Kids
Bently, the tame buffalo, and his owner, Anne Brooks travel to fairs, nursing homes,
schools, and other events.
Tame Buffalo Attracts Crowds
LINDA WILLIAMS
Bedford Co. Correspondent
BEDFORD (Bedford Co.)
“Bently” the tame buffalo from
Centre County made a personal
appearance at the Darrow Buffa
lo farm near Bedford as a part of
the Fall Foliage celebration.
The Darrows capitalize on the
crowds drawn by the annual
county seat fall foliage event and
have their own festival. “We get
a lot of the overflow,” says Ann.
In addition to a re-enactment,
Indian craftsmen, storytelling,
and dream catcher making, the
Darrows serve fresh apple cider,
buffalo burgers, buffalo sausage,
and samples of buffalo chili.
Bendy, from Centre County,
got top billing this year. Owned
by Anne Brooks, it is not the first
time Bendy has been to Bedford
County. Bedford High School
has the bison for a mascot, and
Bently appears annually in the
homecoming parade.
“We have a small farm with a
few buffalo, mostly raised for
meat, and horses,” explains
Anne. “However, we always
wanted a tame buffalo, one we
How To Grow A Giant Pumpkin
According to OSU Extension
experts, growing a giant pump
kin requires an early start. To
grow a giant pumpkin in time for
Halloween, you should begin the
process in April.
To start, you’ll need pumpkin
seeds, 12-inch peat pots, and a
well-balanced potting medium.
Ask an adult for help locating
these items.
Sow giant pumpkin seeds in
individual pots indoors about the
end of April. When the first leaf
could take to parades and festi
vals as well as schools or nursing
homes.”
Bently arrived at the Brooks
home when only two days old.
“We bottle fed him and played
with him a lot,” Anne said. “We
hoped for the best and figured
that we would might have to eat
him if it didn’t work out.”
While this might be enough to
make most buffalo nervous,
Bently contentedly stands in a
small corral at exhibits and
munches on the' tasty green
grass, if available.
His stable man, Bill Leonard,
sometimes does a little rough
housing.
“I back off quickly if 1 see he is
going to get rough,” Bill laughs.
“If we really got into a tussle, I
know Bently would win.”
“He’s like people in a lot
ways,” Anne says. “He’s very
good-natured until he gets tired,
and then he gets grumpy.”
“I drove for two hours from
Pittsburgh just to see Bently,”
said one young lady visitor. Anne
explains to her as well as to all
that stop by that you can touch
appears and unrolls, the baby
pumpkin plants are ready to be
transplanted in your pumpkin
patch-usually 10 to 14 days after
seeding.
Space is very important be
cause your giants will need lots
of room. Each plant needs about
2,500 square feet. And make sure
to plant them in a very sunny
area with good drainage. It’s also
a good idea to fertilize your
plants. Ask an adult to test the
soil and help you apply the ap
Korne r
♦
his back or his nose, but don’t go
for the top of his head. He
doesn’t like anything near his
eyes.
A hit with school children,
Bently is even more of a delight
at nursing homes. “We have all
who can come outside to see him,
and we can take him on the
porch for those who are confined
indoors.”
Aline tells the story of one lady
who had not been out of her
room in more than a year. She
had a small porch near her win
dow and Anne declared that if
she did not come out on the
porch, they were going to take
the buffalo inside. She came out
smiling and was delighted to see
a real buffalo.
While most buffalo are not
neutered, Bently is an exception
as it has helped to make him
more of a pet.
Not only does Bently enjoy the
local fame he has achieved, he
also received top billing at the
Pennsylvania Farm Show and
Penn State’s Ag Progress Days.
Ann has certainly achieved her
goal of having a tame buffalo!
propriate nutrients.
Pumpkins have a shallow root
system, so water slowly. They
need at least one inch of water
per week. Water in morning or
early afternoon so the leaves will
dry by evening. This helps pre
vent disease. Each plant will pro
duce several pumpkins. When
they reach volleyball size, trim
back to one pumpkin. This will
allow one pumpkin to receive all
of the nutrients. And the more it
eats, the bigger it will grow!
Calcium For Halloween Skeletons
Susquehanna County Dairy
Princess Kelly Diaz writes that
Halloween is just around the cor
ner, and you still might be won
dering what you should be for
Halloween.
She asks, “What comes to
your mind when you think Hal
loween? Witches, bats, pump
kins, and skeletons come to
mind. But a skeleton needs plen
ty of calcium to keep it’s “spoo
ky’ shape.”
About 99 percent of the body’s
calcium is in the bones and teeth,
and the remaining one percent is
circulating in the blood stream.
Calcium is not only good for
your teeth and bones, but it helps
the clotting of blood, nerve im
pulses, and it helps muscles, like
your heart, contract and relax
normally.
How much calcium should
you be drinking? If you are an
adult-three glasses; under
18-four glasses; pregnant-four
glasses; and a pregnant teenager
five glasses.
Looking for some Halloween
tarty ideas? Check out the fol
ding “ghouling” Halloween ti
led recipes.
Mucus Membrane Milkshake
2 cups buttermilk
2 scoops vanilla ice cream
'A cup pineapple juice
4 tablespoons brown sugar
2 cups milk
Measure all of the ingredients.
except the milk, into a blender.
Then blend on medium speed
until smooth and creamy. Add
more ice cream if you like your
“mucus” extra thick.
Fill tall glasses with the mix
ture and refrigerate. Heat the
milk in a small pan over medium
heat until it begins to boil. Re
move from the heat and let it
cool until it develops a film on its
surface. Using a wooden spoon,
carefully scoop off the film and
place some on top of each milk
shake.
If you need more “mucus,”
just reheat the remaining milk
and repeat this step. Blend
chunks of pineapple into your
milkshake (for phlegm balls) or
red cherries (for blood clots).
Strained Eyeballs
6 eggs, hardcooked, cooled,
and peeled
6-ounce whipped cream
cheese
12 green olives stuffed with pi
mentos
red food coloring or ketchup
Half eggs, widthwise. Remove
yolks and fill the hole with
cream cheese, smoothing surface
as much as possible. Press an
olive into each cream cheese
“eyeball,” pimento up, for an
eerie green iris and red pupil.
Dip a toothpick into ketchup
and draw broken blood vessels in
the cream cheese.