Cornell Club of Maryland’s Lunch with Lambs event!
On a beautiful Saturday in May, the Cornell Club of Maryland braved the Bay Bridge traffic to have “Lunch with Lambs” at Branch Honey Farm. The stunning, 44-acre property located in the Eastern Shore town of Oxford, MD is owned by Huck ’88 P’25 and Allison O’Connor P’25. The O’Connor’s two children, three dogs, and their flock of Katahdin sheep also call the farm home. Huck and Allison conduct all of the farming operations themselves with a lot of help from friends and family.
The estuary of the Choptank River, which opens into the Chesapeake Bay, provided an absolutely idyllic setting for the afternoon’s activities. We enjoyed a fabulous BBQ lunch generously provided by the O’Connors. Spike ball, frisbees, corn hole, and an abundance of bubbles were enjoyed by guests of all ages. On our farm tour, we had an up-close view of the vehicles used to maintain the property. Everyone was very impressed as we watched the family dog, Sage, herd the flock. At the end of each task, we often heard – “That’ll do, Sage!” Interacting with the sheep was a highlight–especially the newborn lambs! From red Solo cups or straight out of our hands, the sheep were enthusiastic but gentle grazers of the feed pellets.
Our club was especially fortunate to be joined by Professor Tom Overton ’91 and his wife Katrina ’91, who made the trip down to the Eastern Shore. Professor Overton, who is the Department Chair of Animal Science and the Program Director of PRO-DAIRY, shared an update about CALS and his department. What a treat for our club members to hear so much good news about recent initiatives on campus.
Thank you to Molly Weadon ’98 for bringing the Dunkin’ and the CCMD president Jenn Taylor ’99 for organizing the event! Be sure to check out some fun photos from the event!