Far Beyond Pearls

I’m getting another cow.  I know what you’re thinking.  It was barely two weeks ago that she was overwhelmed by too much milk.  Now she’s getting another cow?! You probably think I’m crazy.  Well, maybe this is something you should know about me: just as soon as I figure out how to manage whatever it is I think I can’t manage, I kick it up a notch, take on a little more.  This is maybe why my stress levels are so high.  But this is it!  I promise!  Just this one more cow and then I’ll quit.   At least with the cows.

What do you think about sheep?

We were driving along one of the local highways the other day and passed a farmer plowing up his field.  Something stirred deep within all of us to see him working out there, to see him preparing his little bit of earth to receive the seeds that will someday be food.  A little thrill coursed through us, eyes gleamed, for we belong to this earth as much as it belongs to us and I think, deep down, every human soul knows this.

Or maybe we’re just tired of this long, cold winter and grateful for any signs of spring.

We’re excited about our own spring farm plans here.  Plans like:

Raising more chickens. Our hens have been hoping to raise up some chicks, and now that the back of the winter has been broken, we’re going to let them.  We’ll clean the deep layer of litter out of the coop this weekend so the setters won’t be disturbed later.  Next week, we’ll set out some clutches of eggs .  Egg production will be a little light for a while as some of the hens go offline, but it’ll be good in the long run.

Adding a new cow. Maybelle and I talked the whole scheme out yesterday morning and we decided that it was time to add another milker to our farm.  We’re going out to look at some promising cows tomorrow, and we’re really excited about the new gal’s potential.  Actually, we just really, really like cows.  They’re more work than chickens, but just as pleasurable.

Planting a big garden. I don’t even want to tell  you how many tomato seeds are sprouting in jiffy pots on a big plywood table in my living room. I didn’t actually count them.  I’m scared to.  All I know is that if you want me in August, I’ll be in the kitchen canning tomatoes.  Also, last year, with all the stress of putting in our first garden, I didn’t bother with flowers.  That was a mistake.  Flowers are good for morale.  I started lots of those, too.

And that, my friends, is how the spring is shaping up here on the Cooper Family Farm.  We’re sure looking forward to it!

The sun came out today, for the first time in forever, it seems, so I took my new camera out of doors and attempted to manipulate it into making some pretty photographs. I had spotty success.

There is this photo of Daisy, for instance. I like it, but it’s the least blurry of the thirty or so I took.

And then there’s this one, perfectly focused on the side of Thomas’s head, just behind his ear.

In my defense, he probably turned his head just as I snapped the shutter.  I like it anyway.

Here’s one of Rosie, focused on her right eye. Strange little photograph.

Rosie smooshed a poor brown leaf all to smithereens while waiting for me to finish with her.  It is now captured for all eternity.

And a pinecone.

I think I’ve established that I can focus well on an extremely finite area.    I think I shall now give up the trial-and-error method of learning this camera and break out the book.

Allow me to boast about my neighbors for a moment.  They are, hands down, the best neighbors in the whole wide world.  We asked to borrow their animal trailer last summer so that we could bring home Maybelle.  They said it was fine and off we drove, but as soon as we got home, they started loading their own cattle into it.  They loaned us their trailer even though they really needed it themselves that day. Not long after, our local feed supplier told us they had the best hay around and, well, they are really conveniently located, so we asked if they had extra hay that we could buy for Maybelle.  They just gave it to us. This week, again, we asked to borrow one of their trailers.  David found a great deal on used pull-behind tractor implements.  They said yes, but it was way down their muddy driveway.  They got out their tractor and pulled the trailer up so David wouldn’t have to slog through the mud to get it. See?  What did I tell you?  World’s Greatest Neighbors, don’t you think?  We’re pretty lucky to have landed next door to them.

And then there’s Bart. Bart served with David down at Fort Stewart and he was David’s boss for a little while here, too. Bart grew up on a dairy farm, though, and he loves the farm life. He’s the one who hauled Maybelle home and he’s the one who showed me how to milk her and he’s the one who made not-one-but-TWO trips today, with that borrowed trailer in tow, to pick up those tractor toys. He’s always been ready with advice when we ask and help when we need it, and we’re really lucky to have him, too.

Yup, we’re pretty well blessed here. We love our people. I hope they know it.

I worry that what I’m about to tell you may tarnish my image, but I must confess: I hate sewing. All the measuring and the cutting and the piecing and the pinning and the ironing – to me, there is nothing more tedious, nothing more drudging. I do like the results, though, and some things can only be had by sewing them yourself, so now and then, after weeks, months, sometimes even years of procrastination, I break down and sew something. Like this:

Snow Birds

Oh, I should have done this months ago. You see, the roosters have favorite hens and they tend to over-utilize them, if you know what I mean, which leaves the hens with bald spots on their backs where the roosters mount them. Without feathers, a hen has no protection from a rooster’s amorous activities, which can result in more serious injury the next time he gets that certain look in his eye. The solution to this problem is to dress the affected hens in little protective aprons.

