Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

                                                             
                                           
                                     Everyday is an adventure when you are two years old.

I'm thankful for every "Grandma"  moment I 

spend with Hattie down on the dairy farm

looking at the calves,

picking crab apples to feed the squirrels,

or

playing hide and go seek on a crisp fall day.

We are blessed in so many ways to share our family

 farm experience with the next generation.

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful that even though the view across the pasture of

 our 4th generation  dairy  farm has changed dramatically this past year,

                           
                                our family farm values of providing high-quality milk by
                                             caring for our animals and the land has not.
                                           
                                   
                                                           
                                                 

Fall Dairy Recipe

Happy Fall,Ya'll!  As I was browsing through the recipes on the Midwest Dairy website, I found a recipe just made for filling the kitchen with the smell of fall...Baked Apples with Cinnamon Yogurt Topping. 

Just reading the recipe brought back memories of my childhood when my Mother would bake apples in the fall or winter. The sweet smell of cinnamon and apples would fill the house. I'm ready to make some fall memories with a little dairy...how about you?

Baked Apples with Cinnamon Yogurt Topping

Ingredients:

4 Granny smith or Gala Apples with or       without skin

1/4 cup unsweetened apple juice or apple cider

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions:

For Baked Apples

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8x8 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray; set aside.

Core and thinly slice apples. Place apples in a medium bowl and toss with apple juice. Mix brown sugar, cornstarch,cinnamon, nutmeg and salt together in small bowl. Sprinkle over apples and stir gently until apples are coated.

Pour apples into prepared baking dish. Bake 40 minutes or until apples are slightly browned at edges and sauce is bubbling.

For Yogurt Topping

2 1/2 cups low-fat plain yogurt

1 teaspoon honey

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Line a colander with several paper towels and place over a bowl to catch drips. Pour yogurt into colander and allow to drain refrigerated about 30 minutes. Spoon yogurt into a small bowl and stir in honey and cinnamon.

For each serving, top 1/4  of the warm apples with 1/4 of the yogurt topping.

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Foggy mornings are sometimes challenging when you are looking 

for new calves that may have arrived in the early morning hours.

The gathering of these expectant cows around the new baby  was a 

beacon as the fog began to lift.

It's that mothering instinct that always shines.

                                       
                                       I'm thankful for the beauty of new life as we transition
                                                into the fall season down on the dairy farm.
                                                                                   
                                                   

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

We were happy to see Gittlein's custom chopper pull into the first corn field yesterday. 

Harvesting of any crop is a big deal but our corn crop is especially

 important to our dairy cows diet   through the winter and early spring.

All the corn we raise is chopped and hauled from the field to the 

silo on the dairy farm.The chopped corn will go through a

 fermenting process and become the silage that our  dairy cows 

will enjoy eating with other grains and hay.

It was my good fortune to be offered a ride around the field 

with my oldest son Cody.This was our view  of the chopper as 

we drove down the field side by side so the corn could be

 blown from the chopper into the truck.

With three trucks running to haul the corn to the silo,

it gave us opportunity to catch up on a little mother-son communication

 as we waited for our turn to pull up to the chopper.

                                              I'm thankful for the harvest of a good corn crop,
                                      the unexpected opportunities to spend time with my family,
                                                                                  and

                                                           
                                                     to share  life down on the dairy farm
                                                              with multiple generations.

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

When my job of delivering net wrap to the field was complete,

 I took advantage of the opportunity to ride around  with Ryan

 in the truck and trailer to haul bales to the wrapper.

This crop of hay-grazer will be used to feed our dairy cows this

fall and winter in their daily feed ration.

Even though we work together every day on the farm, 

we're not often all working on the same job.

I savored the moments as I watched the farmers working together.

  

                       

                                             
                                       I'm thankful for this crop that grew in spite of the drought
                                                                               and
                                           for the steadfast faith and hard work of the farmer.                                                                               

                           
                                         

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Even though we have a daily routine that includes milking our cows

 and feeding all the animals on the farm, today was anything but ordinary.

During fall or spring calving season, 

it's not unusual to have from one to three calves born.

Today we had a total of nine new babies!

It was anything but a routine afternoon  as Ryan and I worked to

give each new calf a bottle of colostrum and vaccinations to prevent illness.

I'm thankful for these kind of interruptions of our daily routine

that bring smiles to our dairy farmer faces

                                                                                  and

                                         for the new crop of calves for Hattie  to help  feed!