Don't know about all ya'll back in GA but here in NE its been HOT! We had weeks with the heat index over 100 daily.. the hottest day it was 107! How crazy is that! All of our cows have spent their days laying around seeking shade and cool... and not eating much. So, a few weeks later and here we are with a decline in milk. No cheese. Sad mommy over here with no new cheese.
Our English Cheddar sold out in about three weeks. That was insane! Guess folks liked it! We have about two buckets of feta left and a few rounds of the jacks. The raw milk feta was a total loss.. not sure what happened or how but it ended up with mold in it and feta is not a cheese that mold tastes good with. So, we ditched it. Sad.. but a learning experience non the less. All of our cheeses sold well..people seemed to enjoy them. We start calving again in January so hopefully we will be able to start making cheese again soon after the new year.
 Market season is kicking my butt! I stay exhausted, but I really do enjoy it. I have met some wonderful families and have formed some farmer friendships for which I am very thankful. :-)
Here is a shot of the sky last Sunday at the Aksarben Village market. We got a good shower that was over briefly and learned just how wonderfully waterproof our tent is. We moved our tables in a bit and gave some folks a chance to get in out of the rain and taste some cheese! Love it when things work as they should!
We have had some fun lately too! A friend had an open house at their farm so we went along and enjoyed some wonderful food and the kids all got a chance to ride a horse. It's been a while. I miss having Tater around.
 Hannah's ride  Its so awesome watching the boys. They are so different from the girls. Makes me wonder about the nature vs nurture theories. I guess its a bit of both. But man... these boys are a handful.. and precious! They are full of life and mischief. The things they get into... we can't seem to child proof enough. (As if we could really child-proof a farm. ) Today Andy came home to discover they had unplugged the electric fencer, plugged in an extension strip, found various tools and were having a field day. Sooo dangerous!
 The really scary part is how quickly they snap into gear. One moment we look out the window to see a sight like this picture... two little guys just playing and having fun. Sweet.. right? Two seconds later (literally) the trike is empty and they are in search of power tools, ropes, buckets, ANYTHING, and they are up to some elaborate plan to destroy SOMETHING. Little turds.
Out we go in search of the terrors.. and we find this. Who could stay mad at a face like this? Not me.
Well, I guess that's about it for this month. Fall seems right around the corner. I need to get to work on putting the garden to bed for winter. So much to do here and there never seems to be enough time. It's hard to believe that tomorrow is September already. Where did the time go?
Summer is here! And so is our CHEESE! Our journey to farmers markets has finally arrived. WHEW!  Just the process of choosing a market felt overwhelming at first. So many choices! We are so blessed here in the Lincoln/Omaha markets with so many wonderful markets to choose from! I have been a frequent visitor/purchaser at the Lincoln markets but had no idea where to start with the Omaha ones. So, we started checking them out. Fun... all in itself! A new market was opening in Lincoln so it seemed natural to start with that market as it would be smaller and we only had a two cheeses to choose from. Also, I could bake bread.. one of my greatest loves!
 So, sporting my new haircut (thanks Linda!), armed with 14 loaves of my whole wheat cinnamon roll bread off we went. I was thinking the bread would be a fun addition and I could talk to folks about healthy fats and introduce them to our cheeses. I spent the better part of a week (or two) carousing Lincoln's thrift shops for everything I thought I needed. I assembled all my goods, brought eggs, meats, cheese, and that bread. All anyone was interested in was the bread. I came home so bummed. I couldn't figure out what went wrong. Back to the drawing board! The market uploaded some pictures of my table on their FB page and boy was that helpful! Something stuck out at me when looking at my set up from that viewpoint. NOTHING! My signs were hidden, all that really stood out was the bread. No wonder that's all anyone wanted! I also realized how bland my color set up was. I thought I was being really nifty ... my whole set up matched my cheese labels... sunflower yellow table cloth with a cute little red and greed plate.. . just like my labels. Boy.. did I have a lot to learn. All this great cheese and it was hardly noticeable. Two things I did do right was to make a big white board poster with pictures of the animals and I was handing out Weston A Price brochures.
