Dairy Farmers, My New Heroes

When I was 10 years old my grandmother taught me how to milk a cow. That day stands out in my mind very well and I remember her putting on her bonnet that farm women wore then, and commenced to show me how to milk. She had two cows so I had one and she had one. She showed me how to sit on the stool, place the bucket and then how to get that milk out. Little did I know that over 60 years later I would be associated with the dairy farming industry and how interesting it really is. The dairy farmer is truly remarkable since they must provide so much synergism in the process of getting their cows to produce good quality milk. They really partner with these amazing animals. The good news for me is that I am able to learn from the real professionals of this industry and every time I visit a Select Milk dairy I learn something new.

This past week I was given another tour of the Legacy Farms just North of Ransom Canyon, owned by the Bouma Family. These folks represent a long history in the dairy business dating back to the early 1900’s in the Netherlands, so they really know their stuff. The tour was conducted by Brad the Elder, and son Brandon and what I saw was extreme professionalism and pride in their dairy operation. It wasn’t just about milking the cows and selling the milk, but it included extreme care in the way the “bovines” were cared for, with tender loving care. As Brandon said, “when you check into a hotel you want clean sheets, clean towels, and a clean room each night you are there. Well that is the way we treat our cows, we take care of them and then they take care of us by producing quality milk.” So, their pins are kept immaculate and their diet is watched over with a careful eye. Reminded me of a Marriott! Since the cows are milked three times a day they must eat a lot, rest a lot, pee a lot, and poop a lot. Then they yield that healthy milk with tons of calcium, magnesium, potassium and vitamin D. What a package of healthy ingredients.

As we made that one last swing through the pin area where 13,000 head of prime Holstein cows were doing their thing, I swear it looked like they were winking at Brad and Brandon as we drove by. These guys were very happy and you could feel that they enjoyed their work. Thanks Legacy Farms for producing many heathy milk products, Athletes Honey Milk being one of them, for the world to enjoy!

EA, SH, ......:),

greerman

Bugs?

With the drought and heat still going on in our fair state, I have noticed something very different. When I ride the Hog there are no bugs on my windshield, no bugs in my teeth, and just plain no bugs to speak of. Usually this time of year while going 80 MPH down the highway my wind shield picks up plenty of those little creatures as they smash into a terrible mess of funny colors and gooie remains. Fact is after a ride it usually takes me two hours to clean up the carnage, but now there is nothing to clean up. I also wonder about the laws of nature and how this affects it. Since snakes eat the insects I wonder what they are eating to stay alive, and how this affects all the other laws of nature. In our cotton fields the insects are generally put down with the insecticides but now there is no need for that, of course with no rain there is very little cotton so there is nothing for the insects to destroy. Wow, this law of nature thing is really getting disturbing. I also have noticed that the buzzards that congregated in the top of our trees are no longer there. Wonder how the law of nature has affected them since they have to eat road kill to stay alive and there just not much road kill anymore since the animals are too hot from the heat and have no water to drink, so they stay off of the road ways. The only exception to that is the prairie dogs who seem to think they can take on a 5,000 lb. vehicle head on and come out the winner. The drouth is supposed to be here until 2013, it will be interesting to see how we all survive and how nature will react!!

EA, SH....:)

greerman

Football Again, Movie Reviews

Okay world you can breath easy now, Obama/Congress have signed off on the debt ceiling, the drouth in Texas may be broken by 2013 and the National Football League is back in action. Seems as though the players and owners reached a compromise on the $9 billion that was floating around out there in cyberspace and while they didn’t split it down the middle both sides seemed happy. My feeling is that it should not have been an issue, after all the teams are owned by zillionaires and the players work for them, so why were they entitled to any of it other than their regular wages. But, these are modern times and the inmates do run the prison some times and these pampered over paid athletes called football players are now into an agreement that is for 10 years.

