Community Corner
Soule: Heaven-On-Earth For Animal Lovers
Summer camp with calves is magic. Kids+Calves = Self-Confidence. I'll tell you the story.
The kids stowed their backpacks, ran into the barnyard, and waited anxiously to learn which calf would be theirs for the week. Would it be Peaches, a sweet white Scottish Highland calf, or Claudette, a fuzzy Belted Galloway heifer, who looked like an Oreo cookie? Who would get Jerome, a reluctant brown and white steer, or Scooter, a friendly Highland calf?
Fourteen kids (ages 8-15) had signed up for a week of calf snuggling, horse riding, and stall cleaning at Farm Camp at Miles Smith Farm. All of them were there because they love animals, and there were a lot of animals for them to love – bunnies to hold, goats to feed, and horses to brush, but the main attraction was the calves.
Fourteen-year-old Rose, one of last year’s campers, is back. She said, “I like working with cows so much that I’m coming to camp for two sessions this year. I want to be a veterinary surgeon who helps animals.”
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Camper Molly added, “I love cows. I love the farm and missed Rose, whom I met here last year.”
Cameron, assigned a calf named Mr. Devon, came to the camp because he wanted to be with cows and horses and told me, “I love Devon. He’s the best cow in the universe. He’s nice to me.”
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The fourteen campers got as wet their calves when they scrubbed and hosed them in the “cow wash” to get them looking their best for the Cow Show on Friday.
Carole Soule's book, "Yes, I Name Them," will be available in September. She is co-owner of Miles Smith Farm in Loudon, N.H., where she raises beef and shares the joys of her farm with kids and adults. She can be reached at carole@soulecoaching.com.
