Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

In the first week of June one of our cows gave birth to a very small bull  calf.

He didn't breathe well and couldn't stand up.

Although we didn't really have a lot of hope that he would live, 

it was decided to put him in the barn instead of a hutch to care for him.

Each day he drank a little more milk and with help stood for brief moments.

In just a few days, he was the favorite calf!

He became known as "Big".

To Hattie's delight, 

Big loves being fed grain by hand

and 

sharing a kiss.

                                             
                                     I'm thankful for these sweet experiences with my family
                                                                down on the dairy farm.
                                                                         

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Rain or shin, hot or cold, calf feeding is an everyday chore down on the dairy farm.

I'm thankful that my day begins with feeding our baby calves their milk.

It's an experience that always brings a smile when you watch 

their tails wag in appreciation for their nutritious milk.

We transition them from a bottle to a bucket after three

 days in their private calf hutch but milk is fed twice daily for eight

 to ten weeks with the addition of grain and water.

As I  approached the calves this morning, I think I heard them say,

"Got Milk?"

Happy Thursday!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Before I married a farmer,

a rain gauge was just  one of those free items you received from 

the local bank or insurance company. 

My how time and experience change 

what we think and what we value.

We no longer seem to be offered the free rain gauge

but the rain gauge has become an important and valued tool in my 

farm wife toolbox.

Emptying the rain gauge during a drought 

has become my favorite job!

It's one of those happy heart moments 

down on the dairy farm.

I'm thankful for the two inch rain we received this past week,

for the fact that the rain allowed  time in the shop for machinery repair,

for the slightly cooler temperatures for our cows to enjoy

 even though it was a brief cool-down,

                                                   
                                                                              and
                                             for refreshing our thirsty land and farmer souls.

Happy July 4th!

We've got the best of both worlds...

the freedom to farm 

and 

to celebrate our freedom and love of country

all in the same day on this July 4th!

                                                           
                                                              Happy July 4th 
                               from down on the dairy farm!

July's Favorite Flavor

What's so great about July?

It's Ice Cream Month!

I can't think of a better way to transition from celebrating 

all things dairy during  June Dairy Month to enjoying

 a variety of  very dairy ice cream flavors.

According to  The History of Ice Cream 

by the International Dairy Foods Association,

 "the first official account of ice cream in America comes from a letter 

written in 1744 by a guest of Maryland Governor William Bladen. 

Manufacturing of ice cream became an industry in 1851 by a 

Baltimore milk dealer named Jacob Fussell. Like other American 

industries, ice cream production increased because of technological 

innovations, including steam power , mechanical refrigeration,

the homogenizer, electric power and motors, packing machines, 

and new freezing processes and equipment.

Today's total frozen dairy annual production in the

 United States is more than 1.6 billion gallons."

What's your favorite ice cream  flavor?