhorns are gentle, but last night I read that they are aggressive. Standing there on the road, I know I felt glad that there was a fence between them and us! I stood in the road to take this shot, as two of these cattle were lying down and I didn't want to force them to stand up and move away, they looked so comfortable. I did remove three strands of barbed-wire that ran across the width of the image : )

"The Texas Longhorn is a breed of cattle known for its characteristic horns, which can extend to 7 ft (2.1 m) tip to tip for steers and exceptional cows, and 36 to 80 in (0.91 to 2.03 m) tip to tip for bulls. Similar cattle were imported by Spanish colonists into other parts of North America, including California and Florida. Horns can have a slight upward turn at their tips or even triple twist. Texas Longhorns are known for their diverse coloring. A longhorn can be any color or mix of colors but dark red and white color mixes are the most dominant. Texas Longhorns with elite genetics can often fetch $40,000 or more at auction with the record of $170,000 in recent history for a cow. Due to their innate gentle disposition and intelligence, Texas Longhorns are increasingly being trained as riding steers."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Longhorn

This beautiful Longhorn was lying down in a field along Highway 40 yesterday morning, 17 June 2016, when two friends and I travelled to the meeting place for a day's walk in the Benchlands area, NW of Cochrane. The walk was in the Meadow Creek area, Ghost River Watershed, and our leaders were Heinz Unger (from Benchlands) and Gus Yaki. Just remembered that my two friends and I spotted a Red Fox at the meeting place, while we were waitng for everyone else to arrive!

"Benchlands is a hamlet in Alberta within the Municipal District of Bighorn No. 8.[ The Ghost River is located on the hamlet's south side, while Highway 40 borders the north side." From Wikipedia.

The trail took us through forest and across open meadows, with a wonderful view of the distant mountains the closer we got to our destination. I only took a few photos, including of Spotted Coralroot, a beautiful wild orchid that has tiny flowers and grows mostly in montane woodlands. I think this was the highlight for me, as I rarely get to see it. Another interesting thing that was pointed out to us was a bear 'rubbing tree', with a few strands of hair still caught in the bark. A relief that there was no bear to be seen!

Thanks so much for the ride, Sandy - glad you were able to come at the last minute. Also glad that the weather was kind to us, starting off rather chilly in the morning, but gradually warming up to around 21C later in the day. Thanks so much, Heinz, for arranging for us to explore this private land and accompanying us on the hike - always a treat.