The judge from Belamoos gave Elsie Creamenova a 5.5 on her floor routine, saying she was heavy on her hooves and udderly lacked imagination

Not a whole lot goes on along the back roads I prefer, so when I stop for photos of animals their curiosity often equals mine. The cow I pictured as a demanding Olympic judge is actually sporting livestock identification tags. I came across Judge Belamoos on 120th Street, not far from Ray County Lake. Not all cows are as tough on gymnasts as she is, and not all animals give equal attention to me when I pull over for a shot. The chestnut horse below, for example, could've cared less that their morning graze was being interrupted by a photographer. His white companion, however, couldn't take her eyes off me. As an old friend once said, "give me a bag of popcorn and I'll watch anything." The horses were pastured along H Highway, one of my favorite routes between Liberty and Excelsior Springs (when I have time for a less direct route). It's a curvy road with several near-right-angle turns, so I limit my curiosity to the straightaways. Time now to get ready for work, my curious Treybooshkas. Have a good week.