Every January we hand these pages over to our readers and showcase the winners of our annual photo contest. Last year brought a roundup of rascally raccoons. This year, it was cows that stole the show; your submissions delivered some truly sublime bovines!
Our cover star is Finn, a shaggy Highland with the best bangs in all of Arkansas. Photographer Kristin Graves (Bono) told us Finn was a Christmas gift from her father-in-law to her mother-in-law and now roams Gravestone Farm 2 Grill pastures as their very first Highland. “He’s such a character,” Graves writes, calling him “our big pasture puppy.”
That barnyard charm continues with the almost impressionistic “Cows Peeping Out of the Barn” by Karen Brucks (Cabot) featuring three curious creatures perfectly framed in the doorway. We were enchanted by the golden-hour glow of “Sunset Calf” by Rachel Byrum (Greenbrier). And “Spring Babies,” also by Graves, features an impossibly sweet newborn calf, blinking at its brand-new world.
It wasn’t just puppies of the pasture variety that stole our hearts this year. AJ Smith (Mena) submitted a capture of a carb-loving little dog titled, “Why Did You Throw This Bagel Away? It’s Still Good.” Not a cow, but the pug earned a place here — purely for the dough-lightful laugh!
Thank you to everyone who shared a window into your world, allowing us all to start 2026 with joy.
Happy New Year!
