Cows On The Puy Mary

As we climbed up into the fog and clouds that enshrouded the Puy Mary, we could still see the rather steep slopes of the mountain side and the deep ravines and valleys carved by watercourses below us.

The dark spots on the hillside are cows.

On just about every hillside we also saw cows. Many cows. For big animals, they were quite adept at getting up and down the steep terrain, seeking out the choicest patches of grass to munch on.

Cows, climbing ever higher.

And always we could hear, whether close by or far in the distance, the clanging of cowbells. I have never heard so many cow bells in my life than I did during those few days in the Auvergne.

Cheese-making, step one: eat grass.

We stopped the car at a couple points before reaching the summit to take in the views. The clouds were moving rather quickly and the view was always changing, and often it would just disappear into cold whiteness.

A lone cow atop a ridge.

But we could still hear the bells.