I caught these two having a relaxing rest yesterday. Last night I separated them so I could milk this morning.
I got this much milk (it's a gallon jar) out of two teats. I'm not wishing for the cow to be a high producer, by the way. Cliff and I barely use a gallon of milk in a week. I only got this cow because I have missed Jerseys ever since I sold my last one, years ago. I milked two teats and let the calf have the two on the other side. Bonnie still prefers not to go to the stanchion to be milked, even though there's feed there. She stands stock-still, right out in the open, with me on one side and the calf on the other, mooing softly at her baby and occasionally turning her head and licking my bare leg. If you'd like to know what it feels like to have a cow lick you, just get a piece of coarse sandpaper and rub it back and forth on your leg. Ouch.
Bad news on the gardening front. These are squash-bug eggs on the underside of a butternut squash leaf. I bought something other than Sevin yesterday, and I'll try it; but I'm fairly certain it's too late to save my vines. Once the bugs have killed all the squash vines, they'll move on to the cucumbers and melons.Oh, and my blight-resistant tomatoes have blight. I will still get tomatoes, but eventually the plants will succumb to this fungal disease and stop bearing.
Life goes on.
Nice family portrait. I suspect a strong family resemblance to pop.
ReplyDeleteI have heard that people drink "pure" cows milk...as for me...it is yukky...guess I have to much "city genes" in me LOL!!! and the pic...they do look "content"!!! sorry about the squash bugs...oh the woes of a farmer's life!!! Happy 4th!!! hugs Ora in sunny Kentucky (or at least for the moment)
ReplyDeleteI had real cow milk while it's still warm and it's good. My mom makes "kefir" out of milk, it's like a sour-milk drink which is supposedly good for you. she drinks a cup every day for over 5 years now. through the same process you can make "farmer's cheese" which is like tangy cream-cheese-like product.
ReplyDeleteI've been meaning to drop a comment and say that that little guy is really cute, but have been so busy I've mostly only been reading blogs in my RSS feeder.
ReplyDeleteSooooo..... That little guy is REALLY cute :)
So far no bugs in our garden. Keeping my fingers crossed that you will get some more veggies and tomatoes.. That little Meatball sure is cute! :)
ReplyDeleteOur rabbit is a licker, too. We have a salt lick for him, but no....he must lick us instead.
ReplyDeleteHow disappointing! Sorry about the blight. That just stinks.
ReplyDeleteBonnie gives some rich milk! You can see the yellow cream on top and it's not even all risen to the top yet.
ReplyDeleteSorry about your pumpkin bugs or stink bugs, as we call them around here. I don't know of anything that will completely get rid of them that's still safe to use on food plants. We always tried to kill the ones we saw and mash the eggs on the leaves or pull them off if possible, then destroyed them.
Happy 4th!
That is great that Bonnie will just stand still and let you milk her. If that calf drunk as much milk as you have milked he must have had a belly full LOL. Good luck with those squash bugs. Helen
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ReplyDeleteI like the first picture.
ReplyDeleteHappy 4th July!!!
Busy farm life going on just now! Love Bonnie and baby's pictures.
ReplyDeleteI am thinking since he is headed for the freezer Julia Elinor might not be such a good name after all. I would hate someone to ask you what's for dinner and you would say "Julia Elinor is on the menu tonight"!
ReplyDeleteOH those dirty bugs.. I make a salt water solution and spray on the bottoms of all of my bug infested plants - and I squish the eggs by hand. The salt water drys the eggs up too - but it takes longer than squishing. LOL That is a cute pair up there by the way!
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