The Return of Raisin Pie
Pie taking up residence for ten days at McDonald’s Farm at the Champlain Valley Fair. Again.
It takes a special kind of Highland cow to spend ten days in a pen at a fair where more than 100,000 visitors pass by each year. Some with strollers, some with crying babies, big people, little people, and all inbetween. Rounding out the cacophony are nearby neighbors of neighing horses, grunting pigs, clucking chickens, bleating goats, and quacking ducks.
Shat Acres Raisin Pie is that kind of special cow. This will be her third consecutive year as the Highland Cow and Calf bringing awe and smiles to all in McDonald's farm. This year Raisin Pie is accompanied by her fuzzy bull calf Shat Acres Raisin Piper. Piper is two months old, and with momma Pie, twelve years old, will be the star attractions in McDonald's Farm until the Fair closes the day before Labor Day. Last year Pie was accompanied by twins William and Wallace in McDonald's Farm. The previous year she was flanked by twins Ethan and Allen in their pen. Raisin Pie has had three sets of twins! We put in a request with Pie after William and Wallace were born to deliver us her calf one at a time. This year she complied, with baby Piper.
Raisin Pie was preceded by many, many other special Shat Acres Cows and Calves at McDonald's Farm, most recently by her mom Shat Acres Cinnamon Raisin and Auntie Shat Acres Cinnamon Star. This is Shat Acres' 54th year bringing a Highland Cow and Calf to McDonald's Farm. As the oldest registered fold of Highland cattle in the United States--since 1966--there is not another registered herd that have even had Highland cattle for 54 years! At the Champlain Valley Fair alone, Shat Acres has put Highland cattle in front of 5,400,000 people!
When Carroll Shatney first began bringing his Highland cattle to local fairs, most people did not know what those strange long haired, long horned prehistoric looking beasts were. They were referred to a "Hippie Cows." Now almost everyone recognizes and loves the long-horned, long-haired Highland cattle!
If you get a chance, you can catch Raisin Pie and Piper at the Fair on the Channel 5 (WPTZ) news this afternoon and evening, with news anchor Ericka Love. Shat Acres Highland Cattle will be featured next Monday on that same station where they highlight local Vermont businesses. Ericka Love NBC5
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