Milkin' Molly and Direction

 

It's quiet. Too quiet I'd say. It's early morning and all are sleeping. Although I'm not a "morning person", waking up super early (the rooster isn't even crowing yet and it's DARK...5:30, yep) has been such a blessing lately as I have had time to fit in a few extra things before my crew wakes up and chaos starts. Bible study and research time, plus time to get chores done have proven that waking up early has been so valuable to me. I cherish my time with the Lord and have been able to listen to some online sermons on the power of prayer as well as study spiritual warfare more in depth. It has been a blessing.

 

I have to say that I am honestly feeling DRY at the moment as far as blogging. Hmm.

 

There are so many wonderful blogs out there that do the same things that we do (farming, home education, etc.) that I never want to reinvent the wheel. If you're looking for inspiration about how to educate your children in a more natural, soft approach or how to garden, milk animals, process your farm-raised meat, bake bread, make herbal remedies, sew, decorate, talk about adoption or learn how to advance your relationship with God Almighty, well, those blogs and websites are out there.

 

They have already been done and I don't want to reinvent the wheel.

 

Quite frankly, running this farm and family doesn't leave me too much time to blog about what we are doing, but I don't want to leave you all in the dust either! So many of you have prayed for our family as we embarked on this adventure and are curious as to what we're up to, how we're doing things, how we coped with trial and how we are enjoying the blessing.

 

The Lord has brought some ministry opportunities to us and we are learning SO much about tough love, prayer and spiritual warfare. We are learning about the struggles of the flesh, the world and the supernatural. We are learning how to decipher between the three as we minister, so humbled that the Lord would use us.

 

For the DIRECTION of this blog, well...

 

I will probably just be sharing random (really random) things from time to time. I'm lucky if I remember to take pictures as we buzz around here, then to upload them to the computer to share.

 

But, here are a few glimpses as to how we milk our Molly girl (Mabel is due in 4 weeks, but we are "on watch" in 2 as Molly went 2 weeks early).

 

Step 1: Grab your rockin' Ryobi radio and turn it to Moody Radio. Janet Parshall is on at 5:00 everyday and that's when we're milkin'.

Step 2: You'll also need to grab a milkin' buddy. Mine is two, blond and has the cutest blue eyes.

 

Step 3: Clean your cow's udder well, hand-milk a few squirts out of each quarter, turn on your milkin' machine and hook her up. I love leaning into Molly's soft, furry body as we milk. I love knowing what she's eating (and not eating...ah-hem) and how FRESH and unpastueurized the milk is. How it is loaded with probiotics for my wee ones.

Step 4: Talk with Molly's stall-mate, Mabel, because she wants attention too.

Step 5: Adore your helper as he swings on the gate.

 

Step 6: Bring the milk inside.

 

Step 7: Get your jars ready as well as your T-shirt filter. Then pour milk into jars and place in freezer for 1 and 1/2 hours to chill quickly. Then remove, label with date and put into fridge.

Step 8: Clean milking machine.

 

Step 9: Keep record of milk quantity.

 

 

Step 10: Air dry machine and say a prayer of gratitude, thanking God for the delicious milk and raw, healthy, dairy products you are able to provide for your family.

 

...and that's a wrap!

 

(Yes, those are Jersey cow knobs on my cupboard doors, courtesy of Hobby Lobby. It was just fitting, don't you think? {wink} )

 

Farming In the City

 

 

This post has been churning in me for months now. Our brains have been caught up with moving for the past year, making decisions, researching permaculture projects that would benefit our piece of land, building our chicken coop, barn and stables, etc. Our brains have been so caught up that I thought I'd take a few videos to remember our little city farm. I have officially let our garden "go" this spring and we've been in take down mode. We've taken down the cows' barn and milking stanchion. We've been brainstorming how to disassemble our chicken coop and transport "the girls".

 

Yadda, yadda.

 

So, needless to say, we're not much to look at presently, but we're still savoring each moment here. I keep thinking, "Oh, we should do this here, or put up that there", but I pass on the ideas, writing it down for our new property. My head is whirling with ideas!