Now let me just tell you that this particular hen did not appreciate my efforts on her behalf at all. She’s crazy to escape that little blue bit of fabric, and she’s terrorizing the other hens right now, the way she’s running around like a… a… a chicken with a new apron. I’m sure she’ll settle down. Eventually. I hope so, anyway, because there are a dozen other hens out there who could use aprons of their own. I don’t want them to get a phobia.

Have I mentioned that Maybelle’s been holding back her milk? Have I mentioned how frustrating that is? She is one stubborn cow. This morning, her udder was hard as a rock, full of milk. Any nursing mama knows exactly what I mean. Twenty minutes on the suction milking machine and another ten trying to coax the milk down by hand and still no milk. Finally, I let the calf out of her stall. I let that calf out and then I sat right back down and went back to milking. Oh, that little cow, she butted her head right in between Maybelle’s legs and she started suckling on that rear teat and suddenly the milk was flowing! I milked the other two for all I was worth, dodging kicks and redirecting an eager little mouth, and in just a few minutes, I had pulled over three quarts. It was a pretty wild milking session, mostly because the calf was not in the most opportune position, I think, but it is now perfectly clear what’s going on. We had the two separated for a couple of days, but weather prompted us to put a hold on the weaning. I really wish there was a way for us all to get along. She’s obviously a good mama, but I really want my milk. And for the record, that was the most fun I’ve had milking in a long time. I lost half my bucket when she kicked it over, and I got kicked myself – no harm done – but I like milking when there’s milk to be milked!

Round Two of the chicken pox has finally caught up with us.  Brenna and Penny have it, but Penny doesn’t mind.  That’s a big benefit of being very young, I think.  They just assume that whatever state they find themselves in is normal and continue on cheerfully.

* * * * *

I’d been hoping Daisy-the-dairy-calf and I could peacefully coexist, sharing Maybelle’s bountiful milk without incident.  I hoped that because I wanted Maybelle to do the work of raising her calf and because I think she’d learn the art of being cow so much better from an experienced one.  What do I know about being a cow?  However, being such a dedicated mama, Maybelle wasn’t letting down her milk, holding it back for her calf.  Understandable, of course, but unacceptable. She’s a milk cow, after all, and we want milk.  That’s why we got her.  So yesterday, we separated them.  Maybelle is not particularly pleased with us and has not yet let down all her milk, but even subtracting the calf’s rations, we’re getting a lot more already.  As a bonus, that little calf likes me a lot better now that I’m the one with the warm milk!

* * * * *

We got a fair bit of snow last night, so today is house cleaning day.  And bread baking day.    I like when I get a day to stay mostly indoors and do some inside work.   It doesn’t happen so often anymore.

* * * * *

Thomas celebrated his first birthday yesterday!  I can hardly believe it’s been a whole year since he was born, and at the same time, I can hardly believe he’s only been here one year.  It’s funny how, when I’m pregnant, I just think about the logistics of adding one more: where will he sleep, what will he wear, how will we arrange the car seats in the van.  But then, holding that new baby in my arms, something happens, something changes, and suddenly I can’t imagine that this perfect little person ever wasn’t a part of my life.

* * * * *

Thomas has just recently begun kissing me.  Forcefully.  He grabs hold of my face with both his pudgy little hands, turns me right toward him, and lays a big wet one on me.  I just have to be careful that he doesn’t bite me, too, while he’s at it. 

* * * * *

Our garage school is working very well.  I was worried that I would get really behind on things like laundry, but I’ve actually noticed improved productivity all around.  At least, on the days when my back doesn’t hurt so badly.  I remember to take dinner meat out of the freezer early in the morning, so no last minute wondering about what to make.  I usually have all the laundry washed by the time we go out, since we’re up early anyway.   I just feel like we need to come up with a good lesson schedule out there, and plan for the younger ones better, and we’ll be good to go.  We all like this new arrangement very well.

* * * * *

I finished up that art history course last weekend.   Woohoo.  Or something.  Here’s hoping I’ve gotten rid of that college bug once and for all.    Anyway, I did well enough on my written assignments and got a 91 on my midterm, so the results of the final exam shouldn’t matter much as far as passing goes.  I’m glad to have that off my back, at least.  Now I can expend my energy on blogging again. 

Happy Saturday, friends!  Thank you again for your prayers, too.  Today, I am fairly mobile, luckily, since I wanted to do a few things and I actually can.  It doesn’t last for long, so I take advantage.  I know.  Maybe if I rested, it’d keep.  But I think you all know how that goes.

A whole ‘nother day of sunshine!  (How come we speak that, but can’t write it?!)  Alas, I have not taken any new photos, but we did hurry over the feed store to replenish the coffers before the hungry animals revolt.  We ran out of everything this month!  I’m chalking it up to the cold.  Maybe they’ve been eating more to stay warm.