 Sooo.... week 2! Lost the yellow tablecloth... used Grandma's red and white checked ones. Added another table so we had an L shape. Didn't snap any pictures though.. it was the Grand opening of the market and we were occupied talking to people and listening to the radio station blaring next to us. OK.. so singing along and goofing off a bit. Hannah came with me to this one.. I hate that I dont have a picture of her. I only baked six loaves of bread and set them to the side. Cheese more front and center in a groovy red basket and plate. We sold a bit more cheese and a few meats. Not brillant but better. Learning, learning. I spent a lot of time creating these cute little signs for Ground beef on sale, signs with colors and framing in clear plastic stands... and spent the whole evening picking them up off the ground or table! Pretty frustrating! Looking at my table that night I realized that as much as I love my Grandma's red and white tablecloths I really needed ones that fit my tables and matched each other better... bummer. As usual... my MOM saved the day! In the mail I received some gorgeous bright busy country checked tablecloths! With a matching plastic mat upon which to showcase that cheese! Woo Hoo!
 So, week 3 approaches an I think I have it all figured out! (silly woman) I made these great signs to hang from the beams of my tent... got my gorgeous eye catching tablecloths.. what can go wrong?? I should learn not to ask. It was 105 degrees AND windy! My signs flew off their hooks... so I taped a few to the poles. My big picture board kept flying off it's stand and finally broke my big easel ... :-( And we needed table cloth clamps- stuff flying everywhere! It was so stinking hot... after setting up I just wanted to pass out! Very few people at the market... (can't imagine why!). But Jamie was WORKING IT!. She had her little cute self standing outside of the tent catching folks as they walked by giving them brochures on the farm. She even brought in a few folks... one guy said he was just buying those lamb chops because she was so cute! I came home so incredibly exhausted.. it's just too hot in the evenings! So... starting to think about weekend early morning markets. And.. we have more cheese coming ready.
 Last weekend we went to Village Pointe market in Omaha. I couldn't believe the difference! People were there to shop! They came prepared to buy groceries! We actually sold meat and cheese! It was awesome! We had our jack cheeses and our cheddar bites (which sold out!). The heat didn't set in till the last hour and it was much more manageable. And.. no bread... as much as I love baking... it was taking up all my extra time and energy.. I was spending two days solidly baking. A week of not baking was certainly welcomed. I was able to spend a little time in my garden... I found baby cabbages in all the grass! How fun! Andy made me this awesome big wood sign for the markets that works great to catch attention and DOESNT FALL OVER!! I have taken to taping my picture board to the tent poles.. still need to work on a better plan for for that. But, we are starting to feel like pros... set up is much easier and we are learning more and more every day! Why just last weekend I learned my tent goes up much higher! Today we attended an indoor one day market at OPPD District offices in Omaha. We premiered our Raw Milk English Cheddar and our Fresh Feta. Both girls came with me and they had a blast. Quite the little sales girls they are making! I figure its a great learning experience for them... talk about real socialization!
On a non-farm note: Ashley Graduated! :-) Not that we ever had any concerns... she is so stinking smart! Nonetheless it was a wonderful thing to celebrate.
 We took a day off this month to celebrate our July birthdays. Michael turned 3 and Jamie is turning 9! This is just all going by too fast. It seems like just the other day when asked how old Michael was I said 2... (actually it WAS just the other day!) Then it dawned on me.. my baby is 3. How did that happen? It seems too fast. Anyhoo.. we took a day off from the farm.. Andy milked in the morning and we went swimming all day! Such fun! Andy was smart and left his shirt on.. me.. not so much! I have quite the burn on my back and right now am often imitating the pigs scratching myself on posts and walls. Totally worth it though! We have decided to stick with morning milking... it has opened up all kinds of avenues for family fun! Andy gets more sleep too... which he desperately needed.
 oops!  my hot cheese date! Feeling thankful these days for our wonderful friends here in Nebraska. We couldn't do this without your support. Thankful for all the times friends just show up to help or are willing to be my hot cheese date and help me cut up and package cheese late at night.