 

The past few years, I've had a running mental list of some of the great things about farming in the city and some of the not-so-great things about it.

 

Benefits:

 

1.) Everything is CLOSE. You don't have to walk a few acres or take a 4-wheeler to get anywhere. You can see your cows from the living room window. You see your garden every time you get into your car or walk out front.

 

2.) You can have a real impact on others in your community. I know that our family has really enjoyed getting to know neighbors as we let our cows graze out front. We've kind-of become the "Lemonade House" of the neighborhood, if you will. There's always somebody stopping by to play and visit an animal. We've really enjoyed some memories of having friends help us plant our gardens. We've had neighbors come by for manure (we can bless them with manure, while they bless us with taking it away!) and we've also been known to give out fresh eggs from time to time, blessing others. When we have an overabundance of lettuce, what better than to give to neighbors? We even have a back neighbor who cares for the animals for us when we're up at our property for weekends at a times. She gets free eggs and milk, while we get the security of knowing that our animals are taken care of.

 

3.) You have a customer base in your front yard. What better place to sell your excess eggs, fruit, veggies, etc.? You don't have to use any gas money or time to travel to sell your products. Hooray for that! Our milk co-op supplier has to drive an hour (one way) to deliver their products. It's an entire day of driving. And that's just to OUR location. That doesn't even include other locations. You could get crazy and if you can keep a rooster (I've heard of people keeping them in garages in large cages, so it can be done), you could essentially reproduce and supply chicks.

 

4.) Permaculture IS possible! Check out Geoff Lawton's Urban Permaculture video below...
 

 

 

 

Negatives:

 

1.) Grass is LIMITED. Grass sustains life. It helps feed basically all animals on a farm that would give you anything. We only have so much. Molly and Mabel come out every few nights to munch grass after we've eaten dinner. You know. Some people like to walk their dogs. We walk our cows. {grin}

 

2.) Manure can really "pile up" if you know what I mean. HOWEVER, if you have a chicken coop or a compost bin, you're all set. There just needs to be organization to it and it can be a real blessing.

We also purchased a worm bin this past year and have had some real success breeding Red Wigglers on our back porch. No one would even know they're there, unless we pointed them out. Great for fishing and in the garden. The chickens love a treat every once and while as well.

 

3.) You can have some legal problems if you want to keep animals. I've even known some cities to be stinkers with people wanting to keep edible plants or a garden in their front yards. Bleh! Blast those HOAs! {Remaining composure...calm, calm}

 

Wanna know a secret? Here's how we "got away with it", keeping cows and chickens, I mean.

 

Chickens...Our city codes don't post a certain number in the paperwork, but they do have to be enclosed. Well, we have a 6-foot fence encircling our entire back yard (we do let them free range, but not every day) and we do have a chicken coop. They have been known to escape and we've found lost chickens in our front yard, but our neighbors think it's cool and they have a blast catching them and throwing them over the fence. We've kept roosters before and although we're not "supposed to" keep them, no one has ever complained. We love the sound of cock-a-doodle-doing during breakfast and so do our neighbors. Not everyone may be as welcoming however. Really know your neighbors.

 

Cows...Our city codes have written that "any hoofed animal may not be within 100 feet of a non-owner". Well, when you live in the city, you're most likely within 100 feet of SOMEONE. Well, my genius of a husband said (always thought he should've been a lawyer), "Why don't you just go around to each neighbor and ask them if they're "co-own Molly"? Genius. Complete genius. So, that's what we did. After dinner one night, we went around and measured with a measuring tape everyone that was within 100 feet of us. Yes. We probably looked like fools. I always tell my husband that I "keep his life interesting". He agrees. Ah-hem. Anyways...all SEVEN neighbors thought it was neato and signed. Molly came home that next week (after we got her gate back up in the back yard). We keep our permission papers laminated and stapled to our fence so that if anyone tries to cause trouble, we have legal permission posted for them to see.

