Happy Mother's Day

Mother's Day is a day of celebration and making memories with

those we love most.  My earliest recollection of today's celebration 

would be the cards we often made in Sunday School accompanied by

the flower in a paper cup to be given to Mother.

My heart is full of gratefulness for the love that has

been showered on me by my Mother and the women in my family.

It seems fitting to share the poem from a  Mother's Day

 ribbon I received at 

church when my boys were little. 

Two Temples

A Builder buildeth a temple,

He wrought it with grace and skill;

Pillars and groins and arches

All fashioned to work his will.

Men said as they saw its beauty

"It shall never know decay;

Great is thy skill, O Builder!

Thy fame shall endure for aye."

A MOTHER  builded a temple

With loving and infinite care,

Planning each arch with patience,

Laying each stone with prayer.

None praised her unceasing efforts,

None knew of her wondrous plan,

For the temple the Mother builded

Was unseen by the eyes of man.

Gone is the Builder's temple

Crumbled into the dust;

Low lies each stately pillar,

Food for consuming rust.

But the temple the Mother builded

 Will last while the ages roll,

For that beautiful unseen temple 

Was a child's immortal soul.

 ---Hattie Vose Hall

  Happy Mother's Day!

 

                                             
                                     

                                                
                                       

                                                             

                                       

                                           

                                            

                                 

Dairy Farmer's Thankful Thursday

If you didn't   have a watch or a cell phone to give you the time, you

could still   estimate  time down on the dairy farm  by

 watching the cows standing in the pasture. It's obvious that like us,

the cows are creatures of habit.  

The feed wagon with silage rolls into the dry cow pasture  every

morning  around 8:30.  Today was no different and you can

see the cows are eagerly watching and  waiting  to get 

their first bite.

Dry cows receive a pellet feed that is formulated for their

metabolic needs during this time of resting and preparing to

give birth. The silage on the wagon is like dessert to the cows.

It's no wonder that there is a lot of mooing if the wagon is late!

                                     I'm thankful for  the simple daily reminders to 

                                   appreciate the predictable  and the unpredictable

                                            like an iris blooming in  November!

Dairy Farmer's Thankful Thursday

                                       It's obvious from looking at the relaxation of our farm dogs,
                                       we need a little more excitement in these crazy COVID days!
                                       Feeding the baby calves twice a day has just worn them out.

  I'm thankful for these three dairy farm dogs that 

                                        do nothing but bring us joy on the gloomiest days,

the laugh from the son who put up with the wrong candles on 

his birthday cake,

                                         

for the opportunity to celebrate a belated birthday and 

Mother's Day with most of my family 

and

the beauty around us during these challenging 

days down on the dairy farm.

Dairy Farmer's Thankful Thursday

Finding this new baby hiding in the buttercups was a little like playing 

hide and seek with granddaughter Hattie. The obvious clue was the

 Holstein mother standing close by just waiting for recognition!

It's a comfort during these days of COVID19 to  experience 

normal activities down on the dairy farm.

Our daily mission of caring for our animals and producing safe, 

nutritious  high-quality milk has not changed.

I'm thankful for our dedicated employees that have come

to work everyday and for the fact that all are still healthy,

for the surprise visits from our flower loving,watering girl Hattie,

and for the beauty around us

confirming who is in control of all circumstances

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

There's no other month quite like May down on the dairy farm.

All of a sudden, everything  needs to be done at once.

Everything includes not only milking twice a day and caring for 

our cows,heifers and calves but also hay cutting,wheat harvesting

 and corn planting.

Our feeling of being out of control happens every year but

                                        as crazy as it sounds, I still love the month of May.

I'm thankful for the new calves that are being born almost on a daily schedule,

for the smell of the first cutting of hay,

             

and 

for the appearance of the old fashioned flowers that 

brighten the landscape as we work down on the dairy farm.

                                                                                       

Happy May!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

                                              I'm thankful for....
                                 

the pair of Egyptian geese that have come

 back to enjoy the farm habitat,

                                         

the new calves born this week,

the variety of  beautiful  colorful iris blooming,

and

                                               
                                                           for the entertaining conversations
                                                                   with Hattie and Frog.

                                                         Life is good down on the dairy farm!

Dairy Time

As the sun was setting this afternoon, the dairy cows  were resting and 

 enjoying their leisure time in the pasture.  

It was obvious that even though we changed the milking times  

 to accommodate the time change, the cows didn't seem to notice that

 Daylight Savings Time ended today.

I'm afraid it will take me a couple of days to adjust to the schedule 

changes in chore times even though I did get that extra hour of sleep!

We live on dairy time regardless of the 

beginning or end of Daylight Savings Time.

                             
                       
                                                 

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

                                                           After a few rainy gloomy days.
                                            rays of sunshine were a welcome addition in the
                                                     late afternoon down on the dairy farm.

                                   I'm thankful for the  rainy days that watered our spring crops,
                     refreshed the pastures and encouraged the iris in the flowerbeds to bloom!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

May is definitely a merry month down on the dairy farm!

Just as the flowering trees are leafing out and the pastures are greening up, 

the iris, also known as 'flags',   make their grand  entrance.

I'm thankful for the colorful landscape provided by old fashioned flowers like the iris blooming next to the pasture and the sweet memories of childhood days spent in the garden with my grandparents.

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Fall colors in late October  are usually limited to the trees, 

but you never know when Mother Nature may surprise us!

Old fashioned Iris, also known as "flags", are usually blooming in May but for some reason this yellow beauty is blooming like crazy this week.

                               I'm thankful for these unexpected surprises  that happen to remind me
                             that God is always in control and provides a blessing when unexpected!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Rain and chilly weather lingered most of today in Northwest Arkansas.

Wearing coats and gloves this afternoon while feeding calves was  a  sure sign of "blackberry winter"  on the dairy farm.

 

I'm thankful for the late afternoon sunshine  and the  spring rain that we so desperately needed

 

 

to refresh  our grass for the  cows to enjoy

and 

 

lift our spirits with new surprises of   color in the garden.

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

We're on duty around the clock during spring calving season to make sure that our dairy cows have a healthy delivery. I'm thankful for this "special delivery" that happened without any complications  in the middle of a hectic day  down on the dairy farm.

 

 

Mother Nature always has perfect timing!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

I was pleasantly surprised to find this iris blooming last week  in my badly neglected  grass covered flower bed.  I've never had iris bloom in the fall but it was a sweet reminder of how God continually blesses us when least expected.

 

                                                    
                                                  
                                                              I'm thankful for unexplained

                                                                                  and

                                                                      expected surprises

 

down on the dairy farm!