I still miss my Georgia friends but is is just so great that I have developed some dear friends here. On my birthday my closest friends here surprised us by just showing up with food, cake, and weeding gloves! They went to work on my garden and uncovered so much goodness in there! Plants that were being choked out by grass and weeds were given new life! I can't even tell you how much that meant to me. And if not enough, the next night they took me out for dinner! We had big fun goofing off, walking around the Haymarket and making Facebook mischief by posting we were getting tattoos. Been too long since I have had so much fun!
As usual.. life here keeps rolling along. The past few weeks have been very eventful.. and busy. Andy lost his job which while scary is just a blessing in disguise. Things here were getting unmanageable for me alone with the kids all day. Milk orders were getting confused, I was exhausted.. and the house just beyond help. Since Andy has been home we have put the garden in, did some gardening around the house, worked on fences, fixed up the store, CLEANED HOUSE, baked bread, made cheese, and the list goes on and on! Things around here are looking quite spruced up! Mom was here for a visit last week, she was TREMENDOUSLY helpful! Thanks Mom!
Hopefully we will get all the backlogged stuff completed soon and begin to enjoy each other a bit more. It would be wonderful to have time as a family to do the normal stuff families do. The budget is going to be a stretch at best.... Andy's income was a huge help around here... but that too I am sure will work itself out in the end. We have meat in the freezer, I still have some veggies in the freezer from last year and the garden will be producing before too much longer.. in fact the lettuce looks pretty darned close! Thank goodness I have bought in bulk for years; things like oats, rice, corn, and wheat we have plenty on hand to last a while.
Our first cheese is ageing. I worked last week and got our cheese labels done.. they should arrive next week. Its looking like I will be at Village Point Farmers Market in Omaha on Saturdays starting in July. We will have pasteurized cheese to sell there.. we will be doing a fresh Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, Fresh Cheddar Bites and Pepper Cheddar Bites for sale. Deciding to produce cheese that would require us to pasteurize our milk was a tough choice but it allows us to be at the market in July, bringing in much needed revenue, and I can talk to people about the value of pasture based farming. Its a good opener. By late summer we will have a supply of raw cheeses to offer and things will be different. Our raw cheeses will be English Cheddar and Aged Monterey Jack. We may also venture into Colby... I want to keep it simple and wanted to provide cheeses that families can use in their everyday meals.
Did you see our new webpage header photo? This is Mouse.. one of the original four cows purchased here in Nebraska. The shot was taken by our friend Dianne Merrill. She is just starting out a photography business... and she sure does great work!
 The calves are doing a great job of keeping the lawn mowed! Its fun having them right here next to the house.. .they are so darn cute! We had another little guy born yesterday... Daisy.. she has had three bull calves in a row... whats up with that?
Last week's cold snap really stalled the growth of our grass... its getting tight out in the pasture. Hopefully things will stay warm now and that grass can grow grow grow! All this rain has to help.. right????
Our pigs are back out to pasture! They are digging up our winter area... one bit at a time. As you can see in this photo taken by Mom they enjoy their work!
We have piglets due in July.... looking forward to that!
 While Mom was here we took the kids bowling. Found a great website... www.kidsbowlfree.com. You can totally sign your kids up for two free games every weekday all summer long! Totally awesome! You can even purchase an adult family pass for up to four adults to play along with the kids all summer for $24 total. Awesome deal. We enjoyed our game... Micheal was so very cute...( his ball rolled so slow he would just crouch and wait) and Alex has quite the style! Its was great fun to get away for a few hours and just goof off.
Well I reckon I should head off to bed. It's been a long day. I revamped the webpage, added galleries with slide shows.... still much to do... will keep working tomorrow. I hit the sheets exhausted.. but as always -- thankful.
Well... it seems spring might be here to stay! Our cows are out to pasture and things are beginning to dry up around here. Putting the cows out to pasture is something we look forward to so much around here. The cream on our milk has already turned yellow signalling the return of all those precious CLA and Omegas properties!