A few things about Keeping A Family Cow (wouldn't own one without this book by Joann Grohman)...She states in her book, "At various times I've kept a cow in a suburban garage and grazed her on the lawn. It definitely can be done."

There's also a Keeping the Family Cow website in which I find VERY useful, especially since we're rookies!

" 'A young fellow wantin' a start in life just needs three things: a piece of land, a cow and a wife. And he don't strictly need that last.' That's an old saying that used to annoy me once. Now that I'm an old lady with a cow but no spouse I am prepared to concede at least the validity of the underlying premise. " -Joann Grohman

 

Gardens...Don't know what to tell ya here. If you live in an HOA, you're probably out of luck. You could garden in your back yard. However, if you don't, look up your city codes. Honestly, we never looked up anything for our garden. We originally had it out back, but moved it to the front when our backyard shade completely took over. We've never had a problem. We're generous with leftovers and that helps too! We've even had other neighbors begin small veggie gardens of their own.

Joel Salatin's Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal book really has truth to it.

 

4.) You won't be able to be completely sustainable if that's your goal. You won't have enough space to grow wheat, grains, or really enough food for your family. I once had a sweet friend who thought that I actually grew ALL of our veggies and produce. So sweet. {I laughed, genuinely.} No. We don't even come CLOSE. We could grow more. Much more. But we have too much shade and would have to invest in some major tree work being done to welcome the right amount of sun we'd need for that type of growing. We have a swing set/play area out back for the kids and if we wanted to keep a pig or another chicken coop in its place, we probably could, but we like having a "clean space" for our kids to play and run, while keeping our animals on our second lot.

 

You know, I'm not against couponing necessarily ( I personally tried it once, but lost interest when all I could buy was food that our family didn't eat), but what can you usually buy with coupons?

Junk food. Let's start applauding the families willing to grow living food to save money. Think Victory Gardens here. {grin} I LOVE this cookbook. Don't have many cookbooks, maybe 6, but this one is my "go-to" most of the time, especially when I have baskets of green beans or tomatoes that need "a plan".

 

I do recommend The Backyard Homestead for a good read on how to farm in limited spaces. The author breaks farms down in spaces of 1/10 of an acre, 1/4 of an acre, and 1/2 of an acre. Quite interesting and very possible to do!

 

1/2 Acre

 

1/4 Acre



1/10 Acre

 

So without delay, here are two videos of our little city farm. As mentioned above, it's not much to look at right now as we're disassembling and undecorated (I love having hanging baskets around our chicken coop, and flowers everywhere), but I wanted to give you an idea anyways.





So the question is, is it better to farm in the city or country? Well, it depends. If it's ingrained in you to farm, you'll farm anywhere you can. It's true. There are positives and negatives to both ways and the main point is that you start somewhere with something. Get good at it and try something new. Farming is FULL of experiments. Many times we fail. Many times we succeed. When we do succeed, SHARE with others so that they may succeed as well.  I think as a farmer, you'll always covet. You'll covet a bigger barn, a greener pasture, a larger chicken coop, etc. Being content is key.

The BEST part is stewarding God's creation.

In my mind, is it worth the hard work, sacrifice, and sweat. Yes. I think I'd farm in a New York City sky riser if I could. {giggle}



Raising Cows in the City...What We've Learned

 

I remember the night Mabel was born so clearly. It was peaceful and sweet. I remember sitting in the barn amongst hay and our two girls, thinking "Wow! We just had a baby calf born in the city, unassisted and we're in for a ride!" I knew that this was going to be a learning experience for everyone and so it was. We've been learning a lot about feed, milk supply and demand with cows, nutrition for calves, scheduling, milking cleanliness and the list goes on. So, I thought I'd share some of the things we've learned thus far, some of our down falls and how we'll do things differently next time.

