Yesterday our new cows Patches & Coco Rose came to our farm. Patches is a sweet little Jersey who we are going to milk and Coco Rose is her geriactric companion. She's an old girl at 10, but a real lovey of a cow. I think they may have some home sickness for Debra & Local Farm but I imagine they'll settle in soon. Lulu, our ewe, seems a little miffed. I'm sure she'll soon realize the cows are nothing to be afraid of.
This morning was our first milking and I was pretty excited. Unfortunately it didn't go as smoothly as I expected. Whenever I milked Patches at Debra's it was always a breeze. She was pretty unsettled this morning and put her foot in the bucket twice! Ack! Then it seemed like she stopped letting her milk down although it seemed she still had milk. I asked Dan to see if he could strip her out, being paranoid of not getting all the milk- and causing mastitis. She seemed to let down a little more milk for Dan at the end. We took home a little more than a quart. Which means we spilled about a gallon when she kicked the bucket over.
I'm sure tomorrow will be much better. I can't blame Patches for needing some time to adjust. Bea was champ and sat for a long time across from Patches and watched patiently.
It is such a big change to have cows at the farm. For us, it is a huge lifestyle change. Especially for me - it is really grounding - connecting me to the farm in a way I haven't been before. (The veggies are really Dan's realm.) But I don't mean just the chores and the milking. Each animal has a different energy. I'll write more on this later... It is almost supper time! We are so happy to have these lovely creatures with us. I can't wait until tomorrow morning!
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