Until the Cows Come Home Photo

Photographer’s Note

Until the Cows Come Home.

Greeley, Colorado ...

Last week we got pummeled with 24 inches (61 cm) of snow here at the base of the mountains .. this week we got a mere 7 (18 cm) more .. the brunt of this storm missed us .. another storm is to hit next Wednesday ..

I am so so sick of it ... it is not that it isn't pretty .. it is just near impossible to get very far to take advantage of how pretty it is .. all the kids are on winter break from school and going absolutely stir crazy ..

Today we had this wonderful late morning fog so I got out of town as fast as I could .. but the thickest of it burned off by the time I got to the edge of town .. but I did go risk getting stuck on some of the unpaved roads outside of town .. where I found this farmer moving his cows into this void of white ..

It got me thinking about this expression we have here "until the cows come home" .. meaning for a very very long time ..

I did a little quick research on the origin of the expression .. found all sorts of theory's .. the most common being that the cows would go out and return the next morning at 4 or 5 to be milked .. some people theorized it referred to nineteenth century Western ranching days when cattle drives could last more than a year .. but then the cows didn't return from those ... or even referring just to sending the cows to market .. where they would not return ..

Hey and it is the first time I checked off something other than nature in the categories ..

gunbud, VeeJayCee, Angelillo, Emiel_Skyfreak, borka, superpau, Clairedelune, danos trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

mesutilgim (37098) 2006-12-31 5:21

Hi John
Very nice capture. And the atmosphere is telling a lot of stories.
Thanks for sharing and happy new year !
MESUT ILGIM

danyy (69223) 2006-12-31 8:48

Bonjour John,
j'aime beaucoup tes photos parce qu'elles nous transportent dans des endroits et des situations peu banales.
Des scènes de vie peu banales.
Ici au coeur de l'action dans le froid, le courage de ces hommes qui font un boulot difficile.

Meilleurs voeux pour 2007, très amicalement.

Daniel.

gunbud (28069) 2006-12-31 8:58

Hi John,
Nice winter photo with stark and serious sings of a long winter. One can feel the weary truding of the cows and thier keeper.
Happy New Years to your family,
Regards, Tom

VeeJayCee (2410) 2006-12-31 12:00

Hi John. I suspect the saying is older than that and can be found in 18th century literature. However the saying is more true of American cattle than European where we do not graze them over such vast areas. Much Kudos to you for braving the elements. I was about to suggest that I'd rather be there than here but if you struggle, then I would no doubt fall altogether, so you go take more excellent pics and I'll sit by the fire and look at 'em!

Angelillo (9065) 2006-12-31 13:19

Hi John,

You find ever a really lot of snow. I like this picture, the strenght of the men for facing the hard nature. In a shot almost absolutely white, the man and the animals seem lost, but they attract all our attention. I wish you a new year plenty of dreams accomplished! Thanks,

Angel.

PJE (19481) 2006-12-31 22:32

Well as far as I know John its simply an expression meaning a long time. Simple. I love this photo showing how vulnerable the farmer is with these cows out in the open snow. I think he needs a horse to keep them together. My goodness he must be in great shape to outrun a dumb retarded wayward cow. Excellent shot John.

I gather from your intro that you are a true outdoors man, and yet upon checking out your website I see you are heavily involved in the fine art of music. In a way the two blend together very nicely when you see how nature can sing to you when you get in touch with the beauty of nature in all of its lovely manifold expressions. Its a pleasure to see your work on this site. Take good care of your son, and yet keep that camera shutter button ready at all times.
Cheers John all the best to you and your lovely family in 2007!

claudio74 (6642) 2007-01-01 8:05

Hi John
In first I wish you an happy new year full of happyness for you and your familly.
Your picture is a great capture of a lifestyle in the backcountry.
For us it's not te same..........;;;we are waiting for the snow,temperature are anormaly high and there is no snow.
Snow resorts are in bad situation.
Regards
Claude

ls7902 (6274) 2007-01-03 10:04

Wow. I like this picture with the thick & heavy snow. The background is so white as if it is still snowing. Very accurate color of snow. Could have been Finland with man herding deers instead. Latiff.

superpau (1460) 2007-01-04 23:37

Hi John,
it´s almost a B&W photo, but the white is so strong, that´s work better in this way rather than BW conversion.

Maybe is too darn hot in Buenos Aires, but this is a very refreshing photo for me at the moment!

See you!
Paula.

dreams (2) 2007-01-11 11:40

hello john
ca c est la belle vie.grand bonheur
see you

Didi (36318) 2007-01-13 3:30

Hello John
Very interesting winter scene; I note a very good control of the exposure.
I suggest you that you should crop the sky part a little to give more depht by the foreground.
Cheers.

Clairedelune (4885) 2007-02-13 21:33

Hello John,
I think this photo is quite a beauty. Living in a big town, I must say that I don't see that kind of scene very often. Different kind of herd, I guess! ;) I like how the herd is so much contrasting with the surroundings.
I think this photo could benefit of a cropping, so that the farmer and his cows would be less in a centered line. Either crops the sky or the opposite. Since I kind of like the white sky, I chose the last option.
Claire

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Polonaise (5638) 2007-02-13 21:39

This picture is composed entirely out of sounds of nature harmony.
Not just the cows themselves, but the man out there...
Just look at him... He's the part of world to its very depth.
Great photography John, and I enjoy it tremendously.

All the best

g.

danos (32956) 2007-02-24 5:30

Hi John,
a extraordinary scene unknown for Greece Here,in the mountainous they have sheeps and kids that send up the Spring in the mountains and the winter they take down in sheep pens.Excellent the contrast,the colours and the light.Well done.
Regards,Danos

Benedict (7062) 2007-02-25 2:20

and compare this snow to the man-made ones in snow summit resort?
uncomparable! i freeze by mere looking at it! awesome winter foto.
benedict