We finally completed the finishing touches on our milk room! We now are a Grade A dairy, licensed by the state of Nebraska!
One of the big perks of our new status is that our milk will be tested by the state monthly for both somatic cell counts and bacteria levels. Our initial tests came back with excellent numbers, which confirmed for us what we already knew... our milk is good! Seriously... it is nice to be see our numbers and know we are doing things right.
Andy tests the cows daily for somatic cell counts, anything that is even remotely positive, is milk that we never put in our tank, and Andy uses a separate milker to milk. This has kept us free from mastitis so far. We are able to catch any potential problems way ahead of the game, are able to address any issues with a cow before it turns into a problem, and we keep from spreading anything around the herd.
 I know.. boring boring boring.... but there is another reason why we wanted to get to Grade A standards -- CHEESE!
We doubled our herd in March with the purchase of 20 grass-fed jersey girls from Iowa! This was such a scary decision.. I had to completely let go of it and let Andy have the final say-so. Milking 36 Cows! 26 caving in April! What was he thinking??? But then the answer came to us..... CHEESE!
We will have raw milk cheddar cheese available come early July. We have to age the raw milk cheeses for sixty days here in Nebraska so that is why it will have to wait for a little while longer. But I am so excited about this!
Its hard to believe but just a mere two and a half years ago we were starting over here in Nebraska. Milking four cows on a dirt floor in the barn... and now we have 36 cows and a functional real milking parlor and milk room! Its been a long journey to get here, and at times we have been so close to giving up. But here we are..... right where we want to be. God is good - and we are thankful. Yes, I am exhausted.. and yes at times overwhelmed. But thankful.
 Ashely's senior prom was in April. Back in March she and I took a whole day just the two of us for prom dress shopping. What a treat! I had dreams of dresses all night, but we found just the right one! My friend Linda graciously offered to do Ashley's hair for prom and ended up doing both hers and her best friend, Cass's hair! She did an amazing job of recreating what each girl wanted. The both looked amazing! Thanks Linda!
Ashley also turned eighteen this month. WOW! I am screaming proud of that kid... it's hard to keep it in sometimes. She has really turned out to be an amazing young woman. Its exciting to watch her make plans for her life, to see her thinking things through and making adult decisions. Its also bittersweet; she is planning on moving out after graduation... to an apartment with friends. She will be starting college in the fall..her life is really taking off. I am incredibly thankful for the relationship she and I share. She is not only my daughter but my friend. I was a single parent from the time she was one until she was six. At times it felt like it was her and I against the world. Now, I get to watch her go out and take on the world.. it's wonderful!
 There is one major downside to a TV-free life... I miss out on the daily news. I need to discipline myself to check the news app on my phone regularly. I only learned through Facebook of what happened back home last week. Here is a picture stolen from Ciara's Facebook page of the tornado in Ringgold, Georgia. I was relieved to see that my friend is fine. I am still waiting to hear from family that my Aunt in Alabama is well... I am guessing she is since bad news travels so fast. No news is good news... right?
Bartow County Georgia sustained a lot of damage, and that is where our farm was located. Looking at pictures of the ruins brought me right back to the tornado that hit our home back when Ashley was just a little one and it was just us. I don't ever remember being so scared, so helpless trying to keep her covered and under my body, feeling the walls move back and forth, knowing the tornado was at my house. We were lucky, very lucky. We lost our roof but were safe and sound. My heart goes out to all those that lost their homes or worse, their family members. They remain in my prayers.
On a positive note: Hannah, Jamie, and Alexander had their last week of Awana's this past week. Hannah and Jamie took second and third place respectively. Our neighbor Karen took them to Awanas this year and they really enjoyed it. It hit right at milking time so I never got to go and watch but I am pleased they had fun and did so well. 
I will leave you with a shot of Michael collecting eggs on Easter. One would think my kids would tire of egg hunting - huh, But... treat-filled Easter eggs are hard to resist!
One of these days I will have to cut his hair.... not yet. I am so in love with his unruly curly unkemp locks! It took five kids to get curls...
