Inside my Book: cows

Showing posts with label cows. Show all posts

Sunday, April 10, 2016

Is drinking milk healthy for humans?

Many children of all mammal species have been raised on their mother's milk for the early months of their life. Once weaned off their mother's milk human children then go onto formula, cow's milk, almond milk etc. Milk is also found in most recipes, and food. Even people who are lactose intolerant (unable to have milk products) are able to take pills so they can enjoy milk in favorite foods such as ice cream. I work at a dairy farm, and at Old Sturbridge Village where I hand milk cows so the process of milk is very important to me.

Why is it that milk is so important?

Every single mammal mother has produced milk for their young since the beginning of time. If life on Earth has survived billions of years already drinking milk then why question if it is healthy or not. Milk is a natural process that happens when mammal mother's give birth. One of the first things babies do is suck on their mother's nipple for milk. Scientifically speaking the sucking is a stimulus which signals the hypothalamus to have the posterior pituitary gland to release the hormone oxytocin that will release the milk. Even if mothers choose to not give their child milk, the milk will still be there. Milk also provides us with the necessary nutrients needed to finish growing and developing. Most importantly milk provides us with calcium which is needed for strong bones.

Yes there are many factors such as lactose intolerance, GMOs (genetically modified organisms), and synthetic hormones but that is not in all milk. If people were really concerned with synthetic hormones then they could drink organic milk. Most milk found in grocery stores is a mixture of milk from hundred of farms, and possibly thousands of cows. Milk from local farms is guaranteed for being fresh, and not having harmful GMOs, artificial, and synthetic hormones. Milk is healthy for humans, and for maximum health benefits drink local milk.

"Top 10 Pros And Cons - Milk - Procon.Org". Milk.procon.org. N. p., 2016. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.

Monday, February 22, 2016

Goodbye Feb. vacation, hello Summer vacation

Well today is the first day back to class from February vacation. There are two types of school vacation people. Some people travel to somewhere warmer, and others just hang out at their houses sleeping. This vacation I was one of those people that just stayed home worked, did an AP biology project, and slept. Next vacation I'm going to Florida so it was nice to chill this vacation.
I did get good news over vacation. One the Friday of vacation I got a large envelope addressed to me from my summer camp. Inside was my contract to be a camp counselor! That's right for summer 2016 I will be a camp counselor at my summer camp for 7 weeks! Being a camp counselor is really important to me because I've been a camper, CIT, and now counselor. I was really nervous about my interview, and getting the job. I knew in advance that I was going to be offered a counselor position, but I wasn't sure if it was paid or not. If I didn't get a paid position then I would've gotten an internship where I would work for hours to use for school. I was also nervous because the position I really wanted was the farm barn counselor. The farm barn counselor is the one counselor in charge of the farm class at camp. The farm barn is one of the most popular classes because you learn about farm animals. There is a variety of agricultural animals from rabbits, chickens, pigs, goats, cows, calves, sheep, you name it, and it has been in there. There is two teenagers who help teach the class even though they are not official counselors. I was doubting myself on getting the position because I wasn't sure if I had to be over 18 (I will only be 16 this summer). I do have a lot of experience working with animals, and have many fun activities that would be fun for campers learned about agriculture.
Fortunately for me when I opened up my contract it said that I had been hired as a paid counselor (I get over $1000!) and I'm the farm barn counselor. It is honestly a dream come true. Not many people are willing to spend all summer in cabins with no electricity, with kids 24/7, and in a barn taking care of many animals. Me on the other hand I can't wait. I hope to inspire kids to pursue agricultural careers like me.

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Living in 1838

So if you haven't heard of Old Sturbridge Village you should probably go back to my last post to learn what Old Sturbridge Village is about.
What not many people know about me is that I am a 4-H intern at Old Sturbridge Village! There are three types of interns at OSV. There are college interns which stay throughout the whole summer at the Old Sturbridge hotel, and they help out with all aspects of the village. Junior interns make up the majority of the interns. Junior interns help in cooking, with summer camp, gardens (sometimes), dying wool, and games. The next branch of interns is the 4-H interns which there is not as many of. These interns are from the 4-H and FFA programs, meaning that they have experience working with animals and plants. These interns are the same ages as Junior Interns (14-18). 4-H interns are very important at OSV, and have more responsibilities than junior interns. 4-H interns work strictly in the gardens, and with the dairy. Being a 4-H intern is an amazing experience, and one of my favorite parts of summer.

