Country diary: A slow and private journey to bearing new life | Derek Niemann

Woodbury Hall, Bedfordshire: Of the many cattle here, one has taken herself off with her great barrel of a belly, to find a little solitude, if not restLess than an hour's drive from the county's famous safari park is another domestic savannah. Both Woburn and Woodbury are Bedfordshire out of Africa, stag?headed oaks serving as acacia scattered over an English country estate, horned herbivores grazing on grassland beneath. Woburn has its antelopes; here at Woodbury are red cattle. And there is something profoundly wild taking place here today.Far from the clustered herd, one animal has walked herself into solitude. She has chosen to shun company, as females of so many species do by instinct when their time is come. At first, we see only a rusty mound way over the other side of the drive. The shape resolves into a cow struggling to her feet. She walks but a few steps with a slow, stiff gait, before lying down. Continue reading...