Slovenian Cattle Pen After Rain

Wet wooden boards of a livestock pen rise from muddy ground, their lower halves stained dark by rainwater that has climbed halfway up the surface. Rusty metal chains hang from a squeeze gate along the sorting rail, glistening under the flat, soft light of a late summer drizzle. Small white lot cards dangle from the fence posts, their paper edges softening in the damp air. The earth around the base of the structure is churned into a thick, brown slurry, against the grey sky above. A heavy steel latch on the gate reflects the diffuse daylight, while water beads on the rough-hewn timber. The mud rests on the vertical posts, marking the recent height of the rising ground water.