Coming down from the alpine pastures

"For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle upon a thousand hills ..."

Psalm 50:10 ESV

I can't help myself, I know I live in England and this is not my tradition. But I just wanted to celebrate what is going on in the Alps & the Pyrenees at the moment. The cows & sheep are coming back down from their mountain summer pastures to graze in the valleys for the winter.

All photos credited to the Austrian Tirol Tourist board. Click on the photo above for a link to the online article on the current cow drives in the Austrian Tirol.

So the farming method of transhumance is something I learnt about in Geography O Level all those years ago. Back then it felt rather old fashioned and like it was a dying tradition. But it isn't! It is still very much alive and well. While in France I saw notices in the local magazine about the returning of the cattle from the high pastures of the Pyrenees giving the dates and the opportunity for people to walk some of the way with them.

Last May in the Austrian Tirol, roughly 120 days ago, the cows were walked up to the high alpine mountain pastures to graze for the summer. 4 months of clean air and rich grazing. Now at the beginning of Autumn they are brought home before snow returns to the mountains.

It can take up to 3 days to walk them back down and on their return there is a real sense of occasion and celebration. The cattle are dressed up with floral wreaths and cheered as they make their catwalk march down through the high streets of villages and towns along the way.

Their return marks days of drinking and partying. In one village at the end of a hearty beer festival, there is a lottery and the most beautiful cow bell is won by the lucky winner. These are not small little mantlepiece items but whopping great big carved brass pieces.

I was in Salzburg just before Easter and remember my delight at stumbling across the Palm Sunday celebrations in the courtyard outside the Dom/Cathedral. ( See Blog Post on Learning to Love - a Bavarian Love story for more.) It was my first time seeing Bavarian lederhosen and felt hats. Again, I thought they were just used for fancy dress parties, but no, these clothes still get used for the cattle drive.

For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills or upon the mountains where thousands are.

I know and am acquainted with all the birds of the mountains, and the wild animals of the field are Mine and are with me, in my mind.

Psalm 50 : 10 & 11 Amplified Bible

While in Austria I was impressed to find a nation that embraced it's Christian roots and I love the way they have planted this cross high up in the mountains. I wish I was over there this weekend to see the cattle drives but never mind, hopefully one day I will be able to see this for myself.

#AustrianTirol #Cattledrives #transhumance #Psalm5010