You may find something in the sand along the shores of Marco Island that's "udderly" unexpected.
"I like playing in the sand, and I like cows," said Charlie Green.
Green may as well be called the "sand cow sculptor" of Tiger Tail Beach.
"I've got the eyes done. I'm working on the rest of the head," said Green as he shaped the ears and nose of a sand cow.
Green used to work for a large dairy farm back home in Michigan. Twenty years ago, he decided to bring his cows to the Gulf Coast while he vacationed on the beach.
His daughter, Sadie, comes with him. She's a muse for his masterpieces.
"We always made one like Bonnie; that's the original [sand cow]," said Sadie. "When we first come here, the first one [we build] always looks like her. Then we figure out a name to give her."
Charlie and Sadie give the cows more than a name, but playful puns, like, "Dancing with the Steers," and "In 'Queso' Emergency."
"Sometimes we come up with the theme or the words first and then what that would look like in the cow world," said Green.
The sand cows spread joy to families on the beach. "Just today, while we were waiting, we heard a lot of laughter," said Sadie.
How long do these epic sand cows last? Green tells us about a few weeks. "Typically, the unsupervised 3-year-old is the greatest hazard," Green said.
Best of all, these sandy hooves and salty shores give Green and Sadie a chance to create memories that last a lifetime.
"She gets the final say, but that's alright," said Charlie.
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