 After a week of spring like weather... here is how the farm looks tonight. Boy, am I ready for March! This past month has felt like a rollercoaster ride. We have had some exciting moments and some tragic ones as well. We have some new piggies! We have added some Hereford pigs to our family. Hereford pigs are a heritage breed that believe it or not originated right here in Nebraska. They are known for their gentle disposition and are excellent grazers. IF you are curious you can check out more on the breed by clicking HERE.
They are really fun little pigs... curious and very friendly. They love a good nose scratch so feel free to greet them when you are here... (mind the white fence - it bites).
These guys will be here close to the house for a few more weeks... we will be moving them out to pasture once we have grass. So, say hi while you can!
 stole this off her facebook account! :-) Ashley is home! She decided that she wants to attend college here at home rather than in Georgia so she came home this month. It was a difficult decision for her but she seems very settled and centered and at peace with her decision. Ashe is back at Lincoln High and will graduate from there this May. She only needed 17 credits to graduate so she only has to attend a half day at school.
I cannot begin to tell you all how absolutely wonderful it is to have her home. She is such an incredible, bright, alive, young woman... her spirit and exuberance fills our home! We are all so thrilled to have her back!
 Candy
We added four new cows to our herd this month. Welcome Milly, Molly, Mandy, and Candy. Four beautiful jersey girls!
They are doing great.. they have adapted to our laid back milking style and are getting along with the other ladies just fine. We couldn't be happier with them.
We had a tragic accident this month. Weirdly enough it was actually the night that Milly, Molly, Mandy, and Candy arrived. The power lines on the road came apart at the insulator and fell on our fences. This caused quite the fireworks show which scared the cows and calves here next to the house. They ran. One hit the fence and was electrocuted and three others ran into her and were lost as well. The whole experience was horrific... we waited an hour for the power company to come shut down the lines and make our farm safe again... very nerve wracking. All in all... we are lucky... we could have lost many more cows than four, as bad as loosing four is.
We are blessed beyond words that this accident happened at night, that Andy did not touch the fences when he went out to check on everyone, and that our children slept through the whole event. We were able to tell them what happened in as gentle a manner as possible, they were spared from witnessing any of it.
The next week was one of waiting. Waiting on OPPD, waiting on the insurance folks, waiting to bury our four lost cows. The children mourned and the other cows mourned.. it was heartbreaking to watch. The children laid roses on the cows and we covered them with a tarp and waited. One of the adult cows lost her calf eight weeks early and we waiting and watched to see how many more would suffer the same fate. Electricity is such a funny thing.... one moment it's a necessity and the next it is devastatingly dangerous.
Miraculously we had a beautiful calf born last week! Her Mom is Tippy and one of our best cows. They were in the area with the accident so we did not expect the calf to survive. We named the little girl Tiffany and I have some incredible shots of her birth. Tiffany's birth leaves us with hope that maybe we have turned the corner and the rest of our cows will be well. btw... she is named after a friend of ours.. Tiffany Baker. This may seem a strange way to pay tribute to someone but she just reminded me to Tiffany... long, leggy and gorgeous!
All is well with Tiffany.. she is a gorgeous calf.. very tall and leggy and full of beans!
She is in the barn keeping warm right now but will join the other calves soon.  All of these new additions means one thing - MORE MILK! Our milk shortage is now a thing of the past! The past two weeks have been a blur of farm tours as we have opened up our waiting list and have been able to accept new customers. It also means the return of one of everyone's favorite things - CREAM!
Our cream separator has been chugging away and so has my food processor with butter! LOVE butter! LOVE CREAM!
We are bottling over 36 gallons of milk a day right now. Our family has been enjoying treats such as homemade raw cream top yogurt again! Last week I made flavors such as honey, maple syrup, and succanat vanilla which were all huge hits. I also tried molasses yogurt....( that one needs work).
 Our new baby arrived today! His name is Shep. He is a Great Pyrenees puppy. He is such a big boy.. only eight weeks old but HUGE!
