My Weekend in Sussex County!

This weekend was filled with some crazy great times! On Saturday we visited a Brown Swiss Dairy Cow named Twiggy! She is actually expecting a calf sometime this week. Last Thursday was the actual, predicted due date. However, after waiting patiently for a couple of days, the owners were getting pretty curious as to what was going on. So, I was lucky enough to be around for the interesting conversation where they were informed that 280 days is the expected gestation period for most dairy cow breeds. But, they found out that Brown Swiss cows are usually 290 days and sometimes can carry longer if the baby is a male. Isn't that interesting? We were all hoping that I would be around for the birth but it looks like she's holding out. Here's something gross I learned though.... When cows give birth they have three stages of labor. During the third stage they pass the placenta and then eat it!!!! Yuck! My first question was "Why the heck would they do that?" I guess it could be beneficial though, in evolutionary terms. If after giving birth a cow cleaned up the evidence it might prevent predators from hunting the calf. So I guess it is plausible that this behavior would be selected for. But, it is still super strange. Anyway, I think it would be great if I could visit the baby sometime, if I don't get to see it being born!
On Sunday we went hiking at Buttermilk Falls in Walpack, NJ. As you can see in the slide show, these falls are pretty cool. When we got up close we saw that there was so much plant life right along the falls, all over the rocky terrain. There was even moss growing on the rocks under the water. Around the falls we found many different types of moss, lichen and ferns. I guessed that this habitat presented awesome conditions for this type of life! For instance, mosses are a group of plants that lack certain adaptations that are necessary for retaining and transporting water, therefore, it makes sense that they would thrive in such a wet environment. The falls provide a constant spray that keeps the rocks wet. Mosses also enjoy a shaded area for growth, which made this area perfect! The falls were beautiful. I cannot wait for my future adventures! Until next time!