Raised On Raw Milk From A Brindle Cow
A Brindle cow? She was predominately a Jersey breed but crossed with who knows what.
What a cow she was. She never failed to calve, a great mother, very docile and healthy despite a somewhat frail appearance.
She could be led around by a halter and was trained to be staked out on a length of chain to pasture.
I received 3 gallons of milk twice a day at peak, and with a very high butterfat content. We consumed the milk raw, made butter and cottage cheese. With the remainder, we sold to neighbors (could never do this today due to liability).
The cream risen to the top of glass jugs seemed to be 20% of the volume. The resulting churned butter was dark yellow in color, bordering on orange.
In spring, when she got into the wild onions, my mother was particularly fond of the butter.
Milking by kerosene lantern, the unique smells of a barn, tugging on the halter to bring the cow home after a visit to the neighbor's bull -- memories of things that will never be again.
