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Meet the (Belted Galloway) Calves

Note: A brief interlude in the California photos for a “Mother’s Day” report from the mid-coast of Maine!
Today at Aldemere Farm, in neighboring Rockport, Maine, it was “Meet the Calves” day, which I’m pretty sure (as a newbie to the area) happens on Mother’s Day weekend every year. The Belted Galloways are a rare breed of cattle. Ironically, there was a farm with these “oreo cookie” cows on San Juan Island, Wash, where we used to live, and now here they are again.

I just love their curly fur, and will use some of today’s photos as “reference shots” for the cow that will be in the manger in the Tableau quilt. The calf in the photo above is only 3 weeks old, and was 50 pounds at birth (ouch!), and was happy for his mommy to groom him. If you click on the link above, you’ll see the trees in autumn…yes, it really is that gorgeous!

There are also sheep and goats as part of the 4-H projects for the kids here, and every spring at maple sugaring time offers 3-6th graders a chance to participate in the “sap to syrup” program, literally going from harvesting the sap to coming home with their “made it myself” maple syrup. Wish I were in 5th grade! The farm used to be a real working farm, and is now part of the widespread network of nature conservancy in Maine…lots and lots and lots of areas are now protected from developement—yeah! Here, Eli is feeding one of the lambies:

The setting is idyllic. In winter, folks are allowed to cross-country ski or snowshoe in the pastures where the cows aren’t. This first photo is looking East toward Penobscot Bay–if you look carefully between the trees, the horizon between darker blue in the bay, the lighter blue sky is a tad below halfway down the photo:

This photo is of one of the barns…LOVE the rhythm and repetition in the lines of the barn.

Moving west across the road from the front side of the farm house (the barns and such are out back–on the sunrise side of the house), you look across the near pasture to the large pond and (if you have really good eyes) you might be able to make out the new YMCA building on the far side of the pond.

This tree is right by the same pasture…what a fantastic branch! And as you can tell, spring has finally come to the north country!

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