The only  problem with feed day, besides having to haul all those fifty pound sacks into the barn and empty them into metal trash cans so that any rodents the cat happens to miss don’t ruin our food, is the lady cows next door.  See, they ran out of hay yesterday, and when they run out of hay, they just moo at any two-legged creature they see.  They assume we are all magical founts of dried grass.  (Don’t worry: the older girls did all the carrying.)

Do you have any idea how hard it is to walk away from that face?  Alas, we get our hay from the same place she does.  (Such good and generous neighbors we have!)  Sometime tonight, Neighbor H will start up his tractor, and then those cows will really get to bellowing!  They know what’s coming.

This is a gratuitous photograph of a calf because I thought he was just so darned cute.  As soon as I snapped the shutter, he took off like I’d just stolen his soul.

We’re in for some rough weather this weekend.  Maybe.  Isn’t it funny that we are under a severe weather warning for a storm that has not even developed yet?  Well, storm or no storm, we’re ready for whatever the weekend holds.  Hopefully, it holds a nap or two.  And some fresh bread. 

I was going to post some sunshiny pictures of some happy children, but I got sidetracked.  Oh, well.  There’s always tomorrow, Grandma.

I can’t wait for my new half-gallon canning jars to arrive.  My milk shelf is full of little quart jars.  Very inefficient.  Half-gallon jars are not recommended for canning anything which is probably why nobody carries them, but I found them at several online retailers.  Because the shipping was so prohibitively high on those heavy, fragile jars, I hadn’t bought any, until I discovered that ACE Hardware ships for free to any ACE store, and wouldn’t you know my favorite variety store in town is an ACE store?!  My new jars should be there this week.  I only hope that they know what to do with them!  It’s highly probably that nobody around here has ever used the online ship-to-store feature.

We’ve been here for a little over a year now and I love that we get to plan things.  Our whole next year on the farm is taking shape very nicely.  We’re looking at raising a few animals for meat, especially a pair of calves and a pig, and getting a second milk cow as soon as I think I can handle milking two cows.  We’re going to raise a larger breed of chicken, hopefully establishing them as a breeding flock as well so that the meat will just keep coming with  no further inputs from us, and we’re hoping for the same with some turkeys.  Davey doesn’t like duck, but I do, both in the pond and on the table, so we’re going to raise up a few of those, too.  We like the fowl, we do.  We’re also planning for a smaller but much better garden this year.  And a highly recommended variety of blackberries.

Thomas still won’t sit up.  He stands, he cruises, he crawls and is in every other way a normal baby.  I think.  He doesn’t make too many intelligible sounds, either, but I think that’s normal enough.  He won’t sit, though, no way,  no how.  He stiffens up that little back of his whenever I set him on his bottom and flops right over, or he flips immediately onto his knees.

I might be able to get my camera fixed, and for free, too!  That purple bar, that terrible, horrible, no good, very bad purple bar that is really putting a damper on my photograghic designs is probably a defect in the camera which has been known almost since I bought the camera.  I can’t wait to call Canon tomorrow morning!

We’ll be moving our little classroom this week – out to the garage.  Strange?  I think we all need the separation from the house, actually.  I’ll need to organize and plan a little better, but we should be much more productive out there, away from the distractions of chores and bedrooms full of toys and such.  I can’t wait to get it all set up!

I have to go wake up David and see about milking my favorite cow.  We love Maybelle Milk around here, we do.  It’s starting to hurt to pay those low grocery store prices for food.  It is so much work, making food.  Milk?  I’d never charge less than $5.00 a gallon for mine.  I know, when I pay $2.39 at the store, that the farmer who worked for that milk didn’t make enough off it to even feed his own family.  So many farm families sell out because they can’t make a living off their land, or they work jobs in town to pay the bills and farm on the side with what time they have left.  It’s a powerful loss, and cheap food is not all it’s cracked up to be.

And that’s all I have time for today.  Happy Sunday, friends!

Oh, we must have just missed it.  She was acting a little off this morning, ornery but still manageable.  I hoped that was a good sign, but nothing was going on, so we went to Mass.  When we got home, she greeted us from the field, still apparently normal.  So we went in and had lunch.  After lunch, we went cat hunting and egg collecting and then I climbed the fence and hiked out to check on Maybelle again.  The first clue was the red smear down the back of her udder, but I hoped we hadn’t missed it.  I walked more slowly, more quietly and she stepped between me and the furry little lump I suddenly noticed in the grass.  The new calf!  Oh!  How sweet!  It must have happened just moments before, for I watched the little calf struggle to its feet for the first time, and I watched it take its first steps, and she’d been on the ground, Maybelle was, only a few minutes before.  But we missed it!  Ah, well, birthing is a private thing anyway, I suppose.

Wanna see a picture?  Mother and…we don’t know yet.