I Love Cows
I love their personalities.
I love the fact that they can provide milk for myself and my family.
I love the fact that their manure plays an important role in adding fertility to our gardens and pastures.
I love how they keep me grounded and connected to the natural world, offering windows into the way that they perceive everything around them.
Every morning I start my day under the ‘belly of the beast’, hand milking our cow (or cows, depending on the time of year). While I am milking, I rest my head against the flank of the cow, feeling her warmth, her breath, tuned into her emotional state, as she is also tuned into mine.
Together we enter a state of meditation; the cow relaxing, letting down her milk and chewing her cud, and me, thinking about what I need to accomplish for the day, or perhaps fleshing out a project in my mind that I need to put into form at a later time.
There are those times, however, when I just open myself to being in the presence of my cow, communing with her and slowing down, one squirt at a time. Those times can be magical; I feel that my cows are wise Zen Masters and when I relax I can become a part of their centered energy. I find answers to questions I didn’t even know I had.
There are also times when friends come to visit - either for a quick chat, or to take a spot under one of the cows and dive into their own world of mystery. Our conversations are often filled with laughter. We can also find ourselves getting launched into topics that are heartfelt; inspiring us to be better human beings. Ahhh...those cows are amazing teachers.
Welcome to my new Blog, where our cows, ‘Joy’ and ‘Mocha’ will assist me in talking about things that inspire me or that ruffle my feathers. We will talk about ‘getting to know your food’, ‘spiritual farming’, ‘food labels and what they mean (or don’t)’, ‘the joys of the small farm’ and much more.
Until next time,
Lisa McCrory, Earthwise Farm & Forest, Bethel, VT
