The grass is always greener on a pile of poo

Every day, I drive past a small cow pasture on the way to and from babygirl's daycare. They have about a dozen cows. Early this summer, I was actually driving by when one gave birth - like plop, goo, moo.... Such an event would have been neat a year or two ago, but since I've been there myself, it was a much more spiritual experience. I empathized with her. Just think - two shoulders almost tore me completely in half - look at all those knees and elbows and hips AND THAT HEAD! yikes! The little pasture now has 4 calves.

Each day, the little calves are not so little. They stop there mommas in their tracks to nurse (boy, do I know that feeling). At times, the mommas are less than enthusiastic about nursing and they walk on - a calf a step behind mooing and reaching under her for a sip.

This morning, one light brown calf was perched on a tiny hill. A manure hill. A grassy, manure hill. Eating.

Of course, as with all animals, some of the good stuff slips through. It is not uncommon for animals, to sift through other animals' droppings to pick up where another left off. The lush, green grass was well fertilized, and with a little struggle up the softish hill - the calf was eating a dewy, healthy breakfast.

I can relate to that too.

No, I'm not going out and sifting through the dog piles in my yard for a nugget of nutrition.

We, as many these days, have had our belts artificially tightened during this recession. The shirt of income just doesn't quite cover the resulting muffin top of expenses. If you stand just right, and don't move and don't try to see it...we're covered. One twist or turn and there's pale, white skin with stretch marks for the world to see.

Did you follow that analogy? It worked perfectly in my head. If you need a visual, head to Walmart...I guarantee that you won't be past the air blast between the double doors before you get the drift.

Anyway, we have days of bounty and days of thrift. One day, I splurge on a coffee drink from a local cafe - and the next I'm scrounging among discarded ATM receipts, melted gummy bears, and crusty cheerios under the car seats to find coinage to fill my gas tank.

So, kudos to you baby cow for finding green grass on that pile of shit. Now, I'm going to go shake the laundry to see if I can grab me a latte!