84-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 16, 1993 On being —— $ . 0* a farm wif^^j^lrL Joyce Bnpp ‘", gHH -And other hazards “Curiosity got the cat.” So goes an old saying. Ever wonder got the cat what? Dead? Hurt? Lost? Curiosity got Butch, our dark tiger-striped bam cat, a mouse a few mornings ago. He’s learned that when bales are moved in the feed alley of the heifer pen, some times a mouse slips away. Curiosity almost got Butch squashed this morning when he perched atop a pile of bales thrown down through the hay hole. He nearly got flattened be neath another bale dropping through. So, curiosity might well get the cat. Here, though, there often seems to be a need to re-write that old cliche. “Curiosity got the cow” might be equally appropriate. It there’s anything with more curiosity than a bunch of cattle, I don’t personally want to have to deal with it. Cattle curiosity caus es enough dose calls. On one of the those balmy, spring-like days last week. The Farmer delivered a big calf to a first-time heifer mother. Because it was a rather difficult calving, we knew the calf would not have the immediate strength to stand and nurse within an hour or so, like it should. Bottle in hand, I headed out across the heifer pasture under the afternoon sunshine to feed the new baby. Reluctant at first, she began to nurse with a little coax ing. Intent on the feeding, a nudge at my back caught my attention the ringleader of a virtual stam pede of bred heifers trotting in our direction. Curious. Wondering what was going on. “Shoo! Get outta’ here!” Momentarily the circle of nosy, black and white muzzles backed off at least a foot. Eventually the calf finished the bottle but not without several arm-waving, “get outta’ here” interruptions aimed at the crowd of four-footed, 800-pound busybodies whose curiosity threatened to stomp me into the soggy ground. And, a good-bye committee of about a dozen stayed on my heels during the hundred-yard walk back to the dairy barn. Just cur ious, of course. It was curiousity that drew one of those same nosy heifers into the dairy barn a day later. But it was greed that kept her there with her muzzle buried in the high-mois ture com cart when we found her at milking time. Fortunately, she hadn’t sneaked in long enough for curiosity and greed to have earned her a major tummyache or bloat prob lem. Curiosity also won an unex pected bath for a younger, six month-old heifer that embarked an an exploration trip about the same hour of that same afternoon. Heifers are much like children; in i group of a couple dozen, there is aound to be one adventurous indi vidual always testing the boundar ies or rules. This one managed to slip out of a large group pen and proceed to curiously sniff, stroll and study the errain beyond the farmstead ouildings. When chase was given with the cycle, rather than return sensibly to her penmates, she opt ed to go visit the wooded housing leighborhood next door. Take note that this was a most ly-black, smaller heifer, cavorting iround at dusk, through lovely backyards filled with lots of trees ind bushes. Kind of like hide-and seek. Which she won. Temporari y- Later, rounding the wagon shed cn route to calf feedings after dark, she and I came face-10-muz zle. About the same time. The Pennsylvania Fair Queen Reigns At Farm Show LOU ANN GOOD Lancaster Farming Staff HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.) Within two weeks, 18-year-old Cheryl Anne Muraski will crown a new Pennsylvania Fair Queen. Reflecting on her one-year reign, Cheryl said, “Before my reign, I hadn’t had much opportun ity to visit areas outside of my home in Pike County. The high light of my reign was meeting peo ple across the state. The hospitality they extended to me was phenomenal.” And, to many people watching, Cheryl Anne’s ability to ad lib with poise and clarity before crowds in diverse places across the state is phenomenal. “I grew up speaking in front of people. It comes naturally,” said Cheryl Anne who remembers that she was only four years old when she first spoke to a church group. Cheryl received a $l,OOO scho larship when she was chosen as the slate queen from county and local fair queens across the state. “I entered the local pageant. Green-Dreher Sterling, on a whim,” said Cheryl, who said she then became very involved in fairs and in learning about agriculture. She estimates that she has attended about one fourth of the 94 fairs scattered across the state. When Cheryl was a high school student, she started her own baking and catering business. “I grew up in the kitchen helping my mother cook. Because there Farmer approached from a differ ent direction. Corralled, her curi osity sent her for the likeliest es cape route, the lit walkway lead ing ... right back into her pen. Trotting through the shadows, she looked rather gaunt; I wonder ed if this lively critter was ailing. Until The Farmer related that her curiosity had taken her on an un expected detour through the man ure storage lagoon, leaving her winter-thick coat “slicked” down. It’d be a peaceful change around here if curiosity would just suck with the cats. GOOD FOOD OUTLET STORES See Our Original Line Of Golden Barrel Products Plus All Kinds Of Beans, Candies, Dried Fruit, Snack Mixes, Etc. At Reduced Prices * BAKING MOLASSES * MAPLE SYRUP * PANCAKE A WAFFLE * 5b * BARBADOS MOLASSES A PANCAKE & WAFFLE MIX , ,”1 vTAftH fW* BLACKSTRAP ' SYRUPS * ASSORTMENT OF MpLASSES * SORGHUM SYRUP CANDIES * CL 51 SI I * CORN SYRUPS A LIQUID & DRY SUGARS A DRIED FRUIT fir jfe\LA HIGH FRUCTOSE A CANOLA OIL A SNACK MIXES liL; SYRUPS A COCONUT OIL A BEANS v a CORN OIL A HONEY Hr ’ :\r rz A COTTONSEED OIL a peanut butter Mf. hlo y° ur loc * l •“« A OLIVE OIL * BAUMAN APPLE 7 doe * not B»ve it. . p PANIrr n „ BUTTERS SEND FOR * WOPTAHIF nn A KAUFFAMN PRESERVES A MX A SPRING GLEN RELISHES ' —— a funnel cake mix Processors Of Syrups, Molasses, Cooking Oils, Funnel Cake Mix, Pancake k Waffle Mix k Shoofly Pie Mix GOOD FOOD OUTLET Located At Gpod Food, Inc. W. Main St., Box 160, Honey Brook, PA 19344 218-273-3776 1-800-327-4406 Located At L & S Sweeteners 388 E. Main St.. Leola, PA 17540 717-656-3486 1-800-633-2676 - WE UPS DAILY - were only three in our family, my dad, mother, and me, I needed to find another channel for the food I baked.” She began preparing brunches, desserts, and buffets during holi days and weekends. Because Cheryl was also a cheerleader, field hockey player, in student government and ambas sadorship, she wanted a job that didn’t lock her into a time frame and thought the catering business would be ideal. “It turned out to be a much big ger undertaking than I expected,” Cheryl said. “When I look back, I wonder where 1 found all the hours to do what I did. I know I had lots of enthusiasm.” Pennsylvania Fair Queen Cheryl Anne Muraskl presided over many activities during Farm Show week. Cheryl needed to give up her catering business when she entered Cornell University, where she is studying hotel administration with a finance concentration. She also works in the human resources department for a head injury recovery center. Cooking remains Cheryl’s big gest hobby. “I read cook books for fun instead of novels,” she said. When she was asked to speak to the crowds that gathered at the Farm Show for the apple pie, co coa cake, and chocolate cookie contests, Cheryl was delighted. “This is right down my alley,” she said. “I wish I could be one of the judges.” SPECIALS FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY GOLDEN BARREL FUNNEL CAKE MIX - 2 Lb. Regularly $1.49 nowsl» 19 GOLDEN BARREL CANOLA OIL 32 Ounce - Regularly $1.69 NOW $ 1 • 19 GOLDEN BARREL SUPREM TABLE - #lO CANS
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers