Actually I’m not even sure I can remember how to make a post on my blog, it has been such a long time. But things are beginning to settle, with our recent move to Crawford.

You better be careful what you ask for, and I’m always asking for raw milk. Years ago, the man used to always say, it is just as easy to milk 5 as one. Now that we have five Guernseys, he says it is just as easy to milk 20 as 5.

Well, he ain’t the milker. Oh yes, that Dutch milkman sure can milk, like the wind, by hand into a bucket. All proud of himself.

Yet there is so much more to milking than that. He is surely capable, but absolutely incapable of putting the milking machine together, milking with the machine, then straining the milk, separating the cream, washing and washing and washing everything, and cleaning the jars and bottling the milk, and finding raw milk shareholders.

He has been digging and digging a new line for the irrigation, and they broke the main today and are still at it.

But let’s face it, the man does a LOT, nothing of which I could do.
Like calving. Oh I hate it when he is not here for emergencies, and Miss Adeline was due yesterday. I think she might calve tonight. Thank goodness he is here.

So here are a few pictures of the cows from today, and hopefully soon I will have baby pictures to share.

This is our bull Castle and one of his girlfriends Lillian. Lillian is the one that had twins last year.

This is dear Omen. She had a big bull calf about two months ago. He is such a fatty, that he is drinking all of her milk. I still bring her in every morning and dip her in iodine and strip her out to see if everything is ok, and put udder balm on her. I don’t have enough raw milk shareholders to need to separate her calf, and she needs to gain some weight.

This is our superstar Tipin. Some of you may remember that she barely made it through the winter when we brought her back from Iowa. So malnourished and pink eye, and though she was purchased as bred, she never even cycled. Then she had a date last July with the Maine Anjou bull, but only for a week. He was such a lazy fatso, I figured she never even had a honeymoon. So a full year goes by, and though we knew she passed her 9 months gestation for it to be the Maine Anjou, she had only been with our Highland steers since then.

But I knew she was pregnant, we just could not figure it out. So the end of June she bagged up overnight and began spraying colostrum. But, alas, no baby. It was a mummy calf. If a cow loses her embryo early on, usually they just pass it, but sometimes they wall off the tissue so their body does not get an infection. Strange but true.

She is the most amazing cow. I knew she would be incredible as she herself is an embryo transplant, and breeders only use their finest cows to do that. She is a monster, I have never seen a cow this big. She has never tried to kick or be mean or the least bit scared. She gives almost four gallons of the creamiest, most delicious milk, once a day.

This is the mother to be, Sweet Adeline. I had been drinking her milk and colostrum from a wonderful dairy in Montrose, Milk and Honey Homestead, and her milk is incredible. The dear owner, Tami, offered her to us because she was unable to fend off their bossy pants Brown Swiss cow which would not let Adeline eat. I do understand about bossy pants Brown Swiss. When she arrived here with our other Guernseys she fit right in. She has no fear at all of any of the cows, or Evie the horse, and they all get along famously. She is the most gentle cow, and I look forward to milking her. Hopefully all will go well with the birth.

Maybe I will have baby pictures tomorrow.

BTW, if you know anyone in the Crawford/Paonia/Hotchkiss area that would like to be a raw milk shareholder, please send them my way. I will soon be swimming in milk.