maggie's pedicure

This was not what I was going to post today, but I thought it was interesting, so here you go!
Well today we were able to get Maggie's hooves trimmed. I have never seen it done before, so I wanted to be around when it happened. It's not like I "go to work" I live at where I work, and usually am home. But I had some errands to run and drop my boy off so he could have a sleep over with his best friend/cousin for his birthday. His cousins, not my boy. Well I was rushing around town to get everything done. Thankfully it was early enough this morning and the stores were not busy. Phew. Shopping in the early morning or late at night is the time to go. Although the store is more stocked in the am. Anyhow...
Back at the farm. Maggie came right in when I called her. She only came part way for my husband, so I came to his rescue and she came right in!! Haha. I like to tease him about that. Well she got led out and put into this contraption.

 Aren't you glad you don't have to go in one of these to get your pedicure?! I'm assuming. I've never had one before! Hahahaha
Then

Then these belts go around her and give her a hug. No it doesn't hurt the cow in any way. Maggie looks like shes giving me the harry hawk eye saying "I'm so embarrassed, and how dare I take her picture of her like this."
Then this

He uses a cutter of some sort and off come the extra hoof that needs to be trimmed. I'm glad I had the camera in front of my face so the flying hoof didn't hit me in the face, one piece hit my forehead though.
Then

The back. Their legs get locked into the metal with a chain. That way they can't kick.
That's it. Then they are let down, and put back out in the pasture. Safe for everyone. Only took about 5 minutes. Dandie didn't get hers done, she's not big enough, and her hooves are fine.
Now aren't you glad you know how a cow gets a pedicure? I am. I thought it was cool to watch how it was done.  Makes me want a pedicure now!!! ;-)
Have a great day all.

beautiful site

Oh how I love this site!! So beautiful. Our Jersey cow happily outside munching on any blade of grass she can find. Can't wait to put her out on a bigger pasture, and see how our milk changes along with the amount of cream!!! Oh yummy!!

Yup ole Maggie moo out eating grass. Such a wonderful day. Such a perty cow too!
Have a fabulous weekend all!

stone

Alright, just a quick update on Maggie. We missed her last heat last month, or rather we didn't really miss it, the AI tech never got back to us and well, there goes that. So we have been watching her like a hawk this month, and really wanted to hit the mark. Well she was showing signs of being in heat the past day and a half, different then the last time, not so much of the tail, and flirting, but hanging around the chicken tractor and mooing a lot yesterday and today, and other visual signs I won't write, but were there. YES! we thought, and we put in a call to the AI tech. He came this afternoon, and after checking her out, he said yup to breeding her. That she was ready!  We wanted to re-breed to Denali , but no such luck, not that I believe in luck, he (the AI tech) had sold out of him earlier today. Bummer. What are the chances of that, not that I believe in chances either. So after chatting with him and looking at the bulls all over again we decided to go with a bull named Stone. He's on the tall side, and Maggie is on the short side, so maybe a baby in between. He has a high cheese merit, high fat, and produces "exceptional udders," and for a dairy cow that is what you want, and he settles his cows well. I guess this post would not be for the faint of heart, but then neither is farming! The cheese merit is good, because I want to make cheese, and the fat is good for butter! And come to find out Maggie may have never settled last time, because cows don't usually abort that early in their pregnancy, but rather absorb it. I'm learning so much, and have so much more to learn! The kids had a few questions, and we answered them too. I think it's best to be honest with them, and answer their questions. They are trying to put it together, and they don't want Maggie to get hurt. We assured them she was not hurt. Tonight Rachel asked with a big semi toothless smile if Maggie was going to have a baby, and we told her that we hoped so. She informed us she did too, and wanted a girl! I asked Little Matt what he wanted to name the calf, and he grinned showing off that cute dimple in his left cheek "Dandy," (Dandelion) was his reply. Now we are looking at an October calf. So now we wait... again.


**Just a side note, I'm still trying to remember my other posts and what I labeled them, so if they don't make since, bare with me. I'm not the most computer savvy woman! It's OK, I can handle that!

some things I've learned...

