Being with Cows

Silence...simplicity...stillness. Seems so straightforward to add them to a reel or video or photo post. The practice of them in our daily lives is another matter altogether. Almost everyone’s lives are driven, shaped and dictated by what can be called patterns - that bundle of desires, reactivity, ambitions, aspirations that persuade us, lure us into the belief that we are someone or something that finally we are absolutely not. They convince us of an apparently separate identity, inhabiting a world of fellow individuals, where it becomes necessary to defend, attack, subjugate, negotiate, promote for the benefit and even survival of what ultimately is a false perception and understanding. Such a mistaken and misplaced belief couldn’t be further from the truth. The Cows and their wild cousins who inhabit the farm here, the wild boar, the red and roe deer, the foxes, badgers, hedgehogs and pine martins, as well as the stick insects, the praying mantis, the snakes and lizards and mass of fabulous birdlife, all play a crucial role in REMINDING US of what it might actually be to have stillness or silence or simplicity firmly embedded in the fabric of this daily existence. How is this so? Well, to anyone who has been in their company, who has chanced upon a herd of deer, an earthy old badger snuffling his way home or a mob of delirious crows made tipsy by the wind, it’s surely obvious that for a few fleeting moments, the familiar world of thoughts and pull-me push-you between past and future comes to a sudden halt. There is quietness, a child-like thrill of something indefinable, an innocence and postponement of patterns. For a moment, everything simply IS. There is only being, untroubled by thought or pattern-pressured behaviour. There is a taste of the real, of authenticity, of something genuine that stands as a most welcome beacon in a world of falsehoods and impermanence. Nature is so more precious than belief will have us believe. It is nothing but inspirational, between the cruelty and compassion that it apparently contains. (Continues in comments)

There’s something indescribably pure and wholesome simply moving the Casta from one patch to another. I suppose it’s the deep sense of togetherness that wells up as we plod our way across the slopes. They feel it, I feel it and that family feeling spills out into the short walk, each footstep a confirmation of the trust that makes such a quiet, gentle amble possible. There’s no thought of what might be, of what has been. We’re just together in a delightfully cocooned moment that is what we might call love-flooded. Thank you beauties.

Happy to announce that CASTA, the documentary directed and filmed by Tristan C Anderson, has been nominated for best short doc at the Carmarthen Bay Film Festival 2026. Seems like this lovely piece of work, which captures quite beautifully the back-story to the whole project, has charmed the selection panel and has made it to the final round of three nominated films in this category. So very pleased for Tristan after all his hard work and dedication and refusal to give up when things got financially tricky. Trust!

Spring is in full spate. The forest has once again pulled on its green mantle. Birdsong fills the valley each dawn, a mass of orchids have brought colours galore to the meadows and there is that background sense of activity, of business and just getting on with stuff.   Plentiful rain after an exceptionally dry April has seen the fields explode with growth. Several parcels have already been grazed twice by the cows, yet up it comes again and again, blade and sugary stem.   The trick is to move the cows regularly, preventing the grass from going to seed. Such a cycle means that the various species present in the fields are constantly wishing to grow. Their programme is to bring each plant to its seed stage, thus ensuring its long term survival.   When that is regularly prevented by the grazing actions of the cows, the remaining plant invests huge energy in trying to send up that stem once again, with a ripe seed-head its ultimate goal.   And so it is with us. We're not so different after all. Not even from the plants. Plentiful are our vibrant inner meadows, numerous are the patterns that graze their way through almost every waking hour of what we may call our daily lives. Most can recognise a sense of 'almost there' only to discover that actually, no, there's still work to be done, effort to be invested, deeper levels of commitment and dedication to sink into.   It's wise to remember in the midst of all this, that the colour and beauty and drama that comes with the flowering can never be the end, the final act, despite the allure and arresting nature of this most visually and emotionally striking of stages.   The flower of course must itself surrender, petal by shrivelled petal. Only then comes the seed, the inexplicably mysterious beginning and end. Drab, plain and ordinary even, yet the epicentre of the very mystery Itself.   Being with Cows Retreats are nothing but ordinary. In all honestly, there isn't even anything on offer. Perhaps in the cut-throat business of Retreat-Land, we could be considered to be some kind of a fraud. [Continued in comments...]

The struggle is worth it. This beautiful expression of the Supreme has no thought or intention to guide its exit from the most incredible hidey-hole in which it has grown. Inspirational and so very deeply humbling. Nature knows best.

For yesterday’s Earth Day 2026, the spotlight here at Being with Cows naturally fell on what is most abundant at this bountiful time of year - the wildflowers. At 700m in the foothills of the French Pyrenees, the farm and the surrounding area are a veritable treasure trove of species rich habitats. We are truly blessed to live our daily lives in the midst of such life-affirming wholeness. What is shown in the video is the tiniest taste of what is possible when nature is lovingly respected, valued and trusted. Guests are most very welcome to join us here on Retreat throughout July and August.

Tears in the eyes welling up from the Heart as this reel is posted. After a lifetime of wildlife watching, nature worshipping and surrender to the great What Is, have never been so delightfully mesmerised by such a scene. Thank God that nature knows best.

Unlike the reserved and emotionally cool Casta, the Galloways are all fun and games! Think rugby rather than chess.

It’s all about TRUST. So simple isn’t it?

An intense few days at Being with Cows. On Tuesday, Willy the young Galloway bull was to be castrated, along with his half brother King George, so that they can stay with us and welcome guests to the farm on Retreat. For Georgie...no problem at all. A routine castration. When Willy's turn came, the drama began. Three seconds after his dose of ketamine, no signs of breath, no heartbeat nor reaction from his eyes. Basically, quite dead! Three times over the course of ten torrid minutes, this gentle soul rolled back and forth between life and death. Happy to say that he decided to stick around. You could never meet such a kindhearted gentle little thing and thank God that it wasn't his time yet. Wednesday saw the most wonderful encounter with nearly a 100 Griffon vultures. Once threatened with extinction, these beautiful birds have recovered sufficiently to gather in such large flocks. Doing what they do best, they were busy clearing up a couple of ewes who hadn't made it through the recent spell of unseasonably cold and wet weather. And Thursday saw my favourite idiots called into action. Operation Water Source saw us replacing two very old rustic baths with a little-less-rustic round trough so that the furry ones can more easily access the delightfully cool and clear spring water that we are lucky to have on that part of the land. Newts galore saved and relocated to a nearby stream with plenty of pools and damp places between tree roots. With a good amount of farting around, splashing and mud-slinging, was a very productive few hours!

A sample of guest experiences from the Retreats over the past couple of years. The greatest privilege of offering the days spent together in the woods and meadows and by the side of the cows is knowing that such a combination really can lead to deeply calming moments of pure quietness in which all thought comes to grinding halt and all that remains is being, a direct experience of the pure isness of Life. All info about the forthcoming Summer Retreats can be found on the website in the bio.

It can seem like an almost impossible task, to keep attention within on the primary and original thought, that of ‘I’. The self created dream illusion of the world ‘out there’ whose existence depends exclusively on the very act of attention leaking out and latching onto apparent objects, can only ever prolong the misery and suffering that comes with belief in an individual separate existence. A truly Almighty task…but what else is there to do?