Cow Madness – Hiking in Finger Lakes National Forest

Finger Lakes National Forest was close to Clute Park, so it was a natural place for us to go for a longer walk with the dog. We sampled only a couple of trails, and we found them somewhat similar to our forest trails at home. Except for the cow pastures.

We were hoping to scenes like this full of fall colors, but the greens were still nice.
We were hoping to have scenes like this full of fall colors, but the greens were still nice.

We were hoping to see fall colors, but for whatever reason (the warm weather, perhaps), the trees were pretty much all still shades of green. Hopefully we don’t stay just ahead of the colors the whole way south.

Coda always enjoys his walks in the woods.
Coda always enjoys his walks in the woods.

The one unique thing is that some of the trails cross cow pastures. With cows. We’ve crossed cattle lands on western trails, but didn’t run into any cattle. In New York, however, we crossed paths with some cows as we were heading back to the truck one day. At first we only saw a couple of cows, but soon an entire herd was heading toward Oma. Where Oma went, the cows followed. I thought it was pretty funny, although Oma was genuinely nervous with about forty head of cattle following her along the trail.

Oma seemed to have the herd's full attention.
Oma seemed to have the herd’s full attention.

This was the first time Oma has ever been frightened of cows. Fortunately, the cows eventually let Oma escape. I’m sure our next stroll across a cow pasture or western cattle lands will be a bit faster after this experience.

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