Photo courtesy of (c) VRestrepo
Eat & Exercise
Chef Calvert (the science teacher who hosted this adventure) had a phenomenal menu planned for the three day experience. I made it for lunch and the old standard of grilled cheese with tomato soup had an improvement – use mayonnaise on the bread instead of butter because it does not burn the bread. Who knew? I am sure that this switch could not possibly add any more calories right? With those two items were grilled kielbasa sausage and sweet pickles, Mmm Mmm good! 🙂
As for exercise, does freezing count for anything? I believe it was an artic 32 degrees and not being able to wear gloves while milking made it feel even colder! I found myself the night before in Sports Authority (not Saks or even Saks off) buying wool socks!
Pray
There is one lesson in farming that reminds me of the ever timely scripture found in Ecclesiastes 3 (The Message).
There’s a Right Time for Everything
There’s an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth:
A right time for birth and another for death,
A right time to plant and another to reap,
A right time to kill and another to heal,
A right time to destroy and another to construct,
A right time to cry and another to laugh,
A right time to lament and another to cheer,
A right time to make love and another to abstain,
A right time to embrace and another to part,
A right time to search and another to count your losses,
A right time to hold on and another to let go,
A right time to rip out and another to mend,
A right time to shut up and another to speak up,
A right time to love and another to hate,
A right time to wage war and another to make peace.
But in the end, does it really make a difference what anyone does? I’ve had a good look at what God has given us to do—busywork, mostly. True, God made everything beautiful in itself and in its time—but he’s left us in the dark, so we can never know what God is up to, whether he’s coming or going. I’ve decided that there’s nothing better to do than go ahead and have a good time and get the most we can out of life. That’s it—eat, drink, and make the most of your job. It’s God’s gift.
I’ve also concluded that whatever God does, that’s the way it’s going to be, always. No addition, no subtraction. God’s done it and that’s it. That’s so we’ll quit asking questions and simply worship in holy fear.
Whatever was, is.
Whatever will be, is.
That’s how it always is with God.
Love
The comments from my friends when I posted this picture.
“WOW! And I thought stream science was out of your comfort zone! LOVE IT!”
“Now I have seen everything possible. KB milking a cow! Did you photoshop in the cow?”
“Did you get a stipend for touching the cow’s udder & teats? I know… You’re doing it for the children.” #teamplayer
“Can you send me this picture in an 8×10? I’d like to hang it up on my bulletin board as my daily inspiration.”
“Now I have seen it all!”
“I would have never believed it if I hadn’t seen the picture.”
“No way!”
“Did you drink straight from the tap?”
“…And you thought camping was bad. Ha!”
Teach
Okay how many of you knew that the label on milk cartons that reads, pasteurized is named after the microbiologist Louis Pasteur for his work on the pasteurization process? Fascinating right? Probably more fascinating at least to the people who know me is the fact that I not only milked a cow but that I actually tasted the non-pasteurized milk! So what does pasteurization or pasteurization mean?
Pasteurization is a process of heating food, normally liquid to a specific temperature for a predetermined length of time then immediately cooling it after it is removed from heat. This process is said to reduce the time it takes for the item to spoil which is caused by microbial growth found in food. This process is not intended to destroy all micro-organisms in the food but again reduce the number of viable pathogens that could potentially cause disease. There are two schools of thought on the benefits of pasteurization versus organic (raw) milk. This taste tester could not tell the difference but that could be because I have now transitioned to skim milk.
The teacher in me is always big on providing visuals, so below please find an infographic on the pasteurization process courtesy of: Dr.Axe.com.
Now to the farm… The information below is credited to a timely article published in The Washington Post authored by DeNeen L. Brown.
“For nearly 60 years, the Alice Ferguson Foundation, a nonprofit created in 1954, has been providing outdoor classrooms for Washington area students.
Forty minutes south of Washington, just off Indian Head Highway and up a winding gravel lane lies a two-story white clapboard farmhouse that looks like it has been lost in time. Hard Bargain Farm sits on land that was purchased as a summer retreat in 1922 by Alice Ferguson, an artist, and her husband Henry Ferguson, a geologist.
After Alice Ferguson died in 1951, her husband established the Alice Ferguson Foundation with a “mission to connect people to nature, to sustainable agricultural and the cultural heritage of their local watershed,” said Lori Arguelles, the foundation’s executive director. “We have been providing environmental education before really the phrase was coined.”
In the 1960s, the lower part of the farm was deeded to the National Park Service to become part of Piscataway Park, a move that protected the ecosystem and left virtually untouched a stunning view of the river, the Capitol dome and Mount Vernon.
The farm features a children’s garden, a log cabin, an original tool shed and a lodge with metal bunks. Down the road, a $15.7 million Potomac Watershed Study Center is under construction, designed to be one of the country’s greenest buildings.
Every year, about 4,500 children visit the farm on day trips and overnight trips to learn about the Potomac River watershed, environmental conservation and the wonders of the natural world.
kjb1908 