The croaking of our resident frog.
Unlike the squirrels who continue to torment me, the frog that lives in the backyard feels like a personal friend. For one thing, his calling does not seem to aggravate our dog. But for another, it may be the time of day he signs his song. I drift off to sleep with his croaking and wake in the morning to it as well. No one else in my family even seems to notice. So, in a way, it feels like his song is just for me. In reality, that is sort of gross though. Because I am pretty sure I read somewhere that frogs sing when they are trying to mate. Ewwww! I write sweet romance, not reptilian erotica. Although this week The Colbert Report spotlighted an author who writes dinosaur erotica so I guess it exists somewhere. There is something for everyone. Can’t we just be friends? I like to think so. I’ve never bought into the whole Harry/Sally thing that men and women can’t be friends. I like to think anyone can be friends- even frogs and people. Among other definitions Webster says a friend is: One attached to another by affection or esteem; A favored companion. Under these definitions my dog, Summer, would certainly be included as one of my closest friends. Wikipedia goes much farther: Although there are many forms of friendship, some of which may vary from place to place, certain characteristics are present in many types of friendship. Such characteristics include affection, sympathy, empathy, honesty, altruism, mutual understanding and compassion, enjoyment of each other's company, trust, and the ability to be oneself, express one's feelings, and make mistakes without fear of judgment from the friend. (Link here for full discussion.) I have to (mis)quote Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice here, “I am no longer surprised at your knowing only six accomplished -friends- (women). I rather wonder now at your knowing any.” Under this accounting I would have to say my only friends would be my dog and, of course, my husband. To degrees we may find all of the above in our closest friends. But it seems like a very long list to find in any one person… though perhaps not a frog. What are your thoughts on friendship? Do you count animals as friends? I love to hear your thoughts and to prove it I will be giving away a copy of my book, UNTANGLING THE KNOT, to one lucky commenter in October. Leave a comment for any of my blog posts and at the end of each month I will select one random visitor/commenter to receive a free download of my book. (Note: winner will be notified by a reply linked to their original comment…. Check back at the end of the month for directions on how to claim your prize!)
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“Dairy cows are super skinny until they are two to three months old.”
The little calf in question looked like it was all skin and bones. I would have liked to have said it was cute – after all, what baby animal isn’t cute? – but in reality, it looked so pathetic it made me nervous. This feeling must have stuck with me as I found myself this morning writing a blog post about skinny cows. To reassure myself I ended up doing some research online. I Googled: skinny dairy calf vs beef calf – nothing about calf sizes, but a lot about feeding regimen. Why are dairy calves so skinny? – nothing about dairy calves, but a whole section on showing dairy cows (hair is buzzed off) vs showing ‘fluffy’ beef cows (hair is combed to make them look puffy). Ultimately, I ended up discovering lots of interesting facts about feeding dairy cows, breeding them, their four intestines (they don’t actually have four stomachs), and statistics for how much dairy we consume in the U.S. The only mention of skinny calves turned out to be an animal activist discussion of how taking calves away from the mothers too early effects their weight. I’d like to be able to say that I walked away with a better understanding of how calves are weaned and why. But actually, after all my reading, I am more confused. I suppose this is why there are entire Ph.D programs for bovine husbandry. On the other hand, some of the research I found really interesting and wanted to share with you. Given that it came from a local dairy site, well, it may have a slight bent to it. Even still, I particularly like the one about how much ice cream Oregonians eat. COOL COW FACTS – courtesy of Umpqua Diary. (Find more here: http://www.umpquadairy.com/recipes-more/cool-cow-facts/)
Anyone else feel like a big bowl of Moose Lake Fudge? What’s your favorite flavor of Ice Cream? Do you have any milking experience? I’d love to hear your stories. And to prove it I will be giving away a copy of my book, UNTANGLING THE KNOT, to one lucky commenter in October. Leave a comment for any of my blog posts and at the end of each month I will randomly select one visitor/commenter to receive a free download of my book. (Note: winner will be notified by a reply linked to their original comment…. Check back at the end of the month for directions on how to claim your prize!) |
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June 2020
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