Makin' My First Million: Cow Cuddling

For those of you who saw my post about my visit to the hog farm, you might be interested to know that the tour gave me things to think about (other than my skivvies). I've been thinking about how to make my first million.

The other day of the two-day tour included an inside look at some of the most modern milk production facilities in the state: Four Leaf Clover Dairy.

Hostess-with-the-Mostest Leontien VandeLaar (shout out to fellow blogger Leontien) did a great job of showing us around and answering all the questions about life on a really BIG dairy (2200 cows!).

Quote of the day (when explaining how the herd nutritionist monitors the cows' digestive health): "He looks for a good, round pie."

I've been on many dairies over the years and, I have to say, Four Leaf Clover tops the list for well-kept and clean. Granted, it's a fairly new operation, but it's obvious the family takes a lot of pride in maintaining a top-notch operation that contributes to the local community in a positive way. They also put a lot of effort into keeping the cows healthy and comfortable, so they produce a high-quality product. The cows even have their own motorized back brush/massager!

Anyway, on to my new entrepreneurial venture...

Leontien joined us for dinner and excessive chatting that evening. She proceeded to tell us all how a popular pass-time in her native Holland is the practice of Cow Cuddling.

Yes, people--usually city folk--will PAY MONEY to cuddle with cows. Who knew?

Leontien tells me Europeans will drop $150 to lie down and snuggle in a pasture next to Bossie!! (That price includes tea and cookies afterward.) She even pulled up a website on her phone to prove it, in response to my disbelief. (Granted, I had to rely on her translation into English, so I'm trusting she's not pulling my leg on this one! Or I really look like a Dufus here!)

I'm thinkin' I should get in on this one!

If I can get folks to ante-up to hug a cow, surely The Husband would let me get one! How could he not??!? It's not like I'm inexperienced in this area!

(You see, I love, love, love cows and, the city-boy I married doesn't see any reason to have any of our own, since we have easy access to all the cows we could want at Kroger.)

So, I'm doing the math...

If I start with 2 cows and sell three 2-hour cuddles per cow every Saturday for $25 a session (my get-'em-hooked teaser rate; I'll hike it later)... That's $600 a month! The girls and I could set up a booth at the county fair. with their 4H babies... "$10 for 10 minutes"... hand out coupons... sell gift certificates... yeah, I could probably retire in 60 years or so...

Does anyone else think I'm on to something? Wouldn't you want to cuddle up to a cow?

Apparently the Dutch do. If you want to check this out for yourself, just go to YouTube and search the Dutch word "koeknuffelen".

Heart Attack at 41?

I think I came as close to one as a mom could yesterday. The girls and I were washing cows at the fair. I was talking to someone in the barn when people start yelling for me to come. My 10 yo daughter (Baby D) was lying in the mud, curled up and crying.
She was knocked down and stomped twice by another kid's cow that she was walking to the water tank. That old girl just freaked for no reason on her.
Praise God she ended up with only bruises and scrapes!
I can't describe the feeling in my gut when I saw her! And I couldn't get there fast enough!
This was a good reminder to the kids that these are really, really big and sometimes unpredictable animals. It could've been a lot worse!
The other blessing to this is: after a shower, some ice, Advil and Band Aids, Baby D went on to show her calf and compete in showmanship. I'm grateful she's not totally frightened of handling the cattle. I thought that showed a lot of courage for a 10 yo!
the girls did well in the show and had a fun day overall--which is the reason for all this.
PS: this is a big experiment. It's my first remote post from my Blackberry, so I hope it works!

Cows Gone Pretty

Next week is County Fair Week. That means the kids (and mom!) have had little sleep, tension is rising, all flat surfaces in the house (including the floor) are cluttered with 4H Project Residue, and three heifers need clipped.

Little D spent the last two nights giving the girls "haircuts" before their debute at the fair dairy barn.

It's a dirty and itchy job--especially when it's 89 degrees. But Princess, Satin and Viva look fabulous. The real bonus: Little D and I had some quality time with much, much less bickering than the sewing project!