Here be Cows is a phrase I, as a
snotty East-Coaster here in the U.S., use to describe the
middle of America. It derives from the
medieval phrase
here be dragons, which was used in early maps to
denote areas that either hadn't been explored or that the
cartographer, at least, had no information on. Well, if you ever drive across the
United States taking a reasonably northern route (like, say,
I-80) then you
will see
cows. Lots of 'em. Smell them too. In fact, for 80 miles along I-80 in
Nebraska, there is a stretch of road that smells most richly of
cowflops, because of the enormous
stockyards along the route.
Therefore, if I need to say "sorta there" as regards middle America, I use the phrase here be cows.
Actually, on that same trip, I saw a buffalo. In Wyoming. He was standing up against one of the fences that border I-80, looking heroically across to the other side, chest thrust out, the very picture of "There, but for these damned fences, go I." He was huge.
Of course, he might have been thinking about munching cloverleaf. You never can tell with large bovines.