S&T - A Cow Goes -- MOO!! (And poop, and all sorts of disgusting things!)

My friend Suzy has decided to revive one of my favorite things--Show & Tell!!

So, please stop over to her blog and participate!

This Sunday found us surprisingly unscheduled. So, in thinking of things to do, I decided on an old stand-by. We have been going there for years...


(oh my, really, he used to be THIS small?!)



(and yeah, I left my camera in the car, so no matching photos of Willow)

There are many interesting things about this dairy farm. First off, its a State Park with many nature trails, etc. Secondly, it has an actual family owned, working dairy farm. And Thirdly, there is an ice cream store at the farm--the ice cream is made fresh, and there is a window where you can look out at the cows!

But, the many times that we have been there, we have never taken the free Park Ranger tour of the farm. Until Sunday.

First off, being a working farm, being in the middle of a heat wave, meant that we could smell a not so sweet smell when we entered the farm. We thought it was manure--but it was actually Silage (feed for the cows). Our Ranger was really helpful in showing us the silage (YUM!--well for cows it is!).

We got to see the pregnant cows in their "maternity" ward and then we went into the barn and got to see the wonderful machines that cows are as they process that food (yeah, we saw some elimination action!). Michael was very astute and asked many interesting questions...and he even noticed that one of the cows (all of them are female) had a recent incision...and asked if she had had a C-Section (yes, she had).

The best part (for Willow, especially) was seeing the "baby cows". (Willow doesn't get the term "calf") There were about 10 calves housed outside the barn area and we were able to walk right up to them and while some of them were shading themselves inside their little houses, we were able to pet a couple of them. And I even let one suck my finger (cows don't bite as they only have teeth on the bottom). Boy, did that calf have a lot of suction!

We all learned a lot of neat things about the farm itself (they are using concrete silos on the ground level, and building a new barn with a robotic milking machine) and it was fun watching Michael and Willow each take in something different from the experience. (This is so WHY I love DOING activities with the kids!)

The other bestest part--ICE CREAM afterwards!! :-)