What does a cow mean to you?

Did you know that July 11 has been declared, by God knows whom, as “Cow Appreciation Day“. But what is the latter? It “is a day that has been designed to raise awareness about cows and appreciate everything that they do!” (https://shorturl.at/npuGZ).

Bambi loves all her fellow animals as well as human beings. She does know about your favourite animals, but the cow holds a special place in her heart. Who knows? Perhaps it is the same for you for different reasons. Maybe you are into farming or for a veterinary purpose? Maybe it is for spiritual reasons since cows are considered “sacred” by India’s Hindus? Maybe you love their meat or milk? Of note, in Canada this meat is called “beef” whereas in Lebanon it is called “cow”.

Whatever your reason, in addition to being heart-warming, cows often symbolize fertility, thus motherhood, and generosity; this representation exists across many cultures. This being said, both Bambi and her spouse love cows. They appreciate seeing them while driving or walking in the rural areas of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, as per the picture shown below:

In addition to finding them cute, Bambi is highly grateful to cows because she is a fanatic milk drinker. Even at almost age 51, she still drinks lots of milk. Indeed, on average, every ten days, she drink 2 litres of this delicious and nutritious white substance! No wonder her friend Jane teased her by saying that she may have forgotten to switch to wine when she became an adult :).

Furthermore, Bambi is an ice cream lover. She is lucky to live close to Trueman Blueberry Farms where ice cream is homemade and served on a delicious, also homemade, waffle cone (https://shorturl.at/fjpHR). Same for the famous Cows of PEI!

Yes, we owe cows our balanced human diet, which includes (at least for some of us), ice cream and other delicious dairy products like cheese. Louis, Bambi hopes you are not reading thus far given what cheese means to you. Yak :).

This being said, enough of human food likes and dislikes! What about cows? What do they eat, have you also wondered about it? According to the Dairy Farmers of Canada (https://shorturl.at/wxIKV), the most common food for cows is grass with a typical mature cow eating about 29 kg. of it per day. Cows also drink lots of water, of course as a function of their age, lactating status or not, and the seasons.

Although our devoted dairy farmers continuously collaborate with nutrition experts to come up with a diet tailored to their specific cows (https://shorturl.at/wxIKV), some humans forget about cows’ natural eating habits. They offer them the pleasure of an ice cream. After all, they did contribute to its production.

To conclude this “cowy” post with music, Bambi will leave you with “La vache qui rit” [The Laughing Cow], a famous French cream cheese ad, which reminds her of her childhood in Beirut (it is sub-titled in English). In addition, if you like it, you may listen to a kids’ song about an adorable cow called “Lola”. Happy Cow Appreciation Day to all, regardless or your diet or beliefs. Moo :)!