There were, literally, six cows in the courtyard at Burnside

“6 Cows in the Courtyard” author Herb Fenn and illustrator Rose Hill ... ““It was the weirdest thing that could have ever happened.”

Here’s something that doesn’t happen every day. In the early hours of a February morning during a full moon six cows appeared in the courtyard of a property in Burnside. 

“It was the weirdest thing that could have ever happened,” said resident Rose Hill who was made aware of the strange event  at about 2.15am. “My son was awoken by our very freaked out cat to let us know there were 6 cows in our courtyard.”

After the truly moo-ving experience, the startled family went back to bed and when they woke in the morning Rose thought it may have been a dream. But then she noticed cow manure in the courtyard and that the letterbox had been knocked over. 

“We still have no idea where they came from,” she said. “We have written this book because we thought it was a story worth preserving.”

It was a very strange event considering the house is in a dense residential area on quite a steep hill. 

And the courtyard is not easy to access.

“I told Herb Fenn about it a few days later, and he said, ‘Oh, my goodness, that would be a great title for a children’s book. So Herb wrote the story and I did the illustrations,” said Rose.

“Sometimes in a creative endeavour you get this sort of inspirational light goes on,” said Herb. “You just know it’s gonna work. And this was one of those things. It came together beautifully.  The illustrations are superb.

“We used a local printer and a local binder and it’s so rare these days to find a book that’s not printed in China,” said Rose.

“We are not making any money on the books just enough to cover the cost of the printing and binding. It’s not about money. We are just happy to see the story get out there.”

• “6 Cows in the Courtyard” is available for $15 at the Little Book Nook in Palmwoods and Lawn Espresso  Yandina or you can email backwarbeetlebooks@gmail.com.