34 posts tagged “cows”
Sent in by alert cow-porter Fabulous Co-Worker Justin - a HOLY COW!
Full story here.
This is a Holstein/Jersey cross - the animal, not the marking. Like the article says, it's not unusual for a Holstein/solid color breed mix to have one solid mark on its head. Our Holstein/Brown Swiss babies usually have a white triangle/shield shaped spot on the forehead and that's the only spotty coloring they get.
Speaking of miracle bovine babies, there's a little preemie living in my parents' basement. I called home on my way to work because I heard a story on NPR. No, not the 'dairy farms are destroying the world' story, but the one about bad weather moving across Michigan.
The little gal living in the basement was born on time, according to my dad's paperwork. She's an embryo transplant baby and the first female from a batch he bought for $3,000. He wants to keep her alive "or we should have set $3,000 on fire and saved a lot of frustration." A normal calf would be 100 pounds and he estimates her at 35. I suggested that maybe she's really a Jersey (they're tiny) and he chuckled. (Yes, DadH chuckles. And I think "chuckle" is a great word.)
He said he might move her into the garage because it's starting to smell in the house after two days of being down there. He put down a tarp and a lot of straw. I told him to just clean her pen if it's supposed to get into the teens tonight. That's too cold. It's just like a cat box - if you don't want your house to smell like a cat box, clean the cat box every day.
"She takes up a bit more area than a cat box." So I think I convinced him to make an effort to clean up and keep her inside. He said the cat isn't very happy about the baby in the basement.
He went on about what the vet said, what they're doing for her and what he needs to do about registration then a long conversation about my nieces steer projects and other farmy things. It was a pretty fun call for me, actually.
In the words of my dad, "Well, it keeps life interesting."
I saw this little tidbit in the "News from Home" section of the Arizona Republic. It's really just news from other places that aren't Arizona.
I find it irritating that the paper panders to snowbirds and new arrivals like that. It keeps perpetuating the idea that when you live here, you really belong to somewhere else. No, you live here now. You chose to be here. Be a citizen and participate in your community.
*steps off soapbox*
Now to the cows.
From Rogersville, Tennessee: Man says neighbor's cows lick house, cause damage
A Tennessee man's homeowners insurance apparently does not cover "acts of cow." Jerry Lynn Davis called the Hawkins Country Sheriff's Office on Thursday, complaining that a neighbor's cows had been licking his house.
In the process, Davis said the curious bovines did about $100 in damage by ripping off a screen window, cracking the glass and pulling down a gutter. Davis' home is just a couple of feet from a fence enclosing the cows' pasture.
The animals managed to poke their heads through to lick the house, though a deputy's report did not indicate what made the house taste so good.
On CuteOverload - a brand new Brown Swiss baby, still damp from birthing slime, freshly licked, front legs still bent up from being stuck in the womb those long nine months. Hoof tips are still soft, the white parts will harden up with exposure to air.
My guess is BSB is less than 30 minutes old. They usually try to get up within 15, depending on how aggressive Mommy is to get baby up. You know, that ol' prey v predator, need to keep a move on instinct.
With the umbilical cord hanging around like it is, I'm not going to guess if this is a boy or a girl. We usually check between the legs for the true gender signs.
Yay, cowz! Yay, Brown Swiss!
You may have seen this before, but a friend sent it to me again. It cracks me up.
We used to show at the Michigan State Fair, in the lovely and bucolic neighborhood of 8 Mile and Woodward in Detroit. Oh, yeah. Lovely. One night we went 'off campus' to get Little Caeser's pizza. That was the first time I had ever seen bulletproof glass. At a pizza place.
Anyway, we spent a lot of time at the fair talking to city people about cows. Sometimes we made stuff up just to amuse ourselves. Most of the time we were respectful and answered all their questions.
No, the ring in a bull's nose does not mean he's married.
Brown cows do indeed give chocolate milk. (Okay, this one we did say but when their eyes got wide "REALLY?", we said no. Not really.)
It was fun watching people who have never been near an animal, much less animals larger than a cat, come through the barns and look at the cows. We felt it was our responsibility to help people understand where their food comes from and how well we take care of our livestock.
Speaking of knowing where your milk comes from - MomH is hosting a Chinese delegation tomorrow at the school. They are visiting three schools in Michigan to learn about various food service programs and MomH's program was one of the three chosen. How cool is that?
She told me she had a lot of extra "Got Milk?" swag that she was going to hand out. Then she thought a minute and figured that might not be a good idea, what with the baby formula fiasco and all. I told her the correct term for that is "Cultural Sensitivity". Ha ha! Oh, that would have been bad.
You know how I'm always complaining about how my parents' old computer on dial-up is faster than my cable modem Dell laptop?
I think that's actually a case of memory by sentimentality.
That said, I'm not doing well keeping up with the 'hood because it's too frustrating to even be online.
Okay, so there's my excuse for being lame.