 

Feeding

 

Molly (mama) - As far as feed goes, we have Molly on Hiland Naturals GMO-free, soy-free dairy feed. We joined a co-op and have felt good that although we YEARN for more grass (one of the down falls of owning a dairy animal in the city...and chickens too for that matter), at least she's on good grain (aka: "cow crack"), we graze her out front when we can (good halter training practice also) and she gets a flake of alfalfa at milking as a treat (high in protein) and a basic coastal hay (from our new hometown) throughout the day. She'll easily eat 4-5 flakes a day. I'm looking forward to purchasing hay (or bartering) in the country as it's much cheaper. She also has a salt lick block as well as a mineral block. I'm looking into getting some better minerals, but for now, she's okay with the block. She also receives 1/2 cup of dry kelp in her feed as well as 1 Tbsp. of Diotemaceous Earth. She loves Spanish Nettle (a common weed here in Florida which is extremely nutritious and tastes great...yes, I've tried it, supposed to help with colds/flu when steeped into a tea or even in your salad).

(Spanish Nettle - Google)

 

I know that it's going to take time building up a pasture from scratch at our property and although I'm nervous about getting it right, I'm excited to accept the challenge.

 

Mabel (aka: baby) - Mabel started out being with mom around the clock. I wanted her to be with Molly to get the best possible nutrition and as much as she needed. I've heard stories of calves not being healthy and dying due to poor nutrition and since we're rookies over here, I didn't want to loose this little girl due to my lack of knowledge, thus we left mama and baby together for the first month to bond and give nutrition to baby. We also wanted Mabel to be nursed by mom so that we could go away on a vacation and leave mom and baby together, leaving our wonderful neighbor with feeding/watering responsibilities only. Mabel also eats hay now alongside mom and does eat some grain (same as mom). I see her nursing throughout the day, but there's no special milk measuring marker on Molly's udders that tells me how much Mabel has had in a day, so I'm clueless.

 

Which now leads me to milk supply and scheduling...

 

We started milking about a month ago (using the Surge milker we bought off of Ebay) where we would separate mom and baby at night, milking in the early morning and leaving mom and baby together during the day. Things were going swimmingly. We were getting a gallon a day and milk was coming quicker than it was going. So, we decided to sleep in one morning (ahhhh...zzzzz) and just left Mabel with mama at night thinking it would keep up milk supply. Then it turned into another morning, which turned into another morning (you get the picture) and whammo. That was all it took. We were caught up on our need for milk (we were down to a half gallon in the fridge) thus we started milking again in the morning. We hooked Molly up to the machine and nothin'. Tried again the next morning. Nothin'. And the pattern continued. After about 6 days of this, we took a break thinking she was holding her milk back for Mabel. I think at that point Rob called Molly a "jerk" one morning and threw his hat. I milked her out by hand and there were maybe 10 squirts and that was it. Her milk supply had gone down. So, it wasn't her fault after all.

 

I think that next time, we may try pulling calf from mom right away, getting calf on a bottle (1/2 a gallon in the morning and 1/2 a gallon in the evening is standard calf feeding) and mom on a milking schedule right away. If I'm being completely honest, I always thought that that was a little mean, but now I see why farmers do this. If you want a good, dependable milking schedule, it's what you need to do. Mabel will not take a bottle now that she is trained to nurse on mom so there's no switching this late in the game. Not quite sure what we're going to do to be honest. I wish I knew how much Mabel is getting, because that would determine what we could try to do now.  

 

Needless to say, Mabel is a healthy, happy girl and loves her mama. I'm thankful that Molly has a buddy now. Cows are naturally herding animals. I can't wait to get them to their 5 acres. {grin} I could be negative about the whole situation and frustrated that we aren't getting any milk out of this, however, I'm looking at this as an investment. Mabel is a girl who will someday give us milk and we want her as healthy as possible to get her to that point. At 15/16 months, she'll be bred

 (AI - artificially inseminated, unless we've bought a bull or know someone who has minis in our new town), and 9 months from then, she'll have her own little calf and be milked by us. At that point, we'll have two cows in milk and no doubt I'll be making lots of dairy products and giving away our liquid gold to neighbors, I'm sure.

