Milk Time

A wish came true for this city girl who has lived in the country for almost 27 years! I bottle fed a calf! Four to be exact. What a thrill it was.

I'd read about the South Mountain Creamery in a newspaper article and the part that always caught my attention was bottle-feeding calves. As much as I love to take pictures of calves, being up-close and personal sounded wonderful.

We finally fit the experience into our calendar and visited the South Mountain Creamey last week. It lies in the lovely community of Middletown, off Alternate 40, west of Frederick. We went to the store first, and I liked the walls.

They were wood and covered with country scenes. These are two of the scenes I liked. 



Milk, cheese, ice cream were the staples, but they also sold egg nog, apple cider, turkeys, bread, eggs, popcorn and more.

Mom and Jerry both got some of their ice cream and enjoyed it. I was too busy snapping pictures to get my own. (I know. I didn't get any ice cream? Well, shortly before we left home I had some sherbet, so I wasn't tempted.)

We walked over to where the calves are to take a look around. The calves are fed promptly at 4 p.m. each day. I was the first to pick up a bottle and start feeding!

Yes, I was happy! It was a beautiful fall day, and I was feeding a calf. Jerry also took a turn.

There were four other adults and one child to oversee the feeding that day. I've watched many times a calf sucking on Momma, and that day I got to feel the jolts they make as they pushed on the bottle! They're strong! I must confess, as I fed the fourth calf, my arms were getting very tired. 

Also in the barn were some roosters and chicken. I love to hear a rooster crow. Sometimes when I sit out back early Saturday or Sunday morning, when rush hour traffic isn't zooming by, I'll hear a rooster crow to the west of us. I always smile. Well I got to hear some roosters crow in the barn.

It was fun watching the calves watch them.

We also got to see cows lined up for milking. It did stink in there!

Jerry drew our attention to a sign outside the window where the cows were waiting to be milked.



I like their trucks too! They home deliver milk in bottles once a week to 7500 homes in MD, DC, VA, and WV. I still remember having milk delivered to our home when I was 8 or 9.

In the pasture next to the calf barn were mothers-to-be, just waiting their turn. We watched this one walk a ways and settle down. Her time  was weighing on her, but hadn't arrived yet.

It was an afternoon to remember. All I have to do is look at my happy face and remember the fun I had feeding the calves! Way to go, Carol!