I've only been outside a couple of times since getting here on Saturday night. I really lucked out and was able to sneak into Michigan during a break in the winter weather. My BFF picked me up in Detroit and the snow started kicking in again when we were about 30 miles from home.
It's cold here. So cold I really don't have enough words for it. When I do venture outside, I'm the little brother in The Christmas Story, all bundled up to the point of not being able to move. I'm careful not to fall over lest I be stuck in a snowbank until someone notices I'm gone and they send out the dogs.
Speaking of dogs, Jay (Steve's yellow lab) is a big fat goofy happy dog. His estimated size is around 100 pounds. And he thinks he's a puppy. Tyson, the pit bull who adopted our family a few years ago, hates the cold. He's such a baby. All I have to do is open the door to the outside to see him cower and hide. He's such a sweetie pie, super smart and loves kitties. Awww.
The rest of the family is doing well. DadH isn't very mobile, all that talk about how he needs to get more exercise was just talk. It bugs me how he doesn't bother to help himself get healthier, but I've run out of patience to badger him further.
I haven't made it out to the barn yet to see some cows, but I probably will today. Maybe. Did I mention it was cold? MomH just told me it was in the 50s in Phoenix. As far as Phoenix weather goes, that's pretty chilly so I guess I don't have it much worse here. :-P
MomH helped me finish my quilt. It took all of an hour to finish something I've been procrastinating about for the past three (four?) years.
That's about it for here. Nothing exciting going on. Just happy to be home and with the fam.
I hope everyone is staying warm and safe.
Merry Christmas!
1. Sexy patterned tights
2. Sexy stiletto boots
3. Not-too-short but short black skirt
4. Classic Christmas Cows & Cactus Mock Turtleneck Sweatshirt
I'm so freaking hot right now, you wouldn't believe it.
:-P
Headed to a white elephant gift exchange, except we're exchanging gift cards instead of items. Is it bad form to try and win back what you brought? Because I would love to spend my $25 Changing Hands Bookstore card on myself.
I can't party too hard tonight, because I have a 5:30 a.m. hair appointment tomorrow. That gives me enough time to pack and get to the airport before my flight. Hey, it was my guy's idea. He suggested 5:00 a.m. and I thought he was joking. He wanted to make sure my hair was all pretty for hanging out with the cows. I love my hair guy.
In case my computer is wonky at home (80% chance of FAIL), this is my last post until I hit the farm.
Hope everyone stays safe, healthy and happy - even if you feel like being grumpy (and you know if I'm talking about you...). :-)
Ciao!
Penguins, sequins, jingle bells and more... Show us your "unique" holiday sweater.
Most of you have seen this atrocity before. Courtesy of my former mother-in-law. Believe it or not, she found this wonderful combination of Christmas cows and Arizona cacti (saguaros are only found in the Sonoran Desert at certain elevations, FYI). There are some prickly pear thrown in for kicks.
As crazy as it is, I will most likely wear it work next week just because.
Just because I'm a goofball, that is.
News rooms bump stories all the time if something better comes along. So here ya go.
HA HA! Silly cow. Cows get their heads stuck in all sorts of places and are often hard to unstick from their situations.
I bet the Jersey is thinking, "Interesting! I think I will also try to stick my head in that contraption while it is still on her head."
(Thanks to Fabulous Co-Worker Justin for sending this to me and also turning it into a jpg so I could post it!)
From today's NY Times:
People should stop picking on vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin because she hired a high school classmate to oversee the state agriculture division, a woman who said she was qualified for the job because she liked cows when she was a kid. And they should lay off the governor for choosing another childhood friend to oversee a failing state-run dairy, allowing the Soviet-style business to ding taxpayers for $800,000 in additional losses.
I like cows! I love cows! I've even owned cows. I've lived on an actual working dairy farm that has made enough money to not go under or enter into enormous debt.
Looks like I'm a shoo-in for a cabinet post if the McCain/Palin ticket makes it to Washington. w00t! I'll be more than happy to keep up the proud tradition of cronyism and funnel a lot of taxpayer money to FamilyH just 'cuz I feel like it!
AmyH, Secretary of Agriculture. I wonder if I can get my own official herd of government cows. Super fun!
EDIT: Backup material that I'm sure is sufficient enough to make my case:
Photo of cows I've met in real life:
A picture of me WITH a cow:
FamilyH Cow Legacy:
And before anyone gives MomH grief for her nerdy teenager picture, I have one even worse. I don't have it here at work, but maybe if you're nice, I'll expose my awkward/ugly years to you. The only saving grace is that my beloved Dolly is in the picture, too.
May you always party until the cows stop by...
Courtesy of WeinerDog.com.
(And my parents. Yes - It's a recycled card - Happy Earth Day!)
I'm glad to have shared a little tiny moment of your Year 30 with you. They really DO get better from here on out! I hope to enjoy cheezburgers and beers with you again soon!
