Thursday, July 08, 2010

Old Bessie


It's not essential to have a "milking cow" made by a famous author in order to have this kind of fun, but, you know, that's how we roll at Woodland Park.

Actually, it's a shameful story that I told here once before:
My friend Garth Stein (best selling author of the novel The Art Of Racing In The Rain) made this magnificent cow for our children’s school’s Fall Festival celebration 8 years ago. It’s now been on loan to Woodland Park for 8 years. A latex glove filled with water serves as her udders and children milk her by squeezing the fingers. She’s something of a super cow in that she usually has two sets of udders to accommodate demand.
I still can't look at "Old Bessie" without feeling a pang of guilt, but obviously not enough to give her back. The only thing that would make me feel better, I think, would be knowing that some of you have run out to buy a copy of his book -- or even all 3 of his books.

Old Bessie still looks pretty good considering her age, but that head is getting wobbly and one of the ears is just hanging on. She's is well loved.





I was pretty impressed by how well these 2 and 3 year olds cooperated with one another, figuring out how to share the udders with their friends. I've had the experience of milking a real cow and the technique for operating Bessie isn't too different from that: you use your whole hand to gently squeeze, but not pull. Pulling, I warn the kids, could result in a burst udder!

It was perfect for a hot day and several of the kids went home quite wet although impressively, we didn't burst a single udder.

Several of the kids asked if she could visit again today. I think I'll try feeding her blueberries, cherries and limes to see if she produces colored milk.

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4 comments:

Play for Life said...

Thanks Tom that's made me smile before I head off to bed!
Cheers, Donna :) :)

Unknown said...

Milking cows is in my lesson plans today...however my "Old Bessie" will be a broom stick. :) If its okay with you I'm going to link this post to my post later today! :)

Deborah Stewart said...

I totally have to get my husband to build one of those for me! That is awesome!

Linda said...

What a cute idea. I think I will make a "Bessie" for my nephew's daycare. Also, Garth's book was excellent and made me laugh, cry, and smile. Excellent book!