Issue One 2011

 it begins each & every spring
like it has for generations
when the hilltop meadows spread flush with new growth
and when the slumbering cattle
finally stretch their limbs
climbing out from their hay beds
after a winter in the dairy stable

    up onto the well-worn paths to the higher ground
    where they'll spend the next six or seven months
    devouring everything that grows
    that they can wrap their tongues around

returning morning & evening for their twice daily milking
then back to the meadows
where they get spring water & minerals
sunlight & moonlight
sleeping & waking
upon a blanket of earth
under the broad and endless
canopy of sky

        at blue hill farm, east otto, cattaraugus county
        where elevations reach near eighteen hundred feet
        it is the season for fresh milk
        made entirely from the flora of the ancient, rolling hills

    coltsfoot, beebread, burdock, violet
    fescue, birdsfoot, peppermint, horehound
        dandelion, nettle, buttercup, bird's-nest
        chickweed, feltwort, yellow dock, strawberry
        yarrow, trefoil, chamomile, orchard grass
        and of course, clover

    the meadows are lush with medicinal plant life
    and the milk created from a diet of flowers & weeds & grasses
    holds the secret keys to incredible flavors
    found deep inside of the small-batch foods made only
    at white cow dairy

            in an artisan kitchen not more than a few meters from the milk house
            comes a boggling menu of traditional fresh dairy foods
            the likes of which few have seen nor tasted
            in a century or so...
            soft cheeses, custards, creme bulgares, thick yogurts, whey drinks
            sauces, tortas, and caramels

while the milk for these foods descends from the hilltops
the maple which flavors it is gathered & boiled from the hillside forest
along side wild leeks, wild onions, blueberries and apples
few farms can recite a list of ingredients
where the contents come
from a stone's throw away
    
    "fresh from the farm"

            patrick lango ~ farmer & food maker
            partner at blue hill farm & founder of white cow dairy