She walked through pastures green
beneath a chill October sky.
Thin drizzle drifted
over web-strewn hedgerows,
bejewelling her coat
and forming tiny pearls
upon her long black lashes.

Lost in reverie she ambled
slowly downhill towards
a reed-edged stream
where, she recalled,
small birds chased midges
when the sun summer shone.
But not today.

She noticed long strands of grass
clinging wetly to her legs
and, as dim thoughts lumbered
through her bovine brain,
wondered if she and her sisters
would be taken away  for milking
before the downpour broke.