{Two peas in a pod}

 

Mabel has been working well with us in halter training. She's not a fan on being on a lead or being told where to go, but she'll learn who's boss eventually. It's funny to take the girls out front, grazing and watch the cars that come by. They are driving, then they slow down, then they back up and roll down the window asking, "Are those cows?" We nod and smile and then usually comes the whipping out of cell phones or cameras. Some will even get out of their vehicles to pet the girls or get their picture taken with them as if Molly or Mabel is a celebrity of some sort. Like the neighborhood mascot. {smile} The kids do know quite a bit about cows and are accustomed to answering onlooker's questions efficiently.

I've been studying up the chapter on grazing and pasture building in The Encyclopedia of Country Living as well as subscribing to Graze and The Stockman Grassfarmer magazines. We have lots more trees to cut down (future firewood, fencing and furniture projects...I'm giddy with delight) and then comes stump grinding and the actual pasture building itself. The art of studying grasses is overwhelming, but exciting all at the same time. I have a feeling we'll be knocking on neighbors' doors, begging for advice on how they keep their grass so green, lush and efficient for grazing. Since we're on just 5 acres, we're planning on rotational grazing for the girls.

 

Being a grass farmer (or you could take it a step further and become a microbe farmer, because we all know you need good soil to have good, nutritious grass) is the most efficient, natural, cost-effective, healthy way of raising animals, but it takes work and knowledge. I can't wait to get all of our animals on GRASS. They're just healthier and happier, not to mention, CHEAPER. {big grin}

I just love watching them as I grab for their leads. They pace at the gate, excited, knowing that they'll get their greens within minutes. They plow away. Now that we're getting more rain and our rainy season is quickly approaching, we should be able to let them graze every few days just fine. Our barley fodder system was a failure due to pesky mice. We'd have to enclose the tray system altogether if we wanted to keep that going. Pricey too for the grain.

Sometimes, there's an obstacle to explore...

...or a baby to greet, but they sure do love the little bit of grass they get.

 

Farming in the city. I think that'll be a post in the near future. I want to remember what life was like before our move so that I'll always be thankful for the blessings we were given for more land.

 

Here are some of my favorite dairy posts/sites:

 

Keeping the Family Cow (I can't tell you how many times I've used this site)

 

Keeping a Family Milk Cow

 

Milk Fever

 

4 Signs Calving is Eminent

 

Safely Handling Raw Milk

 

How To Milk Once a Day

 

Colostrum Banking (great cancer fighter)

 

How To Skim Milk the Hands-free Way

 

From Barn To Fridge

 

16 Possible Reasons for Off-flavors In Your Milk

 

16 Ways to Use Whey

 

How To Make Mozzarella Cheese

 

How To Make Cultured Butter

 

How To Make Ricotta

 

Homemade Sour Cream

 

Farmhouse Cheddar

 

(You're welcome to join me on Pinterest HERE for lots more.)

 

Meet "Mabel"

It was one of those nights where I just couldn't sleep. It was around midnight where I got up, read my Bible for a bit and thought, I'll go check on Molly quickly before turning in to bed. I got on my Sloggers (best farm shoes ever!) and jumped over her fence. It was quiet and the sounds of the birds on the lake behind us were so peaceful.  I looked at Molly and low and behold, she was in full-out labor. It was dark, but I could see her tail up and she was laying down, then getting up, backing up against the fence and very ancy. I knew she was in her second stage and it would just be a few hours.

Rob came out to check on me and I told him. He pulled up two lawn chairs and there we sat for about an hour just talking about how peaceful and quiet it was, making fun of the lake birds. I think at one point I asked him to "pass the popcorn". It was a funny comment, but I immediately felt guilty as I watched our beloved Molly in pain, contracting on the ground in front of us. I got in the pen with her and she immediately calmed down. She continued to labor and at one point, I left her pen and she followed me, mooing as if to say, "Don't leave me in a time like this woman!" I went back to my spot with her and continued in my petting her, just talking to her as if to encourage and say, "You can do this mama."

