Dutch Belted Cows – Valerie's Voice

Beautiful

Many beautiful happenings are all around lately…to name just a few:

The program for the musical at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre.

We went to see Beautiful: The Carole King Musical at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre. It was phenomenal, especially for those of us who grew up with her music. She was a prolific song writer, with over 118 top hits, written or co-written. We had a wonderful time.

Another beautiful event was seeing the northern lights…

I had told friends if they ever hear of the northern lights in the area to let me know…and one night, last week, she texted and said there was a good chance. I was in my nightgown, but threw on a jacket and shoes, and off I went (Gary was in bed already). I noticed several others out, along the way to my viewing spot. We were all hoping to see the northern lights.

We did, and they were beautiful. Basically there were streaks in the sky with a very faint tint of color, but when you took a picture the colors popped.

Looking out from our window down into the nest.

Blooming spring trees are blossoming all over town. I noticed, in our very own crabapple tree, there is a robin’s nest with three “robin-blue” eggs in it.

I say good morning to mama, every morning, and greet her several times during the day, as she sits in her nest in the tree right outside our bedroom window. It is a beautiful sight.

There is a family of foxes in our neighborhood…two adults and 8 pups. I’ve seen 8 of the 10 foxes. It’s a short and easy walk to go watch these playful and beautiful creatures, so I try and go see them often.

This farm is on County Road 9. I always look for the “Dutch-belted cows”.

A farm scene in spring, with red barn and cattle and blue skies and spring greens is always beautiful.

So grateful for beauty that abounds.

Old Frontenac

Glorious fall days…blue skies, sunshine and colorful landscapes… continue to linger on and on. We like to take advantage of them…so not much gets done on the home-front…but those things will wait…we have winter ahead of us.

We headed east in the morning towards Frontenac State park, through beautiful farm country. Along the way, close to the fence, were the unique Dutch Belted cows laying in a field, soaking up the sun. What a pretty sight. I discovered these striking and unusual looking cows (and special breed), on a farm along County Road 9 a few years ago. I look for them whenever we pass their way. When I got out to take a photo, the girls became alarmed and most stood up…I was sorry to disturb them. They were all laying down again as we passed them on our way home several hours later.

Overlooking the Mississippi River from Frontenac State Park.

We continued to the state park and drove up to the Mississippi River overlook in the park. The river was lovely and calm. We hiked along the river for a while,

then we found the recently acquired section of the park and hiked hilly trails. The fall temperatures were climbing and we soon shed our jackets.

A newly acquired section to Frontenac State Park.

After hiking, we wanted to find a place near the water to eat our picnic lunch. We found a beach and boat landing in Old Frontenac, with a picnic table close to the water’s edge.

Perfect. We sat on one side overlooking the river and saw a couple of eagles, lots of gulls and swans, and a few boats. The water was calm and the sun was bright and I wanted to stay there all afternoon, but we had more to explore.

A beautiful mansion overlooking the Mississippi River in Old Frontenac.

An old stone fence surrounding the mansion.

A few years ago, when we camped at Frontenac State Park, we drove through Old Frontenac near-by. It’s a small village along the river….no stores, only unique houses on packed, dirt roads, an old cemetery, and a church.

One of several gated sections in the Frontenac Cemetery, established in 1867.

I have always wanted to walk through this town, or ride a bike, since you can see more than from a car. So we brought our bikes to ride through this quiet town, off the beaten trail. It was fun to ride around and look at unique houses…no cookie cutter houses here. And, riding through the old cemetery garnered thoughts of spooky stories, so close to Halloween.

Halloween decorations on a front porch in Old Frontenac.

Later that afternoon, as we drove back home into Northfield, we commented on how our town was still the most colorful place of all…with a lot of maples still full of red leaves hanging on.

Our neighbor’s tree outside our bedroom window.

Cows

I have always loved the beauty and tranquility of seeing cows grazing in a field. Although I was born and raised in the city, I have always loved the country. But the only cows I knew about growing up were the black and white Holsteins. My husband however, grew up on a dairy farm in Pennsylvania. They milked Holstein cows, but he also knew about the other types dairy cows such as Brown Swiss, Guernsey, Jersey and Ayrshire. He was not aware of the kind I saw the other day.

I was traveling on a country road familiar to me, and although I do not travel it on a regular basis, I travel it often enough to be surprised at seeing these cows for the first time. I caught a glimpse of black and white cows. I assumed they were Holsteins, but as I got closer I noticed they all had the same markings. Unlike Holsteins that are black and have splotches of white in various places all over their bodies, these cows were black with a wide, white band around their midsection. Everyone one of the them. All 20-30 of them in the field looked identical. I took a double take, then stopped to take a picture of these unusual cows.

I checked Google…they are either Belted Galloway or Dutch Belted cows. Both breeds have similar patterns. The Belted Galloway comes from Scotland, also nick-named “Oreo cows”. They are primarily raised for their quality marbled-beef. The Belted Galloway survive well in much colder weather but their coat is longer and thicker. The cows we saw in the pasture had short hair, but maybe because we’re coming off summer – it may grow longer and thicker as winter settles in.

A second breed with the same markings is the Dutch Belted cow, from the Netherlands. They are raised primarily for dairy. In the Netherlands, the cows are know as Lakevelder, a term that means a sheet or blanket around the body.

Here are links to the two different breeds:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakenvelder_cattle

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belted_Galloway

When comparing pictures off the internet I believe the cows I saw were Dutch Belted, but I am not positive.

It was a fun discovery. They were a beautiful sight. I had never seen this kind of cow before. I will start asking around to see if others have.