Shep will be a working dog... his job will be to guard the sheep. In a few weeks he will go to live with them and learn their ways. They will be his pack... not us. This is kind of sad since he is such a love... but our sheep need him.
Even though there is snow on the ground and it's 23 degrees outside.... spring is on it's way! The eggs are a sure sign! Look at what Hannah gathered tonight!
It's almost here... it's almost here! Before we know it we will have cows out on pasture, sheep shearing, and flowers everywhere... and milk will go back down in price! I could not be more excited!
Ya'll stay warm out tonight... its a cold one! I am off to make more yogurt.
Hi all....
A few reminder emails from some of you and here I am finally getting around to updating our blog. Thanks for the nudges.
Last weekend's snow was fun. Andy is quite the man with a shovel! It took him the better part of five hours but he made sure our customers could come get milk. I was super impressed with what a neat job he did... he even created pathways to the water and house so we didn't have to trudge through the snow. He never fails to impress me. 
A slacker he is NOT!!
 As is probably somewhat imaginable... winter is a rough time of year to be milking. Its rough on us and its rougher on the cows. To give our cows (and ourselves) somewhat of a rest we switched to once a day milking at the start of winter. We have certainly been enjoying the extra time together and have been finding ways to make the most of this time. I have been baking more.... the smell of fresh baked bread is just intoxicating and when combined with a pot of bubbling chicken broth in the works..it's just pure heaven. For me, snow days are spent playing with the kids and baking!
With February fast approaching and cabin fever setting in... I am finding myself focusing on spring. It's time to start planning our garden.... always an exciting venture. As usual we will stick with heirloom varieties of veggies and fruits. Last year we didn't get a garden in since we moved in July. I am super excited about this year's garden! We have some serious projects lined up for spring... one of which will be building a bridge! We are planning a couple of farm work weekends to get that project completed..... so for those of you itching to roll up your sleeves and pitch in we can put you to work! I will have more information on dates, etc much much closer to spring. For now... we are planning and budgeting.
Our first calves of the year are due in Feb! Keeping our fingers crossed everything goes according to schedule and without complications. Our milk supply is so tight right now... looking forward to some breathing room and cream! I really miss cream.
Much thanks to Rod Adams... friend of Andy's that came out for a farm photo shoot. He snapped some amazing shots of the kids and animals.... we are super thankful. (fyi... anyone interested in his services his email is on our links page) I will try and sprinkle some of the pictures throughout this post. I have also updated the webpage including many of his photos not shown here. Its such fun to have new fall photos to share!
 Ashley came home for Thanksgiving! I cannot begin to tell you how wonderful it was to have her home again for a few days. We have all missed her so much. I have come to the realization that, for me, letting go is the most challenging stage of parenting. While its awesome to see the person she is becoming and watching her make her way in the world... its challenging at times and a bit sad.
 Fern November was exhausting... Andy finally had his knee surgery so I had to step in and milk the cows. The first day it took me almost six hours! Thank goodness we are just milking once a day now! Mom arrived a couple of days later.. and not a minute too soon. By day three Hannah was helping me milk and we had it down to under four hours and then to three (which is how long it takes Andy). By Thanksgiving Andy was back milking.
Andy's recovery was amazingly fast! His knee is almost the same size as the other one now. Andy was hit by a car about three years ago and had suffered from knee pain ever since. His pain is far reduced now and for that we are all thankful.
 Our milk supply is good now... we finally figured out what was wrong.. .and it's CRAZY! There was an electric waterer in the field that was putting 110 volts into the ground. Every time the cows went to drink they were getting zapped...even though we were not using the broken waterer... our water tank was acting like an antennae. We also have a small stray voltage issue in the milking barn that we are sorting out. But it's one volt and minimal. We are back up to 20 gallons of milk a day and most thankful.
Winter is setting in and we are discovering that our barn is not insulated enough... so we are planning some additional work for the next few weekends. Anyone bored? Need an activity? We can put you to work!
 I am looking forward to Christmas and the approach of the new year. Spring holds new calves and the return of cream... glorious cream.
