Mud Puddle Blessings

Before this year's drought, I don't think I really gave a lot of thought to mud puddles except when trying to keep my two little boys from jumping in the middle of them. Living through a drought, no doubt, brings a new perspective--mud puddles are now on my list of blessings! It was a welcome sight this morning to see mud puddles from the inch of rain that fell during the night.

Even though we have had a little rain since the beginning of fall, we are still fourteen inches below normal and will be dealing with the effects of drought through the winter as we strive to feed our cattle a nutritious diet of hay and grain. With a shortage of hay and the high cost of grain created by the drought, it is necessary to remove cows from the dairy herd that are not being productive. Today we sent eight of our milking cows to the local cattle sale. Although this is a common practice that allows a dairy farm to bring new, more productive cows into the herd, it has been difficult but necessary for us to use stricter criteria to cull our dairy cows during this drought.

Although the effects of this drought will be a challenge for our family farm for a very long time, I'm thankful for each day and every mud puddle!