17 posts tagged “farmlife”
Sent in by alert cow-porter Fabulous Co-Worker Justin - a HOLY COW!
Full story here.
This is a Holstein/Jersey cross - the animal, not the marking. Like the article says, it's not unusual for a Holstein/solid color breed mix to have one solid mark on its head. Our Holstein/Brown Swiss babies usually have a white triangle/shield shaped spot on the forehead and that's the only spotty coloring they get.
Speaking of miracle bovine babies, there's a little preemie living in my parents' basement. I called home on my way to work because I heard a story on NPR. No, not the 'dairy farms are destroying the world' story, but the one about bad weather moving across Michigan.
The little gal living in the basement was born on time, according to my dad's paperwork. She's an embryo transplant baby and the first female from a batch he bought for $3,000. He wants to keep her alive "or we should have set $3,000 on fire and saved a lot of frustration." A normal calf would be 100 pounds and he estimates her at 35. I suggested that maybe she's really a Jersey (they're tiny) and he chuckled. (Yes, DadH chuckles. And I think "chuckle" is a great word.)
He said he might move her into the garage because it's starting to smell in the house after two days of being down there. He put down a tarp and a lot of straw. I told him to just clean her pen if it's supposed to get into the teens tonight. That's too cold. It's just like a cat box - if you don't want your house to smell like a cat box, clean the cat box every day.
"She takes up a bit more area than a cat box." So I think I convinced him to make an effort to clean up and keep her inside. He said the cat isn't very happy about the baby in the basement.
He went on about what the vet said, what they're doing for her and what he needs to do about registration then a long conversation about my nieces steer projects and other farmy things. It was a pretty fun call for me, actually.
In the words of my dad, "Well, it keeps life interesting."
MomH sent me some photos from when I was home in August to go to the fair. I actually scanned them as soon as I got them, which would be today. It usually takes me a few months of procrastinating before I finally forget and never do it. What's more impressive is that MomH had Steve download the pics from her camera and then she took the CD to the store to get copies within close to a month of them being taken. It's a pretty involved process, mind you.
I thought you might enjoy seeing a few. If you don't enjoy them, then you just wasted a few seconds glancing through. :-P
From left to right, Brother Ray, Yours Truly and Brother Steve:
Me with Danielle, Brother Ray's oldest. She's a freshman in high school this year. I remember when she was an itty bitty baby. Sigh.
The fairgrounds had a relocated and restored one-room schoolhouse.
Back on the farm, here are the sheepies before they went to the fair.
(Yes the photo is crooked. The scanning process is also a pain in the rear and I deemed this good enough).
Finally, the main event. There's a family of kitties living in my parents garage. They could not possibly be cuter. I had to check my luggage to make sure Mom & DadH didn't stick any in my suitcase when I wasn't looking.
Hey Crankster, I think I'm having your dreams. For the past few weeks, I've been sleeping like a rock. Last night was the first night of 3:00 am insomnia I've had for a while. I think I finally drifted off around 4:30, then I woke up again at 5:30. Blargh.
But when I woke up at 5:30, I was dreaming that I was back home on the farm and no one else was there. There had been a flood and mud was up to my knees. My car was there and the trunk was open. I found a load of barn kitties and I said, "What are you all doing in here?" All the barn kitties they have IRL are gray or orange tabbies, and those were all there in my dream. However, I noticed a little black and white kitten. It wasn't Elvis, but I squeed, grabbed it and gave it a snorgle. I put him back and told all the kitties to stay there and be safe.
Then I noticed there was something in the back seat. I opened the door and found a newborn baby calf. I said, "Hey there, sweetie, let's get you back to the barn." So I helped it back to the calf barn but I wasn't sure what pen it was supposed to be in, and she was hard to hold because she was still covered in brand new birthing slime, (I hate saying mucus or whatever the technical term is).
I'm getting frustrated because all sorts of things are starting to happen around the barns and I was starting to panic. Then I see the hoof trimmer show up in a fancy new truck and I think, "Crap. I don't know who needs their feet trimmed. Where the hell is everybody?" DadH and Brother Ray finally show up, much to my relief, and then I woke up.
Not sure what any of that means, but it was the first dream I've had since coming back from Costa Rica. At least it wasn't as violent as the ones I had right after putting Elvis down. Whew. So if you have a guess, I'd be glad to hear it. Or at least I hope it's an interesting read. :-P
A few days at the fair was good for the soul, but probably not my waistline. Oh, well. It was worth it.
I ended up seeing a lot of my friends from my 4-H days (such fun catching up!), and some people I never was friends with (ignored each other just like old days) and one person I told off at the State Fair years ago because she was a witch and I had had enough of her putting me down in front of people she wanted to impress. I made nice with her yesterday - it was 20 years ago, after all - and I think she was still holding a grudge. So that was fun (for me). She can either get over it or not. Probably not since I heard she still treats her friends that way. Eh, whatever. I'm glad I talked to her in any event.
This morning I sat outside on the deck, reading the paper and listening to fish jumping in the pond. A hummingbird even stopped by to wish me good morning. Ahn.
I went down to the barn to play with all the kitties - so many barn kitties! I apologize for not taking any pictures, but my camera would have exploded from all teh cute. The baby kitties were beyond adorable. There were babies in Mom & DadH's garage (marmalades) and another set in the calf barn (grey tabbies).
The embryo transplant guy was also there so I took a peek at cow embryos under the microscope. I think he said they were four days old. Pretty cool stuff, that. Then I helped out the process by handing the straws to the guy so he could transfer the embryos into waiting heifers. Not too demanding of a job, except those were worth a lot of money and if I dropped one, DadH would have had a massive coronary right then and there.
