By Angelina Bellebuono
Staff Writer

“How now, Brown Cow?”
At least that's what dairymen Jason and his father Jimmy Sidwell asked when they spotted one of their beef cows sporting a chair on her head.
According to Jason, cows are typically curious creatures anyway. But this is the first time in the more than 60 years his father has farmed that a Sidwell cow has found a chair to wear.
"The nature of a cow is nosey," Jason said, "and if you put anything out in the middle of the field, the cows will run straight to it."
Which might explain how this brown cow pushed her way into a fenced-off hunting camp area and became intrigued enough by a wooden chair that she forced her head between the spindle legs.
The cow's new headgear made it virtually impossible for her to eat, explained Sidwell, and the noise of the chair hitting the food trough scared all the other cows away from supper as well. The Sidwells decided that chair removal was necessary, but not before calling a photographer friend to document the scene.
"Funny stuff happens all the time (on the farm), but we don't usually get a picture of it," Jason said.
After her photo session, the cow was contained and the Sidwells hammered the chair until it broke apart. Although she wasn't too fond of the noise, Jason said she remained calm through the entire process.
"She almost seemed to understand that we were trying to help," he said.
Returned to her pre-chair wearing state, the cow now grazes peacefully in the pasture. The hunting camp fence has been secured, and Jason and Jimmy don't expect to see any more furniture-wearing bovines for a while.
But now Jason said that he and his father have a plan if cattle feed prices continue to rise--they just might have to consider placing some old wooden chairs in the pasture.