Milk flashes into the claws, crashing against the plastic windows in steady pulses. The inflations squeeze each teat that they hold, gently, and then release them in perfect unison. Yellow hoses shake along the pit. The vacuum is the unseen force that drives it all in a deafening throbbing sound that you, if you didn’t know any better, would assume was your own heartbeat.

Henry David Thoreau wrote a whole book about a pond and never got wet. He simply took the time to ponder. I, too, find myself pondering life’s mysteries, like: What is the purpose of a dewclaw? To measure the dew? Why do horses have canine teeth? Were they once carnivores? How do sheep tell each other apart? Why do ants think they can drag a kibble of dog food back to the hill? Do they lack depth perception?

Getting bucked off is always a possibility in the life of a journeyman horse trainer. They take on horses to break and ride. Kayo (an alias to protect the guilty) had gained a good reputation for skilled horsemanship. Already accepted to vet school at WSU, Kayo could probably teach the faculty a lot about horse psychology. One of the local horse traders brought over a 6-year-old paint mare named Kahlua that had a bad reputation and needed some schooling. She liked to buck.

I have been thinking about carbon. This particular atom is profoundly important for organic life and the sustainability of life. In plants, carbon is about half of the total dry weight. Carbon dioxide is the precursor to organic carbon assimilation in plants; we know this as photosynthesis. This reaction, driven by solar radiation and the change in energy of electrons, is easily the most important chemical reaction on the planet’s surface. We call this the biosphere.

The bankruptcy of New York City milk distributor Beyer Farms threatens to kick off a domino effect that could also topple Elmhurst Dairy, the only milk-processing plant left in New York City, according to executives. Elmhurst Vice President and General Manager Jay Valentine told The Post that Beyer’s collapse slashed 20 percent of his company’s revenue overnight.