Bring On The Milk!

I have located a dairy cow with a full udder. I'm ready.

Joined WWOOF Canada (Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms, formerly known as Willing Workers On Organic Farms) online for a $50 one-year membership, which grants me access to contacts for all WWOOF farms in the country. Seems like a steep price to find a dairy cow, but what the hey. I'm that much closer to goal #100: milk a cow.

Hit a snag at first. I thought I had it all organized last week. I found a farm north of Kamloops that sounds lovely -- they said they have a couple of dairy cows, some laying hens, they grow hay, etc. in true Charlotte Web style, but I found out yesterday that their "girls" have all "dried up." This city girl needs some edjumacatin' in the way of dairying. What the hell is he talking about? Why would your cow  suddenly stop producing milk? Isn't it something to do with a baby cow being around? Can't you just borrow one from the neighbour while I'm there? Anyway, I emailed the farmer back and politely declined the offer to take me on for a week. If there's no cow, there's no point.

Found another farm way, way, way up north, in Pouce Coupe, B.C. where they've guaranteed me at least one cow that won't be "dried up" by the time I arrive in two weeks. Seeing as I'll be visiting friends in Fort Saint John next week anyway, Pouce Coupe is just a hop and a jump south and I'll get to learn all about organic farming (well, let's be honest, it'll probably be more about washing dishes and weeding than anything) and a chance to find out where my 2% comes from. Yeah, okay, the milk on my Cheerios probably comes from miserable machine-drained heifers in the Fraser Valley but I'll learn something about the dairy process, which at this point I know absolutely nothing. In fact, I'm only 99 per cent sure the milk I drink actually comes from a cow.

The point is, I'm not really looking forward to all the hard work they're going to make me do, but I am looking forward to finding out what an organic farm is like, with their horse-drawn plow and old-school ways of doing things and crossing an item off my bucket list. I think it could be fun. An adventure, if nothing else.