Cows cows cows

Rosie and I have been discussing getting a cow, mostly for milk and partially for meat. But in order to be able to sustain a source of milk and beef we need more than one cow, generally speaking it takes at least two cows to get more cows. And while Noah was able to populate the entire planet with cows starting with only two beasts, Rosie and I are limited to the laws of genetics (miracles being in short supply this year). Thus unless we want to have cows with the genetic diversity of the English royal family we will need a herd of cows (last thing we need, royal cows......).

But we simply lack the space, time and money to set up a cattle ranch (I know I had a few million here a second ago......)

So where do we sit? I would like to see about getting a single highland cow once the goats are grown, that way the goats can help keep the cow from being lonely. And probably give the cow a personality complex (Am I a big goat or an adopted cow? Cow, goat, cow, goat, cow, goat, etc.)

Once, as an experiment, Rosie and I spent about a year with no refrigeration. Living with out the modern convenience of a fridge was not that difficult and it taught us about the keeping power of certain foods. Eggs don't go bad for about a month at room temp, meat needs to be used very soon, and milk goes bad after about 3 days to 1 week. The milk was the biggest issue as Rosie likes milk a lot and we use it for cooking. But had we a cow to get fresh milk from we could realistically go again without a fridge. Eggs and milk gathered daily, chickens killed and cooked as needed. Most veggies will last a long time if kept properly; canned, dried, cooked, etc.

So properly running our home could provide a lot of food with out the burden of a fridge. Not that I want to head that way again, but it always is good to be prepared to do with out.