At this point, it was around 2:30 a.m. or so and Rob said, why don't you go inside and get some rest. He was wide awake and I was yawning (because I'm a girl who needs my 8 hours or I struggle). I agreed, but my sleep inside wasn't exactly peaceful. Isaac was getting up and down from his bed (which he does every once and awhile and TONIGHT was the night he decided to get out of bed, crying). I comforted him and allowed him to crawl into our bed to sleep on Rob's side (something we NEVER do, but I was desperate for some shut-eye).

The dogs were also restless and Ranger continued in noise-making in the house, but I couldn't leave him outside because it made Molly VERY nervous. At one point in the evening, I threw him into the camper, but he barked and scratched at the door, which also made Molly nervous, so that idea was out.

I finally fell asleep around 3 a.m., but woke up right at 4:30. I thought I'd go check on things and trade Rob so he could get some sleep. He opened the door just as I was opening the door and said, "She had it!" I thought, "WHAT?!" He had been asleep on the job and apparently was snoozing away in the camper with the door open as well as the windows. He had heard a large splash and then came to get me. We rushed out and saw Molly licking her baby and mooing soft, low moos. Mabel was mooing back to her and it was such a sweet, peaceful moment. We rushed in to get towels and the camera (which my lens currently doesn't work...the focus is off so I had to use a back-up). I jumped the fence to help Molly get her dried off. I was surprised how much work I was putting into drying her off, but only Molly was having success. I had my flashlight in hand and tried to look to see the gender. I saw the umbilical cord and thought it was a boy. But, then, I looked again and saw her cute, little udder. It was a girl! Stoked was an understatement for what I was feeling.

 

Rob picked Mabel up and put her into the little cow shed we have. We had cleaned it out well and put down fresh coastal hay. Molly continued to lick her clean and I worked on trying to get her up on her feet and nursing. It's best to have them nursing as soon as possible, within 30-45 minutes and that was my goal. She needed colostrum asap.

 

I texted a few people close to me and told Rob to go in and get some sleep before he had to wake up and go to work. He complied and said to come in to get him if I needed to. I knew the girls and I would be fine. I just had to get her nursing. I continued lifting her wet, limp body up to her mother's milk supply, but no luck. I was getting nervous after about 30 minutes. I ran inside to grab a bottle I recently got from Tractor Supply just in case. I was glad I did. I was able to milk out Molly a little and Mable took it just fine. She had colostrum. She was going to be okay. I curled up in the fresh hay, next to my girls and watched as they bonded, Molly licking her sweet baby. I decided to go in and leave them to get acquainted. The kids would be up shortly and I was hoping for a little shut-eye before the sun came up. At this point, it was about 6:00. I was going on about an hour of sleep.

(our milking machine)

 

I went in to get into my nice, soft bed, but discovered a little body was in my place. Isaac was still there. So, I went into the boys' room and fell asleep in Isaac's toddler bed. I got about an hour of sleep and woke up to squeals and giggles of, "Molly had her calf! Molly had her calf!" That was the end of my rest, but that was okay because I couldn't wait to see the kids' faces when they saw this precious little one.

(the pump)

 

Rob took each child and lifted them up to see them. They were so excited! The day was busy with LOTS of visitors and friends who wanted to be a part of the big day. One friend came and bought me a rake so I could muck-out the pen (our rake had disappeared apparently). We noticed that one of Molly's teats was plugged and not producing milk. I had to call the vet. She had had an infection last year and the vet that came out at that time said that we might have a 3-quarter cow.

 

I've been busy making udder balm, natural teat dip and udder wash from Jill Winger's The Natural Homestead book. Fabulous stuff!

 

Mom and baby are doing well. I even took Molly out front to graze this morning and she loved it.

 

Now, before Mabel became Mabel, there were a few other names mentioned and one was Daisy Mae. We thought it was in stone, but Avonlea suggested "Mabel" at dinner and we all loved it, even Rob. So Mabel it is. Norah wanted "Lilly", but one of our rabbits gave birth to a litter of kits this week, so she gave her bunny the name "Lilly" instead.

Molly got her first milking last night. We milked out her colostrum, but not for us. For Mabel or any other calf in the future. We'll freeze it in a Ziplock bag for those just-in-case moments. She did great and we got about a 1/2 gallon of colostrum.  

