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!

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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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. 

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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.

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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.

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.

Last week, our neighbor stopped in to chat.  He looked at our cow.  “Looks like she’ll have her calf in another two weeks.”  I know he knows cows, but other folks say there’s no reliable way to tell.  I’m not sure those other folks are right, though, because the same neighbor stopped by yesterday, too.  He looked at the cow.   “She’s gonna have that calf before another week,” he said.  Well, I wasn’t expecting that  calf till closer to New Year’s, but if he says it’s time, it’s probably time.  I’m as nervous as if it was my own baby.