Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Bro’s Birthday

Frieda preferred to stay home. Likely just as well. Handicap parking was no closer than an 1/8 mile walk to any supposed perimeter next to including exhibits of any kind: open, livestock, 4H, commercial, and/or midway. Frieda would never have made it to the closest anything be it an elephant ears, a big mouthed show barker, or the glitter of costume jewelry. I took a condensed walk-up the midway, making many stops both ways. I didn’t see anything particularly exciting. It was all ho mum.
Seeing just a few things I was sure I’d forget I fell in talking with an red mix concrete supplier representative for the other side of the county, from our home places. Nonetheless, Central Concrete courteously supplied me with pen and paper so that I might make notes on what I had seen and talked to. Having gone along for the ride I saw he kids display their calves and place. I talked to two our three people I’d run into along the midway. The best gossip opportunity was sitting in the 4H barn show chatting with neighbors young and old. Amidst the young I had commented how I had watched them all grow a little bit more each passing year my seeing them there. The best or worst part of this, one year they were yet children and the next young ladies and gentlemen. Any opportunity I had for gleaming some real dirty gossip the conversation managed to slip around about onto the subject of new field tools/implements, their operation, wildly expanded limitations and surprisingly improved operation and maintenance.
So, to my list. There was a kids 8, 9, 10 year olds recruiter hawking a County Youth Marine Corp Unit. Is this something new? Americans teaching grade children how to be soldiers? Whether I’d gotten the implication right or wrong, I’m appalled at such flagrant out and out sneaky brain washing our children wasting their growing time learning _______ What?
I even saw a portable ATM machine, people lined up to see it dispense cash. Wonder of wonders!
I talked to an old IH farm implement representative I’ve known for years. He tried talking me into a 105 pto HP IH-Case (Made in England). Only $76,000 more the improvements over any Ollie we got what included a cab, heater and air conditioner, plus an all new generation cup holder.
Looked at a New Holland 90 HP class tractor. Same over all improvements: cab, Heat/Air, clove box, and bottle holder, for only $56,000 cash this August month only. Wow!
Keith going to show us how much better a Black Angus is over a Shorthorn, the poor critter came in last. Grand Champion home grown steer was a Foxfire bred Shorthorn. The Grand Champion rate of gain steer was another Foxfire bred Shorthorn steer.
Michigan’s economy Genesee county’s Fair exhibitor entries are halved. Gate recipes could well be likewise poor. And the best part of the Fair? My coming home. BGKC

Something extra
When yet a child my folks had two milch cows, I remember the milk milking be it in the barn or in the pasture. I remember up to the house filtering, the separating and finally the pasteurizing.
Mom almost brought the milk short to a boil at 158* for ten (I’m guessing) minutes on her kitchen range. At from any higher than and beyond 161+* the milk could scorch. When that happen the hogs got it. Therefore I remember mom religiously standing over that pot watching her hand held thermometer turning a burner up and down.
Shortly after or about the time we left the farm, automatic for home use milk pasteurizers came on the market.
A couple links for thee
http://www.familymilkcow.com/catalog/aa_1_b_93_1.JPG
or
http://www.homesteadharvest.com/2-gallon-coburn-stainless-steel-milk-pasteurizer.html

2 comments:

Paula said...

Seems children now days rarely get to just play at least in the old fashioned way we knew.

Donna. W said...

I've never bothered with pasteurizing, and don't intend to start now. If the milk kills me, you can send flowers to my funeral.