Tibetan Dairy Cattle Bunching at Gate Dawn

Wet, dark fur of a dense herd of cattle clings together against a wooden gate at the end of a muddy feedlot lane. First light of dawn breaks through clearing storm clouds, casting soft blue tones across the wet ground and the animals' heavy coats. Raindrops glisten on the rough wood of the gate and the slick earth beneath their hooves. Layers of the feedlot fence recede into the distance, fading into the misty morning air. The cattle stand shoulder to shoulder, their breathless stillness visible in the steam rising faintly from their flanks. One hoof rests on a puddle, reflecting the pale, cooling sky above the ridge.