OK, so as I was doing the dishes this evening my mind was wondering to the cow, big surprise right?! and what I have learned since having her. So it may be a bit random or "flying by  the seat of my pants" in thoughts, but that is how I roll!
I told Matthew the other day, that Maggie is a great first cow for a number of reasons, and two being that she is  head strong enough to keep me on my toes, and docile enough to give me, a first time hand milker/cow owner the confidence to milk/handle her. I've figured out just how much fun, and well, stressful it can be to literally chase a cow all over your neighborhood the day after you get her! Yup, we did that! As well as putting fence back together as your cow runs wildly through the neighbors fences for his cows! Not to mention how many people say, after you say the cow jumped over the fence to get out, literally jumped the fence and cleared it! that "the cow did jump over the moon!" that is not so much funny to me, anymore. I think from the cows perspective she must have been scared too, not knowing where she was, who was chasing her, and wondering where her buddies were. She had been born and raised on the farm we bought her from. I would like to learn how to rope, while riding a galloping horse, because you just never know when that skill might come in handy!  Just how sore my hands can be after milking 23 pounds of milk from your cow. How many gallons of milk I need to get 2 gallons of cream to make about 4 pounds of butter! How to make good yogurt. How long it takes me to make and process 4 pounds of butter. How much I hate, loathe, despise,  hot dogs, don't even get me started on hot dogs! Amazing where your mind can go while you milk. How much I actually enjoy milking, and the noises I've discovered about my life while miking. Looking, or rather stumbling around, for a cow at 2:30 am in the pouring rain is not that much fun, but would probably do it again! When you wean a calf from it's mother, they really are sad. When you loose your first calf it's sad. Although we had a crash course in homeopathic medicine for calves, and learned a lot, and hopefully better success next time around. How to AI your cow and the questions that come up from the children from that. How much more time I spend at the sink washing all the milk stuff! That a cow has a very long tongue, and can lick your face without a moments notice and almost french kiss you! Yikes! Cows like to lick, at least my Jersey does! How funny it is to squirt your unsuspecting kid in the face with the star on the end of the cows teat, and listen to them squeal as it hits them!!  I'd like to try my hand at making cheese too, and cow's milk soap (sounds weird to say that, cow's milk soap, as opposed to goats milk? And I do like goats milk soap)! That is in my near future and a goal for myself this year. I think I'll start with mozzarella cheese, and soft cheese for the "expensive crackers" (LOL)!! I'll let you know about that...
It's only been about six months since we got Maggie and that is just a handful of things that I've learned, and I look forward to more time with her and any other cows that come our way...
I also know how much I enjoy sitting down on my comfy couch, with my man, and enjoy a large piece of  homemade wacky cake and a tall glass of fresh, cold, raw, organic, milk, from my cow!

Check out my glasses! I love these, the way they tilt, can you see the tilt? I do love 'em!!! (TY  SIL) 

the noises of my life

This week has been a bit of a blur for me.
 Little Matt had a Cub Scouting award thing this week. He got multiple awards, and both sets of grandparents were  there to see him get his new awards! He's already gotten his Tiger, Bobcat, Wolf and Bear badges. Now begins the 2 year process of getting his WEBLOS badge. He enjoys cub scouting, is learning a lot,  and has met several other boys in town who do it as well.
I've managed to make 8 pounds of butter, clean the house, bring in more of the harvest, (pumpkins and squash, that are sitting in my living room) get the meat birds killed, um or harvested if you don't like the word kill, packaged and frozen. Not to mention sloshing around in the rain in the middle of the night to get the cow in, to no avail. I also got caught up on the laundry and hung it on the line instead of using the dryer! Been to town a few times and still have not done any grocery shopping! Oh well.
The weather today was wonderful. So I took advantage of the warm weather, and sat in it for a while as the kids played outside.The sun was out and there was no chill in the air. We all ran around outside this afternoon in t-shirts! It has been rainy the past few days so it was nice for them to be able to get out and get some exercise and run off that extra energy! The horses were feeling frisky today as well. They put their tails in the air and ran round the pasture bucking and kicking and blowing out their noses. That was nice to watch!
I've been milking Maggie a lot this week, so it seems like I have. I'm finally getting the knack of it too, and my hands don't hurt, as bad, when I'm done either. I do enjoy milking her. She just stands there and falls asleep. I like the quietness of milking, just me and the cow. I listen to her stomach, the sound of her chewing her hay, the slight clanking of her bell on the stanchen , the kittens mewing as they wait for some milk in their dish, the hens clucking happily as the eat bugs, the sounds the kids make running around laughing and playing together. Their excited voices when Matthew, "Daddy", pulls  in the yard!  I love it! All of it!
 I love the sounds of my life. They are wonderful noises, and  milking the cow has made me stop and listen to the sounds of my life on the farm. I cherish them, and look forward to more noises on the farm as it grows and the seasons of life change.

2:30... am

I woke to the sound of rain. Heavy rain.  My eyes wouldn't focus on the bleary red numbers on the clock. I sat up and thought  "Oh no, the cow is out!" Never did I think I would wake up and think about my cow in the middle of the night, getting rained on. I poked Matthew and asked if she was out, and his sleepy response was yes. He also informed me she would not come in. I glanced at the clock. 2:30ish,  the numbers were still not clear.  I didn't listen. I proceeded to get dressed and put on my knee high rubber boots, stumbled outside with no flashlight because "Mr. Nobody" didn't put it away, anybody else have one of those? stumbled around in the dark, got some grain, after more fumbling around with the cover of the bin, to bribe Maggie, sloshed around in ankle high water and called for Maggie. I couldn't see anything, it was dark and cloudy, I was not fully awake and the rain was pelting my face. I couldn't find her. Good thing she has a bell on or if she had come up to me she would have scared my half to death. When she walks, she walks slowly, and without that bell I never would have seen her coming or heard her. That would make for a good post!! Haha! Never know what would have happened. I think we both would have jumped! I called and called and shook the grain can. She didn't come. I gave up, after wondering around in the dark, wet pasture, feeling guilty about not getting her in. I went back to bed, it was almost 3am, but didn't sleep. It wasn't cold last night, a balmy 40 degrees. I still felt bad. Come to find out she was at the very top of the pasture in the corner, just as happy as could be in the morning. It took some convincing for her to come in the barn and get milked too. Stubborn cow!! Oh well. Maybe next time I won't be in such a pucker to get her in. Probably not.
"Mr. Nobody" is a wonderful poem the kids memorize for language arts, along with many others, it's a great poem. Maybe sometime I'll write it up. I know I have at least one in my house!!