Just over two liters of milk this morning. With NO bucket kicks! |
My setup is vastly different than what she was used to just a few days ago. For one, they used a milk machine frequently (not always), and I am in the 100% hand milk school. The folks at Beatitude Farms sold me on the virtue of hand-milking last year. So I never even considered a machine. So there's an adjustment. Second is the timing. Bridget was milked out around 5 AM so the dairyman could get finished and attend to his second job. I milk around 6:30 to 7 (after the sun is up). Third, she's used to a big ol' barn, a fancy stanchion, a dozen more cows, and the whole big operation. I have a T-post, a dog leash, and a steel bucket.
My milking supplies are lo-tech, but effective for how I work. |
So we're all adjusting. She's calmed down and is easily led now (it was a struggle all weekend). She's adapting well, and seems at peace. It is much more peaceful here than with the big dairy herd and machinery where she came from. I can tell that from just spending an hour down there.
Bridget saying hello. |
But with most of the early "get to know you" phase behind us, we can now work together to produce milk and meat for the family, and provide a calm, peaceful, loving acreage for her. Wife let the cream separate for a bit and made an afternoon coffee.
Coffee with same-day Jersey milk-cow cream. SO YUM!! |
And I have found that nothing is better than for a man to rejoice in his work, and that this is his portion. -Ecclesiastes 3:22
Rejoicing is a whole lot easier with fresh, backyard milk. :)
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