A good cow is priceless

 

This is Gretel. Isn't she pretty?

 

Gretel is a Jersey crossed with a Milking Shorthorn and was the first cow we brought into our little farm family. When we bought her she was a pregnant heifer, which means she was pregnant but had not had a calf yet. As first time bovine owners, we should NOT have bought an untrained heifer we were planning on milking because you never know what her temperament will be like in the stanchion(the place you milk a cow). Gretel is a stubborn, honery cow(she's a cow now since she's had her calf) who doesn't like people to pet her and cuddle her. We were worried she would turn out to be a terror in the stanchion once we started milking her because her personality is a bit "butt-heady".

If you saw me during the month of May you probably noticed that my left arm was black and blue and purple all up and down. If you would have been able to see my left thigh, you would have seen the same thing. These lovely bruises were from teaching Gretel how to deal with being milked after she had her calf. A cow has a strong kick and it hurts!

Luckily, it only took Gretel about a week to realize that if she kicked me, she would get kicked back on that leg and we would not turn the machine off and stop milking her. Amazingly, Gretel has not kicked once since that first week and is a dream to milk. We are so pleased with the kind of milker she has turned out to be.

We machine milk, which involves a loud vacuum pump. Gretel has been used to the sound of the pump for a very long time. When the pump gets turned on, she let's down and starts "leaking" milk. She knows what is going to happen and isn't surprised any more. Being the greedy eater that she is, she is more concerned that her food isn't going to run out than what is going on with her udder.

Last night we had a bit of a "disaster" in that our vacuum pump wouldn't turn on. We had no choice but to hand milk but I was worried with how she would react to it! Cows that are only machine milked(or vice versa) can sometimes have a difficult time changing methods. I was fully expecting for her to put her foot in the milk pail, not let down her milk or kick the pail, me, Kai or Sarah(since they are the normal milkers and I was helping them). Gretel stood more still than she does with the machine and made it so easy for us to get her milked out. It was wonderful. Malakai decided that he would rather hand milk because it's "fun" and asked if he could have his own dairy goat to hand milk.

Maybe one day we'll pass along Gretel to a new family but for now, she's a keeper and we are so blessed by her yummy milk, her patience in the milking parlor and the fact that she doesn't kick any more!

***Disclaimer*** Gretel is not skinny. Dairy cows are supposed to be angular and show their ribs and hips. In fact, Gretel is a little bit chunky in relation to what the perfect condition is for a dairy cow.

New babies

Bovine babies, that is! We picked up these 3 pretty girls 2 weeks ago to add to our growing little herd so that we would have future meat for our family. We have been on the search for a bull calf/steer but have not been able to find a young enough one to add to our farm. These girls will do the job and the price we paid was a good one for this area.

 

This is Penelope and she is a Charlois cross. She is so sweet and pretty and I am really hoping we WON'T need to butcher her. We were told she was a part of a male/female twin set, which would make her 96% sterile, but the rancher was not actually sure because there was no Mama around when he found her. We will be getting blood work taken to tell us if she is, in fact, a free martin or not. She would be worth more to us as a Mama than she is a cull animal.

 

This is Barbecue(Barbie) and she is for sure a free martin. We are going to love her and care for her and treat her well and, in return, she will provide our family with good, natural, organic beef for our freezer. I love how some people say that they could never eat an animal they raised and yet go out and buy a hamburger from some fast food joint that was probably slaughtered in deplorable conditions and pumped full of antibiotics and chemicals. I'm glad I know how my animals were treated, raised and slaughtered.

 

This is Norah. We weren't planning on buying her but when we went to pick up Penelope and Barbie we had planned on purchasing another 5 day old calf. However, that calf was on the brink of death(common in drop calves because they aren't given colostrum or cared for by their Mama right after birth) and the man selling them didn't feel comfortable selling us a sick calf. He offered us Norah who was 5 weeks old, healthy as can be and a perfectly breedable Angus. So, we took the offer and are so glad that we did. She is so sweet!

We also have 3 other little additions to our farm but I am going to blog about them at another date.

Sarah is now 13





  I have had plans for Sarah's 13th birthday since she was only 9 years old. It was so much fun to finally put it all together! We don't do big parties for our kid's birthday's. We usually spend a nice family day planned by the child, sometimes with Jonah's parents(they do something special with them too). I wanted Sarah's 13th to be something she always remembered and I wanted it to be a complete surprise.

 

  The whole weekend was one big surprise after another. My parents, brother Chas, his wife Janet and their 2 girls, my aunt Judy and friend Michelle(who the kids call Auntie Shell) and her daughter all came up 2 days before Sarah's birthday. No one knew that they were coming and it was so much fun watching all the kid's reaction. I made them all sit on the couch to watch a video and while they were sitting there my parents and Aunt walked into the living room. The kids went crazy!

 

  Shortly thereafter, as we were showing my parents and Aunt Judy the newest additions to the farm the rest of our guests drove into the driveway. It was such a great surprise for our kids and made Sarah feel so special when they told her they were here to celebrate HER that weekend. I will spare you all the details of the "party" surprise but Sarah thought she was going with me, my mom, Aunt, Michelle and sis-in-law to a special dinner to celebrate her birthday and we had to pick up another important person(Teri) before we went.

 

This is her expression. She cried, she shook, she didn't know what in the world was happening. It was great!

 

 

There were 35 of Sarah's girlfriends and special women who have spoken into her life and whom she admires. It was intimate and special and I caught her crying numerous times as she looked around at who was all there.  

 

These 2 little girls have been friend's since Sarah came home at 4 years old.

 

And they have grown into two beautiful young ladies who love the Lord. 

 

 Part of my idea for this party was to "welcome" Sarah into womanhood since she is beginning her journey now that she is 13. For gifts, I asked that it be something thoughtful that she can add to her hope chest and she received SO many amazing and special things that she has already begun to cherish. As she opened each gift each giver was given the opportunity, if they wanted too, to encourage Sarah and uplift her. It was a sweet time of tears and smiles and laughter as those who love her most remembered her past and looked forward to her future.

 

It was, overall, exactly what I pictured and planned for my sweet daughter. She has told me over and over again just how much it meant to her and how special it made her feel.

OK

Yes, I know it's been a long time since I've blogged.

Us Winger's have been busy. Like crazy busy. Never-been-this-busy-in-my-life busy.

I have some ideas in my head for lots and lots of posts from recent past events but am worried that all of you could care less about our simple farm life. It's not really that exciting or glamorous(well, sometimes it is. Exciting, not glamorous).

What say you? Is it interesting to you all as readers? Do you really want to know that we're having a hard time getting Gretel milked out since we brought home 3 little drop calves and she's holding it up in hopes that we'll give her one? Maybe I should just write it like it is and then let things fall as they may with how many readers there will be. :)