For three months of the year, they leave everything behind and retreat to the mountains. Here, the day begins with the cows and ends with cheeselarge wheels redolent of grass, hard work, and the mountains themselves. And among all the cows, there is Nina; she has quite a personality and, in her own way, lends a hand!

The rest of the year, the Tomat family lives in Arta Terme, where the barn is part of the home. Stefania and Alessandra work alongside their nephewssixth-generation cheesemakerscaring for a herd of about forty cows that are fed on hay and milked daily. Their milk goes to the Sutrio cooperative. Six generations: stories like that are rare, aren’t they?

Then summer arrives, and the cows head up to the high pastures. They walk forty kilometersstep by stepto reach the highest grazing grounds. They stay there until the air turns; in October, they descend to the valley accompanied by the great *transumanza* festival, amidst the sound of cowbells and plenty of smiles.

But the mountains always have a mind of their own. Sometimesas happened this yearsnow arrives early, finding the cows still up there, right where they belong.