Cows at the town fair

We had a street fair in our town this past weekend. Since it was started a few years ago, it’s become a favorite for all the locals. What’s not to like about local business booths, kiddie rides, junk food, snow cones, music bands, and a beer garden?

Oh, wait, but I’m forgetting something. Cows. Yes, cows. I actually spotted a couple of them there. The first one appeared right in front of me as I was walking up and down the aisles. Check this work of art, a great colorful cow skull rendition on a jacket.

Colorful Indian cow skull art rendition on jacket

I spotted the second cow in the booth advertising the after-school programs. They sometimes offer art classes for kids who participate in the after-school programs while their parents are still at work. That is some goofy looking cow! Its spotted body looks more like a dalmatian, don’t you think?

Crazy looking cow artwork

Cow skulls and real cows, on the same day…

I took my boys to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park yesterday. Since it was Mother’s Day, I got to pick what I wanted to do for my special day and this was an easy choice. We got to see lots of animals, breathe in some fresh air and enjoy good weather, cool in the morning, then sunny but not too hot.

During our visit we took a path we don’t take very often called the African Loop. One of the first exhibits on the path is a whole bunch of vultures. And nothing says vultures like carcasses, in this case a cow / Cape buffalo skull.

Cow skull at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park

As the path continued, we approached the entrance of the Heart of Africa. And nothing says Africa (actually, Africa drought) better than not one, but two cow skulls (again, Cape buffalo). 

On our way back, I spotted something on the side of the road. Fortunately I got the red light so I managed to use my cell phone and take a photo of a whole bunch of REAL cows grazing right by the side of the road. Now that’s something I don’t get to see every day!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas #8: are you mailing cow Christmas cards this year?

This morning we finally signed up for a one-year family membership at the San Diego Natural History Museum. The boys are old enough to appreciate the exhibits and it made a lot of sense financially since a single family visit costs us $54 and the yearly family membership is $70, including several free guest passes. What can I say, I recognize a good deal when I see one. And since we can go there as many times as we’d like in the next 12 months, we won’t feel pressured to view every single exhibit during each of our visits.

So this morning we got to see the new “Skulls” exhibit, which displays dozens of animal skulls. It was actually a lot of fun to figure out what the animals were by just looking at their skulls and my three-year old impressed me with his guessing skills.

Of course no skull exhibit would be complete without a cow skull. The one I found is the skull of the common domesticated cow. It must have been a dairy farm cow because the skull didn’t have any horns.

Cow skull at San Diego Natural History Museum

By the way, are you getting ready to mail your Christmas cards? This week is it if you want them to arrive on time. But if you’re still looking for the perfect Christmas card with a twist, I present you with several choices from Stik’s World of Cow:

Cow Christmas card from Stick, World of Cow - giant straw

Not bold enough? How about this one?

Christmas cards with cows - Stick's World of Cow - Christmas stocking

 Should we tell this poor cow Santa doesn’t put up with any bulls*&t?

Is there a cow in your wallet?

Is there a cow in your wallet? And if you’re a man, you probably should check your pockets for more cows. If you own any American quarters, you may have a number of cow skulls in your wallet and/or pockets. That’s because I just found out the Montana quarter displays a nice big cow skull on its reserve side:

American Montana quarter with cow skull

At the time all the new American state quarters were designed over 10 years ago, each state’s residents got to pick what would best represent their own state. I remember living in California and going on a specific website to make my pick (which didn’t get picked, by the way).

So my question is, why would anyone want their state to be represented by a dead cow’s skull ? If this was Arizona with its dreadful deserts, I’d understand. But big sky country Montana? I know they raise a lot of cattle there, so are they trying to tell us something about the welfare of those herds?

You know me, I just couldn’t let it go so I went on a mission to figure out the rationale behind this design. The U.S. Mint website tells me it’s actually a bison skull that represents the state’s strong American Indian heritage (the Indians heavily relied on the bisons for centuries). So why not display a real bison, as in a live one? One only knows but if I were a Montana resident, I’d be asking myself the same question.

At least, I’m not the only one who seems disturbed about this choice. I found this other explanation on the Montana quarter online and the author doesn’t agree with the choice of a dead animal’s skull either, especially looking at it from out of state.

What do you think about this? Do you like how your state quarter represent where you live?

Cows are popular at the craft fair

This morning we decided to do something different and for the first time we paid a visit to the older part of the town of Poway, California. First we strolled through their farmer’s market where I found some delicious organic green beans and strawberries. While I was shopping, my five year old snacked on a whole bunch of produce samples from the vendor booths, while my youngest kept on whining this was not what we came to Poway for. He was right. We actually enticed the kids to take this trip because of the train ride!

The poor little guy couldn’t get fast enough to the other side of the road and enjoy a ride in an old train. Today’s train was made up of mining cars, quite uncomfortable as it offered no cushioning for our backs or bottoms for a bumpy ride, but a lot of fun for the kids.

After the train ride, we walked around Old Poway Park and got to take a look at their craft fair. There weren’t a lot of booths so I think we got pretty lucky spotting cows in two different places. The first one was on a wooden box and is actually a cow skull - an appropriate decor for this old Western town:

Wooden box with cow skull decoration

A little later I spotted more cows on a hand-sewn apron. The cows are in good company, with a whole bunch of pigs and chickens by their side.

Apron with cows

Is that a lot of cows for a Saturday, or what?