Hazels winter wonderland

Hazel never misses a meal she's always the first one to the hay when Brian puts out a new bale. She is nice an and fuzzy right now with her winter coat.

I think she's really starting to show that she is going to calf this spring. I'm hoping it's a heifer. If it is the new little girl will be going to Kentucky to become the future family cow for my son and his growing family.

The Hazel compromise

This morning my mother announced that she was buying Hazel. Do WHAT? 
That's right she said she was buying Hazel and that Anders and I could milk Hazel for her. That would relieve Brian of responsibility for the cow and she said she is going to buy Hazel's food. I tried to reason with her. I explained that if she buys Hazel that won't really solve our time problem. We'll still have to milk and care for her.

Have you ever tried to argue/talk sense to a red head? Or a stubborn little old lady?

There was no reasoning with her. Hazel is staying. The only compromise I could win was: if the milking gets to be too much we'll dry her off and put her out with the beefers. Then we'll try milking again when she calves in the spring.

:^) I admit it. I'm glad Hazel is staying. :^)

Of Dairy Maids and Dairy men

It is my considered opinion that the advent of the milking machine was when the family dairy moved from the domain of women to the realm of man.


When I was younger I milked a cow by hand. Resting my head against the warm side of Bossie the cow as streams of steaming milk splashed rhythmically into the pail was ... a Zen experience. When the cow was dry I'd turn her out and carried the bucket of warm frothy milk to the house. Simple, uncomplicated, relaxing.
 
 Now my husband uses a milking machine to milk our cow, Hazel. The machine involves a vacuum pump and its idiosyncrasies, lots of mechanical parts, enough hoses to confuse an octopus and a stainless steel tank. Brian finds the whole contraption fascinating. He actually enjoys fine tuning the connections and settings. He talks constantly of finding the perfect length for the hoses and whether or not the sling is really necessary. When he starts talking mechanics and physics my brain turns off and I find myself "Uh Huh" ing him. You know - nodding and making little noises of agreement while not really paying much attention to what he said. I tried using the milking the machine once. By the time I was done I was a frustrated, nervous wreck.
 
To add  insult to injury, when the surge is full of milk I can barely lift it. Even Brian uses the little trailer pulled by the lawn tractor to haul the milker to and from the barn, but he can at least lift the stainless steel surge up into the wagon.

So there you go... when milking started involving machines it became man's work. Because men, in my experience, like machines and those doggone milk cans are HEAVY!

Earth Day Delivery

                                             

This is Taylor looking through the fence at Hazel's new baby. Hazel finally decided to have her calf on Earth Day. She was born in the little paddock next to the barn some time after noon while we were all up at the house baking.
We all paraded out to the barn to see the new baby. It's a beautiful reddish brown heifer. She has soft eyes with long eyelashes. She looks like she has on mascara and eyeliner.
Emily commented how appropriate that she was born on Earth Day. So we've decided to name her Gaia.