Yesterday I sent an e-mail to Jonathan White at Bobolink Dairy inquiring about the possibility of doing an internship or apprenticeship at his farm.

My e-mail—which I’ve decided not to reprint, believing that private correspondence should remain just that—explained that I was very interested in such an opportunity, but I wasn’t sure I could afford to do a full-time apprenticeship. I suggested that perhaps an internship of a few days a week would be better. I also tried to convey that I’m serious about this; I’m not just burned out on this whole new-media thing.

Within half an hour, Jonathan had written back, inviting me to come and make cheese with him one weekend soon, so we could meet each other and I could see what Bobolink is all about. This is exactly the kind of response I was hoping for!

A few e-mails and phone calls later, and we’d set the date for Saturday, November 1st. He’d suggested I come on a Saturday or Sunday within the next few weeks as he’ll soon be “drying the herd off for winter.” I’m not sure what that means, but I guess I’ll find out soon enough. Kari thinks it means that the cows will get to return to “normal” cow life, rather than a constant state of lactation, which sounds good enough to me. If anyone knows for sure, please leave a note in the comments.

Anyway, on November 1st, I’m going to get to Bobolink at 7:30AM (!) so I can observe/help with the milking. From there, we’ll make cheese (probably around 9 or so) and then bake bread. (Apparently, bread is becoming a large part of their operation. I’m looking forward to this part too, actually, because I’ve been fooling around with baking myself lately. Baking bread myself, that is.) The day should be over around 2 or so, but I’ll probably stick around afterward for some bread and cheese. Apprenticeship or no, this sounds like it’ll be a good time.

I’m not sure, of course, where this will all take me. I’m hoping for an educational experience—an in-depth look into the life I think I want to lead. If nothing else, I’ll get to eat some good cheese and hang out with some cows.

I first learned about Bobolink Dairy on this thread on eGullet, where Jonathan posts as “curdnerd”. Anyone who’s read this far should really read through this thread to see what’s going on at Bobolink. The pictures are great, as is the discussion itself.