Now that football players in the NFL, Colleges, and some high schools, don’t play on dirt or real grass anymore they seem to think they are above getting dirty and should be paid more. They now spend more time looking squeaky clean than they do playing the game. I am sure part of the new agreement called for reimbursement for hair styling, custom clothing, pedicures, and nail trimming so they will look good at all times. Use to football was played on grass, real dirt, no matter the weather. Now they are even considering eliminating two a day work outs, which consisted of two miserable weeks of a work out in the morning and one in the afternoon. It was like purgatory before advancing to the new season. Then there is the sissy stuff they now drink for hydration whereas in the olden days hydration was a forbidden practice. They only reason the players didn’t die more often was because the coaches forced 10 salt tablets down you throat each day. Drinking any kind of liquid during a work out made you eligible for all kinds of disciplinary action. Ahh for the good ole days!!

Movie Reviews: “Cowboys and Aliens”, ***, The pre-marketing hype on this movie exceeded the actual showing. While it was stacked with excellent actors, Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford and Olivia Wilde the movie just did not equal the potential of these stars. Believing that there was aliens during the 1870’s is not really hard, but the fact that they came to this world to mine for gold and take back to their planet is a little far fetched. The real cruncher here was they went to New Mexico to mine the gold and we would imagine that with their superior intelligence they would have either gone to California or Colorado, since that is where all the gold is. There was lots of action but it didn’t equal “OK Corral.” Craig does a nice job and Ford is okay even though they never let him be real mean as his character was supposed to be. Now I know I am being a little picky since this is fiction, sci-fi, but It just fell short on all sides in my opinion and merits a discount ticket and some really fresh popcorn. Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of western and sci-fi action and violence, some partial nudity and a brief crude reference.

“Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” ***, Well I guess we have always wondered where these educated apes came from that took Charlton Heston captive in the very first Planet of the Apes back in 1968. Now we know that the story is a reality-based cautionary tale, a blend of science fiction and science fact in which ambitious father-and-son scientists( played by John Lithgrow and James Franco) experiment on apes while seeking a cure for Alzheimer’s. Set in San Francisco(why is it that these cities are always the setting, how about Lubbock or Amarillo some time?) their experiments develop an intelligence in apes that, eventually serves as an onset of a war for supremacy. So, now be ready for the sequel since I am sure it is on the cutting room floor right now. Rated PG-13 for intense and frightening sequences of action and violence.

EA, SH......:)

greerman

Mission Accomplished, Movie Review

This will be the last mention of the “crash” and subsequent 100% recovery and how good it really feels. When I was laying in the emergency room(for 7.5 hours), twiddling my thumbs, my thought processes shifted over to how I could have avoided this painful ordeal and what I was going to do to speed up recovery. So, as soon as I could I pulled out my schedule of races and decided that I would do a sprint triathlon immediately after the 8 week recovery had set with the sun in the West. The Midland Tall City was exactly 9 weeks after the “crash” so I had a week to spare. I knew this race well and the venue was perfect for me to go after. A really flat(pun intended) pool swim, a really flat bicycle ride(possibly a SW wind, with some mesquite bushes blowing across the rode and some infamous Permian Basin road kill) and then a 3 loop run course, flat as a pancake. The temperature for the day hit over 98 but was not bad for the early morning hour start time. Bottom line, I got two victories. One, my one worthy opponent in my age group had back problems so dropped out, two, my protein super charged body moved around the course 2 minutes faster than last year. There was no pain other than that feel good pain of doing endurance events and then feeling the finish line tape. It was great to be back and then the next day was spent in lovely Odessa, TX(the oil field workers own city) and completed another sprint tri for the second in two days. What a great weekend and it feels good, to feel good!!

Movie Review: “Crazy, Stupid, Love”, ***A 40-something, straight-laced Cal(played by Steve Carrell) is living the dream; good job, nice house, great kids and married to his high school sweetheart. But when Cal learns that his wife Emily(Julianne Moore) has cheated on him and wants a divorce, his perfect life unravels. The story really gets good as we see Cal develop into a ladies man and his teacher along the way will turn out to be his future son-in-law, played by Ryan Gosling. There are some other interesting stories and scenes with his 13 year old son, and their 17 year old baby sitter. Well done movie but not an awards type movie. Enjoyable but has some good thought provokers in it. Rated PB-13 for corse humor, sexual content and language.

EA, SH.......:),

greerman