“C’mon giirrlls! Time to get it in gear!” A few of our dairy herd girls are actually already “in gear.” Low gear. They wait patiently on the far side of the gate that closes off the rear entrance to the dairy bam, basking in the sunshine and flip ping their tails at a few early sea son flies. Bonnie will be first in line, waiting to push her way around the gate the moment it begins to swing open for the cows to enter and find their stalls for afternoon milking. Three-year-old Bonnie has more the personality of a bea gle than a bovine, a cuddly lap-pet if she didn’t weigh 1,200 pounds. Close behind will be aging Amy, the lone remaining animal in the herd from the kids’ 4-G showing years. Typical of 4-H cow pets, Amy is likewise gentle, patient, and unflappable. And behind them will come Pansy, another matron of the herd who ambles her way to the most distant comer of the bam and nib bles at some neighbors’ feed before setding down in her own spot. Pansy has one maddening quirk. Her sharp-shooter tail rare ly misses hitting the target of your face. But while these three are usual ly opening in low gear by the time we head out to put the herd in for the afternoon, the rest of thie cows CLOSED SUNDAYS, NEW YEAR, EASTER MONDAY,ASCENSION DAY, WHIT MONDAY, OCT. 11, THANKSGIVING, f 11|jj|| | CHRISTMAS It DECEMBER 26TH FISHER’S FURNITURE, INC. NEW AND USED FURNITURE USED COAL It WOOD HEATERS COUNTRY FURNITURE & ANTIQUES BUS. HRS. BOX 57 MON.-THURS. 8-5 1129 GEORGETOWN RD. FRI, 8-8, SAT. 8-12 BART, PA 17503 GOOD FOOD OUTLET STORES See Our Original Line Of Golden Barrel Products PIM All Kinds Of Beans, Candies, Dried Fruit, Snack Mixes, Etc. 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At the fust call, a quarter or so of the herd will slowly rise to their feet, stretch with arching backs and begin the plodding gait tow ard the bam. On rare days, the entire herd will rise and come at the call. More often, a handful of the cows will simply pretend not to notice nor see the herder headed out in their direction. Only when the herder has come within 20 feet or so of their resting spots will the slowpokes reluctantly make the effort to rise. “Me? You want me?" they seem to ask with puzzled express ions. As if we didn’t do this every single day of the year. Gina (nought up.the tail end of the trek to the bam a few days ago, as I rounded up the girls one warm, sunny afternoon. “Tail end” is probably a poor choice of terms to use on Gina. She was bom with'only a stubby, half length tail, with the traditional switch on it During summertime, when the bugs get the most pesty. 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Answering Service (717) 354-5561 If your local store does not have it, SEND FOR FREE BROCHURE GOLDEN BARREL PEANUT OIL WITH BUTTER FLAVOR 1 Gallon • Great for Pope oral I Ragulary $7.20 now $5.99 Leave Grass Clippings UNIVERSITY PARK, (Centre Co.) —Leaving grass clippings on the lawn will not harm your turf— in fact, it may be beneficial, says a Penn State tuifgrass expert “It’s estimated that 20 percent of what goes into landfills is yard debris such as leaves, hedge prim ings and grass clippings,” says Dr. Peter Landschoot, Penn State we always feel sorry for Gina with her mini-sized flyswatter.- Often the tail-ender will be Margaret a tall, black heifer with a tendency to “do her own thing.” While all the other cows are filling into the bam around the half opened gate, Maragaret will meander off in the opposite direc tion toward the bunk feeder. That entails making a separate side-trip to round her up, usually on an afternoon when you’ve gotten a late start anyway. One recent evening after milk ing, I walked back into the bam to come face-to-face with Margaret, wandering around, sampling feed, having slipped out of her tie string. Slowly, I walked Margaret back to her stall; instead of step ping in, she just kept going. I gave up and walked out until other help was available; we could have gone back and forth for an hour. Sometimes it takes a while to get Margaret out of neutral. Usual ly, she’s in reverse. And on occasion, she slips out of park. ★ funnel cake mix * PANCAKE * WAFFLE MIX * ASSORTMENT of CANDIES * DRIED FRUIT * SNACK MIXES A BEANS * HONEY * PEANUT BUTTER * BAUMAN APPLE BUTTERS * KAUFFMAf PRESERVES * SPRING GLEN RELISHES SPECIALS FOR MAT GOLDEN BARREL SUPREME BAKING 32 Ounce - Regularly $2.70 now $2.29 ALL CANDY 10% OFF assistant professor erf tuifgrass sci ence. “Recycling grass clippings not only is civic-minded, but it also can be beneficial to the lawn and saves the work involved in bagging. “If you leave the clippings on the lawn, you can reduce fertilizer needs by as much as one-third. When turf is mowed on a regular basis, clippings break down easily, returning nitrogen and other nutri ents to the soil. “Some people are concerned that returning clippings to the lawn may result in thatch accumula tion,” says Landschoot. “But because the clippings decompose rapidly, they do not contribute to thatch.” For clippings to break down rapidly, the lawn must be mowed frequently enough so that large amounts -of leaf residue don’t remain on the surface of the turf. “Weekly mowing often isn’t fre quent enough, especially during the peak period of leaf growth in spring,” he says. Excessive accu mulations of clippings remain on the surface for long periods and can smother the grass. Dairy Volunteer Needed GETTYSBURG (Adams Co.) The Adams County Holstein Club needs a volunteer to chair the Ice Cream Extravaganza to be held Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 6, 1995- On Lawn “When you’re mowing, you shouldn’t take off more than one third of the leaf blade at one time. Otherwise, you may scalp the grass and make it more vulnerable to stress.” If no herbicides have been applied to the grass, homeowners can rake the dried clippings and use them as mulch around trees, shrubs or flowers, says Landschoot. Lawn mower manufacturers now offer mulching mowers that keep the clippings circulating under the mower deck, chopping the grass blades into finer pieces. “This hastens the decomposition of the clippings and reduces the amount of residue left on the lawn,” says Landschoot. “However, you don’t have to buy a mulching mower to recycle clippings. Ordinary lawn mowers also will provide good results.” Grass clippings also can be composted. “If you combine clip pings with tree leaves, the two sources of yard waste will comple ment one another in the compost ing process,” Landschoot says. on a Sunday in July at Rec Park, Gettysburg. For details, call Kevin Holtzinger at (717) 259-7211. 43
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