Every once and a while you see them, a parade of children looking everywhere but where they are going. In a group that works well, you follow the one in front and look wherever you want. Welcome to the field trip. Herded by several adults you are lucky if they are going in the opposite direction. Growing up, field trips were few and far between. Actually, a summer camp I attended went on more trips than the schools. As you get older you make your own field trips, for a day, a weekender or a vacation. The Phone rang, a friend on the other end asked if we were interested in an afternoon excursion. Click on the URL below to find out what happened, http://www.gardenstew.com/blog/e10953-2 ... -farm.html
WOW. Nice farm. We've got 3 "cows" ... actually only one is old enough to be called cow. And the only one that gives milk. Other two are her daughters from this and last spring. Dad milks her himself. No tech. here. She goes herding on the village pastures which are really dry from this summer's drought that she always comes home really hungry! Once dad was away and came home after cows came home. My brothers were both there but they were afraid. Well, so was I. She's got horns and only listens to dad. I was trying to get it inside the enclosure (away from the lawn and the flower beds) but she was darn stubborn, even tried to "horn" me
Hi Calin, Cows eat a fair amount in a day so I can see why you and your brothers wanted to keep her away from the flowers. Yes, small as they are, horns are horns and can still be quite dangerous. Interesting that the cow pays more attention to your dad than you or your brothers. Was there hay in the enclosure for her to eat after coming home hungry? Jerry
Jerry, you keep this up and you'll lose your "city slicker" nominclature. Lovely farm, lovely cattle. Did anyone mention what they do with the effluent? A near-by city has a problem with upriver dairy farms polluting the river and reservoir with run-off.
Jane, the farm monitors, stores and uses in one form or another all the barn runoff in the adjoining fields. Being a longterm lease from the state, as it is a state park, the state EPA monitors the dairy. Local universities conduct experiments with various mixtures on the fields to obtain the best yields. The dairy can't help but be transparent with all their activities. Jerry
That's good to know. We don't have a problem here on the farm from adjacent fields, since the cattle are beef steers and aren't long-term residents in any one pasture. I think I'll look at your blog again and do a search on the state park to see if they have any links to university studies of the use of the cow pats. I love the things one can learn here on the Stew (and from Stewies who go on field trips).
It's only natural. Dad took care of it since it was a "girl". I just go there a couple times a week and do my gardening. I don't socialize much with the animals. But dad feeds them, takes care of them. So they are good friends. There is a big hay stack in the enclosure but it doesn't compare with the greenies on this side.
