May 26, 2024
Bovine enlightment - lesson #1
I never really knew that a
Cow
was a female bovine and that Bullock
is the name of a male bovine. I got an education from both the Keane's and the Fitzpatrick cousins. I knew we got our milk from Cows, but I never knew our beef comes mainly from castrated Bullocks. I knew males were called Bulls, but it is just a select few males that are not castrated and kept for breeding. The bulk of the male bovines are purely fattened for a little over 2 years and then slaughter for our beef.
Must note that I kept my teachers in giggles by constantly pronouncing bullocks, as bollocks!! Oh the difference of one little letter!
Showed me a true Cowlick! Teet feeding for Bullock Many species - angus, etc.
Today we went to see the coastal Naidiri Village that has recently won the Top Prize in global restoration, for their ocean reef project. The reef restoration was borne out of necessity to solve their dwindling food/ main protein source for the village, of fish. It was started by 2 of the villages rugby players and today is run by the local teenagers (mostly boys) in the village. It was great seeing how empowered and proud they were of their amazing efforts.
The port agent offered several trips to areas around Lautoka . We chose the trip to Serenity Island Resort which included van and boat transfers and lunch. It was a really nice day enjoying the sun, reef, pool, turtles and amenities!
I organized a group tour for a fun day experience. We had a great day despite the rain that decided to join in. We started with a 45 minute van ride out through the city, into the countryside. Then we got in long boats and went up river to a waterfall, some swam or cheered on the guides to cliff dive. Then back in the boats to visit Sabata Village where 50 family members live as a community existing totally off the land, along the river. Next was a quick boat ride to our BBQ lunch spot. After lunch we got to tube down the river, through light rapids, for just about an hour. We ganged our tubes together with the guide - we had a chain of 14 in my group and the guides totally blew us away singing hymns for a good chunk of the journey. It was truly moving in that place with the rain drizzling and all of us linked together. Loved it!