I really never thought there would come a day when I would care whether a cow had weak udder suspension or was sickle hocked, but it did. We bought a cow today. Talk about shocking! Our little homeschooling family went down the road a ways to check out a few Jerseys. We were undecided between cow #65 & cow #59, but decided to go with the latter. She's nice.... I think. :) If you had told me a few years ago that I would have chickens, a big garden, and then a cow!!!! I would have laughed in your face. My how things change.
Actually it is a cow shared between families. My sister's troop is in on it too. Our plan is to supply both families with milk, cream, butter and lots of other good stuff with our shared ownership. Call us crazy, but we're doing it anyway. The only thing is that until last night we knew zip about cows. I mean nothing. Zilch. I've been reading up on them and asking a million questions. I've learned many interesting things in the past 24 hours. Things like:
*If you lift a cows tail up it is unable to kick. Good to know.
*They need about 15 gallons of water a day. That means we'll have to carry that much out to her since we don't have plumbing in the barn. Oh joy.
*They are unable to spit.
*They don't see colors.
Not that any of you are interested in cow trivia. :) But besides these facts I am understanding that this is a big undertaking for us and we need to get ready for lots of extra work around here. That means that mommy has to get life organized if she's going to stay sane. My, I have some things to put in order. It doesn't take much to stress me out. The thought of me and my kids and my home smelling like a barn yard is stressful to me.
To relieve this stress my husband and I have plans for the next week. Purging, organizing, and preparing. #59 is being delivered on Monday. I'll let you know how it goes. It's exciting.
I wonder if #59 is excited. hmmmm?
16 comments:
that is totally cool!!!congratulations on your new....acquisition.
i'm glad cows don't spit :) aren't you?
I totally can't believe you guys bought a cow! Well, I can, I just think it's very cool. C started mooing when she was the pic...we might have to visit your family farm one of these days and learn about real work!
I can't picture you milking it :)
We think she looks like a Twink. So far that's our best name suggestion.
They were having lovely weather at the farm yesterday, weren't they? Where did you get that picture????
Jenn, I take that as a compliment when you say you can't picture me milking it. :)
Seven, Twink sounds good. I'll see what the others think. :) And my camera died after one picture, without #59 in it, so I had to steal another pic for the post. On Monday we'll have OUR cow up for y'all to see. :)
Yes, it was totally a compliment ;) I can't picture Seven milking it either!
So that's just a random cow in the picture?
i think #59 is excited to come to your house. i can't believe you bought a cow. i dreampt last night that i asked charmin if it was worth it to plant a garden. she said no, and said you guys were nuts to plant such a big one since it would cost you $9/day in upkeep. that's one expensive garden. i think i'm gonna ask my landlord if i can plant some stuff in my hideous backyard this spring. hmmm. why not.
Well, I'm insulted. I'd like everyone to picture me as the capable type who can do anything. A great big sturdy girl like me should be able to milk a cow. I had no intention of milking #59, or Twink perhaps, but I just might have to now to make a point.
I didn't say you couldn't do it...I just can't picture it, that's all :) And when you do milk her to make your point, could I please be there? :)
Hey do you think I could come milk #59 someday? I've always wanted to try that. or maybe y'all are too insulted to let me milk your cow :)
Jenn, you can milk our cow anytime! There aren't any takers for the 7am milking yet. :)
Can't you put the cow on a schedule, like a baby and milk her say, at 8am? Then the next milking would be at what time? Do you milk a cow twice a day, or...I don't know! I am cow illiterate. I could just be illiterate too.
Hey Lori, you milk a cow twice a day between 10 - 14 hours apart. On Mon, Tues, Fri, Sat, we will milk at 8 & 6 or so. On the other days we have to be at church in the evening and will have to milk at 7 & 5. That's what we're thinking anyway. Learning as we go along. :)
I too would love to be there to watch you all milk #59. Make sure you take pictures.
this whole cow thing is very interesting to me and I literally can't wait to meet it. is that weird? Like a little cow obsession or something. Don't judge me :)
7am milking? Um, we'll talk :)
Oh my goodness! You guys are definitely hard workers! What's her name? Hmmm, Betsy is the first cow name that comes to mind. Summer has a baby doll and Bob asked her what her baby's name was and she goes, "Betsy". Haha.
Umm, call her Pearl. I got nothin. Star? Still nothin. Twink sounds good! :)
Ok, why has no one thought to leave the name '#59'? Best name I've heard so far, anyway.
You could also go the Leah route and name it 'Jesus', as that is what we are naming our second child according to her.
Nothing like a cow to bring on a huge onslaught of comments. :)
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