Glass Milk Bottles!

So what's the big deal, you ask?  Why is Twylla so excited about glass milk bottles that she uses an exclamation mark in the title? Reasonable question, but it takes me somewhat by surprise. In my world, everyone is excited about glass milk bottles, even the cows.

​Doesn't she look excited? Or contented, perhaps.
After all, she's a proud Smiling Hill Farm cow in Portland, Maine. I met her on one of my frequent visits to the farm. Her name is Ruby, still too young to be a milk producer, but her time will come. 

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Drew and I are staying at our condo in Portland for 3 weeks, visiting daughter Katherine and family, and  venturing out in the snow to explore our favorite spots plus a few new ones.
Smiling Hill Farm is always on our list, at least mine. I delight in buying milk from Ruby's friends and family at a local grocery store in a variety of sizes and flavors...all in glass bottles!

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Maybe it's my imagination, but we seem to consume Smiling Hill Farm milk more quickly than  the run-of-the-mill plastic jug variety.   It could be the fresh, wholesome flavor,  lovable cow logo, or the simple fact that the sooner we empty bottles – the sooner we can return them.
I eagerly anticipate the 7-mile drive into the  Maine countryside, where the big red barn signals that it's time to turn into the farm's 500 acres – covered with feet of pristine snow this time of year.

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​There's nothing fancy about the Farm's system of bottle return. Place the bottles in the labeled plastic bins, tell the clerk and receive your deposit.
The bottles are cleaned, sterilized, sanitized and  reused.
No waste, no landfill, no plastic bobbing in the ocean, littering the countryside or clogging local streams.

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Perhaps my excitement is partially a throw-back to a time when I actually remember glass milk bottles in the grocery store...a pint size,  perfect for a chocolate milk and cookie snack. But my excitement for them runs much deeper than nostalgia. It's about sustainability, for supporting a business that is taking action to protect the planet. In the Who We Are statement on its website, the mission of Smiling Hill Farm is clear: 

​"Today Smiling Hill Farm continues to work in a way that is sensitive to the environment. We bottle our milk in reusable glass bottles, collect whey from our cheese to feed pigs, refuse to apply chemical fertilizers to our fields, and are actively exploring alternative forms of energy. Each action we take impacts the environment, not only for our lifetime, but for the lifetimes of our children and grandchildren."

Our own grandchildren are often with us on our bottle runs to SHF; but this week, they were in school. No eager hands waiting for the deposit money.  Drew and I decided to  splurge on ourselves and buy ice cream cones with the cash. The milk was, of course,  proudly produced by the same smiling cows, staying warm in the barn. 
n and grandchildren. We pride ourselves on