NaBloPoMo Day 4 - Cows

I've written before how much I like cows... love cows... love cheese.

I was thinking about cows today as I drove home from taking the dogs to the Sunday Morning Pack Walk.  A field I pass is full of brand new baby calves;  some of which are "fresh outta da oven" and still steaming in the cool morning air.  It's amazing this annual event, when the moms are placed out in the field to give birth.  But, it also comes with a little twinge of sadness.

Now, don't get me wrong... I love a good ribeye as much as the next person.  And, I used to comment that I could be a vegetarian if it wasn't for ribeye steaks.  Having "gone raw" for a time, and now as I am getting older eating more vegetable base, I can do without the ribeyes.  Except maybe once or twice a year on a special occasion.

But, still.  Living in this dairy community and having a pack of critters on our property, I am much more cognizant of where my food comes from.  If I buy meat, which is getting to be more and more infrequent, I get it from our local meat market which buys from local ranchers.  Literally I see where my meat is coming from because I drive past it on a regular basis.

Our local creamery is also at the end of the bridge coming into town;  so I know where our milk, and ice cream, and CHEESE! is coming from as well.  If I could get more than a 1/4 cup of milk after about 30 minutes of goat milking I would be making my own... but, for now I'll leave that to the professionals.  Although, maybe one day, I'll raise a calf of my own... 

How about we leave that crazy idea for another day... but still, hmm....

NaBloPoMo Day 23

Ok, I have 20 minutes to get this post in for today.  So I thought I would quickly write about something I love.... cows.... which I am now happy to be surrounded by in the are in which we are living.

These are just some of my new neighbors.  

Every day on my way to work I pass several dairies.  They rotate the cows around from field to field so it's interesting to see where any group of cows will be on any given day.  It can also vary depending on the time of day I am driving through the main road.

Some fields will be full of soft brown guernseys.  Other fields will have the familiar black and white holsteins.  Some will be full of young calves;  others full of udder-ful heifers.  And, I do notice that the saying "party till the cows come home" probably has some truth to it as I have seen some herds of cows running to the barn at certain times of the day.  No one is rounding them up, they just seem to get in line and start heading for home.

What do I like most about cows?  Cheese... it goes good on everything.  And my DH can't understand how I will cut off a wedge "finger" of cheese and munch on it as a snack.  It's just that good.  Pizza - always with extra cheese.  Offer me any type of cheese on whatever I am eating, and I will say, "yes, please to cheese."

And something I've often wondered..... Gary Larson showed it best....