Um, yeah. So--remember Goat Song? That was a cool book. LOTS of details about goats. And cheese. I forgot to tell you, Kay--that cheese-making process DOES sound way hard.
Anyway, I actually took a few notes on my reactions! Which I promptly stuck in a wordfile and abandoned. I've retrieved them for your delight and edification. Or, perhaps, momentary bemusement.
So, here's my random comments on assorted caprine topics: (Caprine=goat-related! of or pertaining to goats. You know, like canine, feline, ursine! I figured it out! Me and google did. Also, the latin for goat is oatga. No, that's pig latin, you idiot. Previous two sentences from WikiAnswers. Anywho...)
*pasteurized milk... Who knew that we lose out on some many super antibodies and stuff from pasteurization? I got all het up about it, then talked to Paul and his opinion was that there was something to be said for not dying from milk consumption. Hmm. Yes, I think there IS something to be said for that. Something good.
*animal suffering, illness... I hated that the poor girl goat got so sick. That would be stressful for me, too, Kay. And I hated thinking about the baby boy goats getting killed, and just... factory-farm animal life, in general. (The goat-sung goats seemed to have a very happy life, it was more just thinking about animal husbandry in general. I seem to recall that it came up.)
*I vaguely remember reading something idyllic about the experience of wandering about with goats... The author goes herding the goats into the woods; bringing a book, but setting it aside to “read” the wind, the trees… being in moment... It seemed blissfully boring. (Being busy rushes time along; the dull life slows things down. I should give up tv and only do really boring things. Then my life would feel as if it were lasting forever. Or, just get hurt alot. Boy does pain make time slow down!)
*bonding with the goats... sweet.
*peeing on the coyote scat to send a “message” to the coyote!... AWESOME. And so male, don't you think?
Here's my favoritest excerpt, quoted in full from:
Goat Song by Brad Kessler
P.130
JULY 29
“Last night I woke to wind, a coolness in the house as if a stranger were moving through the halls. I heard him in the trees and in the garden; and suddenly the earth seemed lovely again and a new breeze sang through the screens. [Wife] Dona slept, but [dog] Lola got up and went to the window and we stood together smelling wind and earth as if a great lever shifted somewhere in the universe. Stars spun overhead; and later back in bed I laid on an extra quilt against the cold and I could hear the goats across the lawn in the barn. Were they sniffing the new air as well? Did they sense that stranger too, moving in the cool of the garden—or was I the only one to feel him there?
In the morning on the milk stand I felt that cool against my back again, a breeze like someone’s breath; and I felt a sudden indescribable joy. Hannah was on the stand. Lizzie watching. She leaned her head over the gate and sniffed my ear. Sometimes you make your own momentary paradise—it never lasts too long.”
Final thought: how is it that there was so much more sex in this book, than the one with SEX IN THE TITLE?
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I thought the same as you about the pasteurized milk business. There's a good chance I wouldn't have these damn allegies if I could just drink some good old unpasteurized milk. I wonder if we would have the same problems with germs though as they did back in the day. What with the FDA and the cleanliness requirements and all. It's hard to say. I mean there's always a risk with that sort of thing. But hell, you can get sick from spinach and such and they don't pasteurize those now do they? No. I guess I'm saying I'd at least like the option to CHOOSE what kind of milk I'd like to drink. And it seems like we lose so much more than we gain from the process. I could be wrong, I mean what do I know about milk anyway?
ReplyDeleteAlso, there WAS more sex in this book wasn't there?! Although if this kind of sex had been in the Cannibals book, I probably would have thrown up.
p.s. My friend has been sending me pictures of her baby goats. How could you NOT want a baby goat I ask you? It's like looking at puppy.
It DOES seem like you could have clean milk without pasteurizing everything, right? Although, my piano teacher, who lived out in the country from the 1920s onward, said that when you saw guys milking cows in manure-y barns it did make you wonder.
ReplyDeleteBut: can't people WASH THEIR HANDS?! (Apparently not. Hospitals have a huge problem with non-handwashing compliance. Biggest culprits? DOCTORS! WTF?? I heard about that from the Freakonomics guy. His theory is, drs. have such big egos they think THEY can't spread germs.
They recommend asking drs. to wash their hands before they examine you or a loved one. Rachel's friend with the "Simply Mother" website tells an absolute horror story about her first (in hospital) birthing experience.)
Cleanliness. Amen!