Until then we will keep warm and snug... enjoying cuddles in bed with the kids, hot cocoa and look forward to spending more time together. Spring also brings the return of twice a day milking!
WOW! Has September been crazy! I think September 1st was the most insane day I have had in a long long while. By 9am I was so busy I wanted to go back to bed. We spent what seemed like the whole day chasing pigs.. fixing fence.. putting pigs back into fixed fence... chasing pigs.. fixing fence again.. putting pigs back in again... chasing pigs.. so on and so on. There was one pig we just never could get back in the fenced area.  If you can't beat em... join em Of course Andy came home and had her back in the fence within minutes! Isn't that always the way?
That evening it rained and rained and rained. It started real heavy during milking time so I was inside with the kids. Debris started flying and Andy called from the milking parlor telling me to get the kids in the basement.. fast. I looked out the window in time to see the tarp blow off the broiler chicks pen that had been placed out in the front pasture. I knew then we would loose them but there was nothing I could do but watch. Andy came in around 10 and confirmed we had lost the chicks. So sad. We both just felt like crying.
Around 11:30 pm Andy looked out the window and saw the water rising. We had just had three new heritage sheep delivered late that afternoon and the pen they were in was looking like it might flood. So out Andy goes and he let the sheep out... being new they did not know Andy or the lay of the land and they ran straight for the rising water. Andy looked over and saw one of our calves that was trapped by the rising water over the east pasture. He went out and literally pulled her through the fence to safety. It was raining so hard and it was so dark... we could see that the cows had moved to high ground and all we could do was go to bed and pray for the best.
 We woke up to this. 65 acres of water. The only dry areas we had were to top of the east pasture and the top of the west winter pasture. We set off to count animals and survey the damage. 95% of the farm was under 6 feet of water. We lost the broilers, those three rare sheep, but all the cows were safe. No way to milk that day... water was clear up to the parlor!
It was amazing how fast it all cleared. Within in a week most of the pasture was dryish.. but it was all black. It looked like a feedlot here. Yuck. We seeded the following weekend. We even had some much neded help! The Baker family spent part of the morning helping us spread seed.... all the while being pestered by Tater and a couple of curious cows. Friends Melissa and April also came out to help. I wish I had taken a picture of Melissa.... she walked the pasture for what seemed like hours with baby Gianna in the sling! Super Mama! :-) Chelsea came with April and played with the kids so we were able to get the job done! I don't think we would have gotten it done ourselves without all the help! It allowed Andy to focus on fence repairs and really made a difference for us!
We lost most of our grazeable pasture.. way too early in the year for that. Milk supply has signicantly dropped... so no more cream. Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE cream? The end of the cream season was not due till winter! I miss cream already.
Two weeks later.... we get hit with ANOTHER storm. This one was super scary. Debris flying everywhere... 80 mile an hour winds. And once again.. Andy was out in it! He was on his way home when it hit and there was a wreck about 2miles from the house. The woman seemed disoriented and Andy stayed with her.. he had her wait in his truck until help arrived. I cannot imagine how scary that must have been. The village of Alvo where they were had so many trees down the roads were blocked.. it must have been quite the site to watch that happen. We were luckier than most... we had a few trees down in fence line, he house was fine except for some basement flooding, and we lost power and missed a milking due to no power. We ran the generator to keep the milk in the store cold but couldn't get enough juice to run the milking system. Overall... we did OK with that storm.
Cleanup is on going. Construction has halted for the time being... purchasing hay in September was never in the budget. So, our milk room finish work will just have to wait till spring.
Fun stuff that happened this month: We hosted the API of Lincoln family potluck this month. It was a really great day! So much fun to take a day off, visit with friends and watch the kids play all day. Yesterday we stopped by a friend's homeschool jamboree and the girls learned how to throw spears. They made an Atlatl and used it to throw the spears.. it was great fun! Other than that the month was pretty much normal (as she laughs out loud). Normal? Is there such a thing on a farm? Oh well..... that which does not kill us only makes us stronger... right? Seriously... I bet we have the best pasture around next year!
