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| Recent view of The Jungfrau from The Land of Happy Cows |
Exceptional cheese comes from happy cows. Over the last few years, a constant reminder of that essential fact has been the ringing of cowbells as the background music of my travels hiking in Europe. Most recently, I spent a week in the stunning mountain village of Mürren in the Bernese Oberlandt of Switzerland. While there, I was struck by the total absence of milk barns even though cheese-making is such an iconic and essential part of the local economy. Add to that my overwrought angst about the orange-colored cheddar here in Colorado, and I’ve been thinking about how cows in the Alps might interact with their overseas cousins if given the opportunity. Imagine how a happy Swiss cow might write a letter …
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Greta Holstein
c/o Mürren Beef SA
Mürren
Switzerland
August 23, 2024
VIA AIR MAIL / PAR AVION
c/o 5k Ranch Cattle Co
Steamboat, Colorado
Dearest Akiko:
I was delighted
to receive your letter, all those weeks ago. I apologize for taking so long to
respond – with the summer having been so rainy, the grazing in our highest
altitude pastures has been exceptional so we’ve all been out of touch more than
we like. If it’s any consolation, the clover has been more plentiful and
tastier than usual, so we are all quite fat and happy. Judging from the looks on
the faces of the visitors to the mountain hut nearby, it would seem that the
milk, cheese and butter we are all providing has been a tribute to our
wonderful mountain environment. Thankfully, at least all that high altitude
walking keeps us fit even if I am a little soft around the udders these days.
I was delighted
to hear that you also have had great grazing weather over there. I do worry
from time to time that the arid climate in Colorado can make life challenging
for you and your herd. One of the great joys for us in summer is the variety in
our daily meadow buffets and I am grateful to know that you and yours similarly
aren’t spending these months relegated to only eating hay from bales wrapped in
plastic. My children romanticize the life you all must lead out there, cowboys
and all - my youngest Heidi in particular derives great joy from my reading
your wonderful letters out loud to her in my best American accent.
I would like
your opinion about something. Last week, the ladies and I had a conversation
with a chatty old sheep dog who was visiting the village with her humans. They
were from Wisconsin and the dog was curious about how it is that we dairy cows
in Switzerland don’t spend time in a milk shed. As you can imagine, we needed her
to explain to us what she meant and we were all quite shocked to learn that
some American dairy cows spend their lifetimes inside enormous buildings chained
to machines that milk them, day in and day out. Can this possibly be true? It’s
such a disturbing thought. How can their milk possibly even taste good? I mean,
we may all be deaf from the incessant clanging of the bells around our necks,
but at least we are mostly free to roam, and I have to believe that it is part
of what makes our Swiss cheese so delicious and keeps our humans so happy. I
couldn’t help but wonder if this bovine bondage explains why their humans feel
the need to dye their cheese yellow – such an awful state of affairs. I didn’t
sleep well for a week afterwards. Please let me know your thoughts and
experience on the subject. I may also reach out to Aunt Martha in Vermont – she
always has valuable perspective on what makes us cows happy.
We’re all now
back in lower pastures just in time to start getting ready for the big
end-of-summer traditional cow parade through the streets of the village. Heidi
will be participating for the first time and is making a fuss about her fancy
new outfit for the occasion – it’s all so very Swiss! I for one will be happy
to just fit in mine from last year. Everyone’s expecting a big crowd of
tourists and the village has been getting better with their social media
exposure, so we’re all anxious to look our best and make an impression. I’ll
send you some photos from the event; hopefully the weather will hold.
Please give your
lovely bull Clyde my best. Regards also to those kind farmers the Gibsons –
such a nice family and they certainly appreciate and know how to take care of
their Wagyu. I hope that the grasses are tall and plentiful, the sun is
forgiving, and your hooves find only soft ground.
All my love,
dear cousin.
Greta
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