Dairy Daze...and Now Beyond

OK So remember the post before the pallet post, just two posts down? Remember? Tonight as Ellen and I were walking down to get the 4-wheeler just out of the blue she says; "He has a key." Me, rather bewildered: "What?" Ellen: "The bull has a key to open the cow. I think he opens her back." Me, starting to catch on: "Why does he need to open the cow?" Ellen, with a sigh at my density: "So he can put in the seed in. The seed to make a calf." Me, trying not to giggle: "Oh." And that's where I left it because if I started trying to explain she'd want to see things for herself and we haven't gone beyond where we were at the last discussion. And it has been a long day and I didn't feel up to discussing penises. What I really need her to understand is how to wipe herself after using the potty, and how to not get both legs into the same underwear hole when dressing herself and practical things like that; not bovi...

August 20, 2011 Last Monday, I believe it was, Ellen and I were walking down over the ridge to get the 4-wheeler from where hubby leaves it after his round-up. As is usual, the bull was standing there in the trees, a ways behind the milk barn. (He follows the herd up the hill and then stands there while hubby shuts the gate on him. He later decides he wants to join the cows and pushes the gate down to get to them. But that is a different story.) Ellen has seen the bull numerous times. We have had many discussions about how cows have udders and give milk, but she’d never really thought about what the bull is for…until that night. As we were walking by she suddenly asked; “Mommy, what does the bull do?” Trying to keep it light and unthreatening (to myself, not to her) I replied: “He eats grass and sleeps all day.” “No, Mom,” Ellen wasn’t satisfied. “What does he DO?” GULP Weeeelllll… I jumped in with both feet and just gave her the truth, since she obvio...

This actually happened a couple of weeks ago when we got a new calf. The calf was from a first calf heifer that was up in the bull pen. Usually when we see that they are close to calving we bring them back to the milking herd to get used to the process of being herded and to be able to keep a better eye on them. But it was so muddy that we decided to leave her there. We made a couple of trips a day checking on her. One morning I found her up there with her little heifer calf. We decided to do something different to get them. We took both 4-wheelers; one with the little calf cart, which I drove. We were going to load up the calf, lead the cow to the corral with the calf and then shut them up. Well. It was a good idea in theory, but it proved hair-raising in practice. You see, the bull does not like noisy, rattly things that invade his territory, they make him steaming mad. So he threw one wall-eyed fit. Hubby did a bit of discouraging with some bird-shot, which kept Mr. Bul...

Just some random thoughts. The weather has been up and down the past few days; ice, snow, sleet, sun, wind...a bit of everything. Last week schools were closed 4 days because of ice. The only way this affects the dairy is that when I make my runs up the road to do the graining in the early AM there aren't any kids out by the side of the road waiting for the school bus. Not that I have anything against them; I don't know them at all, but I feel like an idiot on parade going back and forth on the 4-wheeler, waving to them. At one place the parents take the kids to the bus stop in the car/truck and sit and wait. And that doesn't really bug me either much except for the fact that they only see me in my grungy chore clothes, never in anything nice. Also, I have started calling the 4-wheeler "Cyclops" because one headlight is out, so I feel even more stupid. I was raised to watch my language, and as a Christian I don't have a problem with not swearing, even in...

(OK. I joined NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month)-meaning I am supposed to post every day for November, but I haven't been doing a very good job of it. I joined late so I guess it doesn't matter for this year anyway.) Yesterday my husband had one of those Mondays. On Sun evening at milking time he noticed that our expectant heifer was acting funny, so he rounded her up and got her in a pen by the corral. At 2:30 AM he dons his boots and heads out to check up on her. Sure enough, she's got a calf, but somehow it has slipped UNDER the corral and Mama Cow is having a fit to get to it. So he has to drag the calf around, in the dirt and whatnot, and rearrange portable cattle panels so cow and calf can be reunited and not mix with the rest of the herd. In the process one of the panels falls down on the back of his leg. He comes back to bed and tells me nothing of what's gone on. At breakfast a couple hours later he tells me we have a healthy heifer calf, but, he says, ...