In case you are wondering, yes I do have to wear a costume. I am out in 80 degree heat in a dress, long apron, petticoat, long socks, and then my underneath clothes (basically shorts just and a tank top). No, it is not that hot. All of the clothes are made of cotton so it is very breathable. I do have to wear my hair up in a bun, and covered with a bonnet. The only part of my costume that is bothersome is my sun bonnet. This is a bonnet to be worn outside (which I always am) and have a huge rim that covers my face, and a flap that covers my neck. Being a 4-H intern I do not get a delicate straw hat like the other interns which is good because I hear they are a pain. That is just part of my summer wardrobe which I will probably never post pictures of. Winter wardrobes have so much more pieces to them, but are so much nicer looking so expect pictures of those.

My schedule as a 4-H intern consists of working in the garden for the morning, early afternoon, taking the calves out for Meet the Calf twice a day, and the late afternoon milking the cows, and feeding bottle to the calves. My favorite part of the day is when I do Meet the Calf. Meet the Calf takes place in the morning and the afternoon every day. What I do is put a halter on the calf, walk it out of it's stall (or field), and take it outside so visitors can pet the calf. I have to talk about the calf all while making sure the calf doesn't get to overwhelmed by the crowd of people. I also help with milking in the afternoon. Yes, I actually milk a whole cow by myself, by hand. Half the time there is another 4-H intern to help, but I am often alone. On average there is 3 cows, 2 are milked twice a day, and 1 is milked once a day. The milkmaid will talk, and milk our best cow Betsy who is nearest to the watching area. That leaves us to milking Button the cow in the back, and who likes to kick. Milking is not so bad, but it is hard work. In the end it is all worth it because I get to make the bottles, and feed them to the calves. By that time of day the village is a half hour to closing time so there is little to none visitors. The only part I do not really like is cleaning the milking buckets after. The buckets are made of wood so to clean them you must rinse them under cold water, and use a knife along the rim to get all of the milk out. It is a really long process that I dread doing, but sometimes the milkmaid will scrub out the buckets leaving me for more time to play with the calves!

I am really missing summer, my internship, and my calves right now so I am going to start posting my favorite stories about working over at Old Sturbridge Village, and I promise they won't be as long as this one!

me in my winter wardrobe with my calves

pattern of one of my summer dresses

Sunday, January 31, 2016

Old Sturbridge Village: throughout the months

Old Sturbridge Village is a living history museum located in Sturbridge MA depicting what life would be like in 1838. When you walk in it looks like you are in an 1800's town. Visitors are allowed to walk all around, go in the houses (restored from the 1800's), and participate in activities. The village is open all year long, and there is a variety of events constantly going on.
In March-June new calves, and lambs are born, and the gardens are getting ready to be planted. There will typically be 3 calves a year and around 20 little lambs running around!
In June-August the calves are out, the cows are being milked, and gardens are in full bloom. There are many fun events like antique car day, Redcoats vs Rebels (the re-enactment of the civil war), and many many more! Old Sturbridge Village also puts on a farmers market on the weekends during this time of year.
August-October is harvest time at the village. The gardens are finishing growing, being harvested, and put to bed for the winter. As it gets colder the winter dresses come out, the foliage is spectacular, the cows are being dried off, and the calves are bigger. During harvest there is also an abundance of apples! There is an event in October that is the village's final event of the year for all farming aspects. At this time all gardens are done being harvest, it is the last days for the interns for the year, the last meet the calf events, cider is being made, and apple tasting is going on.
November is a slow month and the only big event is Thanksgiving.
Once December comes the village is back to business. The village only will open Friday-Sunday evenings for Christmas by Candlelight. Christmas by Candlelight is by far the biggest event at Old Sturbridge Village (red coats vs rebels second). During Christmas by Candlelight the village is all lit up with lights and lanterns. There is 1800's hot chocolate, and mulled cider (which you can make little spice bags to put in), Mrs. Cratchit's Christmas dinner being made, ornament making, toy train making, gingerbread house contest, Santa in his workshop, carolers, story telling, bonfires, sleigh rides, dancing, local groups preforming, and so much more!
January-February is quiet with not many events going on, but very pretty to go for pictures.
If you are interesting in visiting, and want more information the website link is here: https://www.osv.org/