Of herds and humans...

[Skidmore]

Ever watch a herd of cows? Sun baking the soil until it cracks into "potato chips," the herd will stand huddled in the torrid sun, drooling and listlessly chewing their cud, oblivious to the clump of trees across the pasture that could provide them shade. In the driving snowstorm, the herd stands with icicles forming on matted hair and snorting out clouds of vapor into the frigid air. They'll stand till they drop in their tracks--of heat exhaustion or any other assault of the elements. Docilely waiting, jowls resting on one another's backs. Lowing softly now and then. Every chewing. Endlessly chewing. Eyes blinking in slow motion, unless spooked.

Spooking cows is not an exact science. A really loud noise may elicit no more than a balefui stare in the general direction of the sound. Then in another instant the sting of a fly or a slight shift on the horizon sends the whole herd thundering across the field. Spooked cows can cover a fair amount of new territory outside of the ground on which they usually choose to wile their time away. Getting the herd to move is the easy part. Getting it to move purposefully toward a greener pasture is the real task.