Meet the California cows

I’ve driven past this billboard twice in less than a week so I figure the least I could do is display it as today’s cow sighting. I get the hint when I see one.

Real California Milk billboard - Meet us. Meet our cows.

I like this billboard. It wants to give a face to the product, not just a cow face, but a farmer face. And I see nothing wrong with that.

What I’ve always found more disturbing with the “Real California Milk” ad campaign is the use of the word “real”. Real, as in, authentic? Authentic from California, or authentic milk? Gosh, I hope I drink real milk every day. But I do understand the concept behind it. There are dairy cows in California, and since I live in the state, I should buy its milk. I’m all for it, buying local, rather than food products being shipped from across the country. I bought eggs at Target one day and realized they came all the way from Minnesota! Simply because Target is headquartered there, how silly.

Do you try to buy your fresh food from local sources? Or do you get whatever is available at the store you’re shopping at?

Cows are singing me “Happy Birthday”

Today is my birthday and my mom was kind enough to send me an electronic birthday card. I got to open it first thing this morning and this is what I saw:

How nice is that? My mom wanted to make sure I’d see a cow today amd thought this would be the perfect card. Well, I saw a few other cows later on, but these cool singing cows were my first cow sighting and they really made my day!

Rest in peace, butter cow lady

It’s always a sad feeling when you first learn about a special person the week they die. This happened to me today with Norma Lyon, nicknamed Iowa fair’s “butter cow lady”. I wasn’t born and raised in this country and I’ve never spent much time in the Midwest, so I probably have a few excuses for not knowing anything about “Duffy”. But I have to admit this lady was quite amazing!

Norma Lyon, the butter cow lady

Norma Lyon created her first cow sculpture out of 600 pounds of butter for the Iowa State Fair in 1959. She continued on making cow butter sculptures, as well as other artwork including farm animals, Garth Brooks, Elvis Presley, a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, Smokey Bear and a rendition of the Last Supper. Some words I never thought I’d put all together in a single sentence – quite an ecclectic taste and talent!

Norma Lyon wasn’t the one to invent and create the first butter cow sculpture. The Iowa State Fair had been featuring them since 1911 but she put in her own twist and even trained other artists in butter sculpture in her later years.

Norma "Duffy" Lyon (The Butter Cow Lady) taught Deborah Brown and Barbara Westover how to create a butter sculpture

What a fun part of her life it must have been to join the Iowa State Fair every year and introduce new creations out of her 40-degree-cold art tudio! These sculptures really give a whole new meaning to “dairy” cows.

It just occurred to me I should make sure my kids don’t get to see today’s post. I can’t imagine them attempting to create their own butter sculptures in my kitchen…

Today’s cow is …err… pooping?

I’ve seen a few cows today but the most memorable and worth-mentioning sighting is the cow I saw last, while I was reading books with my kids tonight. My youngest opened the drawer where we keep a whole bunch of French books upstairs in our house and pulled out a book called “The Story of the Little Mole Who Went in Search of Whodunit” in English, by Werner Holzwarth:

The Story of the Little Mole Who Went in Search of Whodunit

If you’re wondering what’s on the mole’s head, let me help you. Well, I’m not sure how else to say it… so, yes, it’s poop. You see, the story starts when this poor little mole comes out of his hole and suddenly, something/someone lands one directly on top of his head. Lovely way to start the day. Unfortunately the mole doesn’t get a chance to see whodunit, so he decides to investigate the case and interrogate a number of animals around the farm to find the culprit.

Of course, you guessed it, one of the suspects happen to be a cow, who proudly delivers her poop sample as proof of her innocence.

The Story of the Little Mole Who Went in Search of Whodunit

I hope I didn’t ruin your appetite if you’re about to have a meal, or made you gag if you just had one. Maybe I should have put a warning at the top of this post. Oh well, too late now…

If you want to know whodunit and how the mole avenges this insulting misfortune, I’m sorry but I won’t fess up, so you’ll have to read the book for yourself. Trust me, you won’t regret it, especially if you have a preschooler sitting next to you as you’re flipping through the pages. I guarantee you, this story doesn’t stink.

Looking for cow decorations for your kitchen? How about cow burner covers?

I’ll make this post really short because it’s been a long weekend full of exciting adventures and I’m quickly running out of steam. I wanted to take a few minutes to show you where I found today’s cow. I was browsing the cooking department at Target, looking to update some of my bakeware as well as searching for a new multiple-tier fruit basket (and I found it!) when I stumbled upon these cute stove burner covers:

Stove burner covers with cow, pig and rooster

You may not see the top of the image very well because of the packaging, but it’s a rooster standing on that pig, who’s standing on the cow. By the way, have you noticed how this cow is all body? Check out the small head and really short legs. I think cattle ranchers would love to raise cows with so much meat on them!

This is another occurrence of cows and pigs portrayed together, adding confirmation to my theory that cows and pigs must be best friends on the farm. I think these three animals look like they’re practicing acrobatics to join the circus – that would be a first…