 

Anyway, it's been a crazy week that's been non-stop and this lady is ready for some sleep.

 

Here are some videos of the proud Mother with her baby. Please excuse the high-pitched "Mommy voice" (cause you know you all have one too...ah-hem). {grin}

 

This was yesterday morning (early) and Mabel was all fluffed up and dry, however this was when we were still throwing around names and Daisy Mae was in the lead. That was before we discovered "Mabel".


Molly's first milking.

Please be in prayer for us as we're contemplating purchasing a miniature bull from some friends. Trying to get fencing done at the property is going to be a challenge, but so rewarding. Remember the first bull we bred Molly with? Beau. He's 3 years old and a sweetheart (if a bull can be). He's a purebred miniature and not in Molly or Mabel's bloodline. Molly will be ready to breed again shortly too.

We also meet with our home builder this week to get paperwork rolling. No looking back now! Living by FAITH. {smile}

Molly-Moo's Milking Parlor

Time is quickly approaching for Molly's calf to be born. In fact, this morning as we were mucking her pen, I was messaging her udder (I always do this when she gets her morning feeding to get her used to me touching her there for future milking...she does wonderful too!) and we noticed that she officially has colostrum coming out. The kids are counting down the days!

 

THUS, we needed to figure out what we were going to do for her milkings and where we were going to hold "baby calf" during the night time where he/she can still be right beside mama, but not nursing. We'll take the morning milk for ourselves and then leave one quarter for baby and baby will also stay with mom throughout the day. A once-a-day-milking schedule should be sufficient for our 7-member family. Should we need more (cause I have some recipes on my brain), we'll switch to a twice-a-day milking, 12 hours apart.

We decided to utilize the little barn we already have for her (in case of a rainy day). The bottom of the barn just needed to be restructured so that it was stronger. Plywood it is! Two sheets did the job.

We also wound up sliding some 2x4s under the main frame to give it extra support.

Then, we measured Molly's body to see if we did need to put in a little "wall", how long/wide it would need to be. She's quite calm for me so far when simply messaging her, but full milking takes time and she may want to move around.

Rob decided it would be best to just put a hole into the wall where she could stick her head through the head stanchion to hold her in securely until we're done milking her. 

She did great as we tested it out.

 

After the stanchion was built, Avy helped dig the hole so that we could run some boards and a gate across the front of the barn. This way, we can lock baby in at night (while still seeing mama) and then switching them out in the morning. I may save one of the first milkings to fill our calf bottle and allow one of the kids to feed baby while I milk mama. It will be hard for baby to wait for his/her breakfast, I'm sure and there won't be much left after we milk.

Norah is giving her "two cents" {smile}.

Just look at that belly! Her sweet baby is so precious to feel kick and turn inside her. Molly is due two days before Valentine's Day.

 

 

 

Random Shenanigans

A cold drink on a hot, hot day.

{No words...ah-hem}

Isaac and his dinosaurs

Backyard hangin'

Titus and I...it was so windy this day

I never tire of a beach trip, even in the winter

Florida sunset

A Bates family favorite..."Spoons" {grin} Rob was our champion yet AGAIN this year (we don't boast or anything!).

"Oh, Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree"...Titus

A fun trip to Thomas Edison's house

"I'm the baby"...Isaac.

Isaac and Daddy

Hauling out our fresh compost from the chicken coop. GOLD, I tell ya!

It never ends, but I don't mind the labor of diapering little tushies. Someday I won't be diapering little tushies and I'll miss it. {smile}

Molly decided to help herself to the manger. Yep.

It's a fight for kitchen scraps around here, between the chickens, 2 dogs, and our worms.

Gardening

Our first bulk order of wheat and beans from Bread Beckers.

Order from Bulk Herb Store for some salve making, tinctures, teas, and smoothies.

One of the many tote bags I cranked out this Christmas for friends and family.

Christmas cards from family and friends

I pray you all had a blessed Christmas and New Year!