A Year of Blogging: July 15, 2011

July 15 was 'Cow Appreciation Day'. Think of all the things cows give us. From the meat we can have steaks, burgers, ribs, roasts. The dinner possibilities with beef are almost endless. From the milk we have milk, cream for our coffee, butter, cheese, and of course, ice cream. The contents of our refrigerators would be very different without cows. For farmers, cows provide income. They sell the milk or sell the cow for meat. The cowhides are used for making leather- which affects many other parts of our lives: clothes, shoes, purses. I grew up in a rural area. A lot of people farm. Seeing cows is not uncommon. In fact, we had several friends in school who's parents were farmers. When my sister went to college, there were a lot of people from New York City there, who had never seen a cow. My sister explained what her hometown was like, and someone said 'have you ever seen a cow?' They were amazed when my sister told them not only has she seen them, she helped with the birthing of one. It was something these other girls just could not fathom. When people hear that I am from NY, they immediately think of New York City. They think of stores galore, a lot of lights, Broadway, and a city that never sleeps. I have to explain that I'm from UPstate NY, and often joke that 'there are more cows than people there'. It's only a joke, but it does give you the idea. As you drive through the rolling hills, you see fields full of cows. They are part of the landscape. My sister appreciates cows in another way. She thinks they are cute. She has always thought they were cute. And yet, she is not a vegetarian. She used to say she was going to have a pet cow when she grew up. She doesn't have a pet cow. Then again, they live in the city and have a small yard. If they moved someplace where they had a big yard, it wouldn't surprise me at all if she had a cow that she kept in a little pen near the house. Maybe then Sydney would get her horse... Some have suggested a good way to celebrate this day is to give a cow a hug or a kiss. I don't know that this is really wise. Maybe it would be better to celebrate with a nice steak and an ice cream cone. Whatever you do to celebrate, I certainly would not recommend that you try to tip a cow!