Boy... have we been busy! Construction is nearing completion and we should be applying for our Grade A license soon! :-) The washable walls are up in the milking parlor, almost half of the milk room now has washable walls too.  I thought it might be fun to share with you a before picture. I just found this on Andy's disk..... and even I was surprised at how far we have come. This is a picture of the milking barn before we started construction.
We have been blessed to have the help and support of good friends. Speaking of support..... whoa!
 Uhing family helping with our driveway 
We have even put the kids to work! Here is a shot of Jamie helping Javier mud the ceiling in the milk room.
Not to be outdone Alexander set out to help with the driveway for customers to pull close to the store.
My Mom was here for the past week. She set her self to the task of decorating the farm store as well as the house!! I think the store looks great with the additions of a rug, pictures, and counter top. Thanks Mom!
New chicks arrived in July. They are growing nicely and hopefully next week we can get them out in pasture.
The heat this week has been unbearable! The cows have been seeking shelter in the trees. This is a shot of Blossom.. right before she birthed our new heifer calf " Clover".
Hopefully by my September update we will be all done with construction, the weather will be a bit cooler and life will settle down a bit. But for now... I am off to help Andy milk those gorgeous cows!  night, night all
 feeding calves We are beginning to get settled in here. Construction is still ongoing, thanks to all the rain. Things are taking much longer than expected and costing twice as much as anticipated... but in the end it will all be worth it. I am really excited about things are the transformation progresses. Thanks to good friends we are getting closer and closer to completion.
In the meantime, we are still milking cows! The milk coolers are temporarily housed in the hay barn next to the house. I am very much looking forward to the day those coolers move down to the new store in the dairy barn.... I am growing weary of all those trips back and forth with jars full of milk. I have discovered one really cool thing though..... the sound on rain drops hitting the milk jars lids makes a really beautiful melody!  here come the girls for milking  milking time!
Last week was a little nuts. Thursday the cows found an area of the fence where it was really short (we of course were not aware of it) and they spent the day taking nice leisurely walks down the road stopping to much on grass alongside the neighboring corn fields. I think we put them back in ten times that day. It reached the point that when the phone rang I cringed.. thinking it was yet another call about our cows going on walkie. They got to where as soon as they saw my car coming down the road they would just turn around and head for home. What stinkers! We have a devil of a time trying to figure out how and where they were getting out.... but the last trip back home we watched as they simply jumped OVER the fence! Pretty funny to watch actually... jerseys with those huge udders jumping over a fence! How silly is that!
The most difficult part of the week happened on Wednesday when we said goodbye to Ashley, my oldest daughter. She has chosen to go back to Georgia and complete her senior year of high school with her father. Ashley and I have always had an intensely close relationship and I will miss her immensely. This offers a wonderful opportunity for her to bond with her father and there are many opportunities that she can take advantage of in Atlanta. She is an amazing artist, and a very gifted student. While I am thankful for all the opportunities she has been offered and want for her to have only the best that life has to offer..... as a mother... it's sad and hard to say goodbye. Sometimes the hardest part of being a parent is putting your feelings, hopes and dreams aside to support those of your child's. I am thankful for my daughter and for all that she is and has become...she is an amazing young woman and I can't wait to see who she becomes.
 Alex offering oats to Tater
This weekend was a busy one. Andy worked on fences, moving gates and getting the animals better situated. We are beginning work on the customer entrance area to the store. We added a new member to our family this weekend! We rescued a race horse! His official name is "Light On Top" but we call him "Tater Salad". We are all completey in love! He is such a sweetie pie. The kids spend hours standing on the fence petting him and talking to him. He seems very drawn to the kids... I have to lead him out to pasture so he will go eat! He would much rather just hang out around the barn where the kids play on the trampoline and swing set. To watch him run is just breath-taking. He has such a graceful gait and it is heartwarming to watch him enjoy his freedom.
Overall we are really happy here so far. It's incredibly peaceful... the land is gorgeous and there is just a feeling of "right".
|
RSS Feed