This lovely little lady insisted that all her comments were off the record. And look at the glare she is giving my photographer...The life of an agriculture reporter...I tell ya. I have all the fun. Seriously. I do.
And take a look at the sweet old man behind her....87 years old and still farming. We grow em strong in Maine. When I asked the farmer how tough dairying really was, he reeled off a litany of accidents: caught in the PTO of a tractor, nearly drowned in the manure pit, had both knees replaced, rotor cuffs are so shot that he can no longer lift his arms above his head and his child bride - Erma, 84 - has to put on his hat and sweatshirt for him. Oh, and one time when they were baling hay, Erma accidentally cut off all the ends of his fingers on his right hand.
They met as teenagers at a 4-H conference and then eloped, only to have to return to the farm early the next day to get all the chores done. They've been married 66 years this June and they once went 13 years without missing a single morning or night milking.
And some people have the nerve to complain about the price of a gallon of milk. This poor old fart is only getting paid $8 for every 100 pounds of milk those beautiful, doe-eyed cows produce. And here we are, bailing out bank executives. Something seems a little wrong with that, doesn't it?
9 comments:
What beautiful eyes on the cow! I love ice cold milk and will pay the price, no complaints from me. The weather was great today as Libby, Ginger, Stephanie and I ate scrumptious strawberry shortcake in Plant city today. It is the strawberry capital of the world, ya know! How's them legs lookin?
Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't that a Gurnsey? Them's ice cream cows! Bless that duffer's old heart, and bless his bride. What a treasure. Those are the stories that made up for the town council and planning board meetings, and a certain rural town known for the fireworks at public meetings! Good on you!
(will they print the picture??)
Close, Dawn, it's a Jersey - best butterfat of all breeds and my favorite (even to eat!) No, they will NEVER print the picture. My shooter made it while we were interviewing and sent it to me. The farmer and his wife were the sweetest pair and will take my story to a higher level.
To SassyDog and my baby sister Robin: Okay, I shaved my legs this morning. My problem now is: what will hold up my socks once I come back to Maine???
I might suggest that you shave one more time before you go. When you get back from Florida, just use a little duct tape to hold your socks up!
Talk about a "cowlamity of errors"...how much more could happen to this couple?
Get it? COWlamity. Whoo-hoo, sometimes I crack myself up.
That isn't a glare that old gal is giving the photographer... she's just checking to see if he's getting her "best side" is all. :-)
Me again...
I just read your comment on my blog and it does my heart a world of good to know that someone understands and "gets" what I'm going through right now.
God Bless you, Queenie - and thank you.
Just ran across your blog and what Ive read so far is awesome so Im going to keep coming back to read more!
What a cool picture. The cows eyes are something else. And the old farmer looks so sweet. 66 years of marriage. Good grief I can't even imagine living with my husband that long. I swear I'll kill him long before that.
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