I had lunch with the family, which was really nice. The girls were at the fair so it was just all us adults for a change.
MomH and I went to visit Grams again. She's pretty delusional, with moments of lucidity. She knew who I was and that I was visiting from Arizona. On Sunday she was convinced she was going to deliver a baby, but we talked her out of that. Today she thought my aunt and uncle from Wisconsin were there but mad at her and avoiding her. Sigh. We just talked to her and spent time with her, although it didn't feel like nearly enough time.
I thought we'd get out of the room and have a change of scenery. I caused some excitement by wheeling her too close to the front door. Her house-arrest ankle bracelet set off the alarms and the staff came a running. Whoops. No one is getting out of that building without the entire neighborhood knowing about it, I tell you what!
My time home was far too short. I didn't get in touch with some friends that I should have but it was a quick in and out. I wanted to maximize family time. My family rocks. They are really funny, really good people. I miss them.
It's been a long day so I suppose I should get some sleep. It's good to be back.
It's been a ball being back home for the fair. I hope you don't mind my multiple posts from my phone - it's a lot quicker and more efficient than trying to upload from a camera on my parents' dial-up.
However, I can only post from my blackberry if I'm in town or close to it. AT&T says they have more bars in more places, but we are out in the sticks. I can pick up coverage if I'm standing right next to window or if I go outside and stand in the hay field.
Last night an ice cream truck went down the road. That was surreal. We heard it before we saw it, right around twilight so the light was a bit spooky. I thought we were in some kind of horror movie. Strange.
Then three more cars went by in the following few minutes and I thought, "Huh, there's a lot of traffic out tonight. I wonder what's going on?"
Around the time I got back from Costa Rica, I decided it was time to get back into shape. I wanted to lose 10 pounds by the end of August. I don't think that's going to happen. Today I ate a pulled pork sandwich, a snowcone, half an elephant ear and a fresh raspberry lemonade. Then we came home and ate dinner.
Tomorrow: funnel cake, chocolate malt, caramel apple and maybe some kettle corn. I can get kettle corn at a baseball game in Phoenix, so I'm not as worried about consuming that while on my Fair Food Feastival.
The girls show their lambs tomorrow. Brother Raymond said I might get entered into adult showmanship. It's a fundraiser and someone enters you for $5 and you have to either show or pay $10 to get out of it. Raymond won last year, as he went out in a woman's pink halter top, a little girl's pink cowboy hat, and showed a goat with a bent-up show stick. Considering he was supposed to have a sheep and you use show sticks on beef cattle, that just added to his comedy act. The pictures are hoot. MomH says, "Yep, that's your brother." I'd be disappointed with anything less.
So we'll see if I actually get stuck going in the ring or if that was just a threat. It's been a long time since my sheep showing days. I won't be nearly as goofy as him, though. Not that I ever could be, anyway.
More pics coming tomorrow! Have a good one, everybody!
Show us something you love about your home.
I could post pics of Elvis, but you know him already. Or pics of Arizona, but my thoughts today are in another place.
In a few weeks, I'll be home with my family down on the farm. I can't wait.
Here are some pics from last year's Christmas visit I don't believe I've shared yet.
I took the girls up to Michigan State to wath the women's basketball team. We encountered some traffic along the way:
But we made it to campus and the girls (and a friend) posed with our most famous alum, Magic Johnson.
I bought my plane ticket home so long ago, the pain of its price is gone. Now all I have to think about is making cookies, playing with the girls, talking with my parents, giving DadH a hard time about not taking better care of himself, listening to my 94-year old grandmother's stories and having nowhere to be until it's time to go visit my friends in Detroit and then back to Arizona.
December 20 can't get here soon enough.
Cajun spiced lamb chops
grilled to meaty perfection
gnawing on the bones
Must try this at home
when my 4-H lamb arrives
and is in freezer
(I bought a lamb from a little girl at the county fair back in Michigan - SIL bid for me. If I'm paying that much over market price to help someone's college fund, I'm having dinner.)
From today's NY Times:
People should stop picking on vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin because she hired a high school classmate to oversee the state agriculture division, a woman who said she was qualified for the job because she liked cows when she was a kid. And they should lay off the governor for choosing another childhood friend to oversee a failing state-run dairy, allowing the Soviet-style business to ding taxpayers for $800,000 in additional losses.
I like cows! I love cows! I've even owned cows. I've lived on an actual working dairy farm that has made enough money to not go under or enter into enormous debt.
Looks like I'm a shoo-in for a cabinet post if the McCain/Palin ticket makes it to Washington. w00t! I'll be more than happy to keep up the proud tradition of cronyism and funnel a lot of taxpayer money to FamilyH just 'cuz I feel like it!
AmyH, Secretary of Agriculture. I wonder if I can get my own official herd of government cows. Super fun!
EDIT: Backup material that I'm sure is sufficient enough to make my case:
Photo of cows I've met in real life:
A picture of me WITH a cow:
FamilyH Cow Legacy:
And before anyone gives MomH grief for her nerdy teenager picture, I have one even worse. I don't have it here at work, but maybe if you're nice, I'll expose my awkward/ugly years to you. The only saving grace is that my beloved Dolly is in the picture, too.
What is a childhood memory that still haunts you?
When I was not more than eight or nine, our family Airedale terrior went for the neck of my younger cousin. Cousin Nate and been playing with Raymond and me in our front yard for about half an hour when Nate said his goodbyes and turned around to walk home. The next thing I heard was screaming and snarling. Rex had Nate by the throat. Ray started kicking Rex and Nate ran into our house, blood gushing everywhere.
MomH put compresses on, his parents rushed him to the hospital and DadH called the county animal control to come get our dog and have him put down.
I love dogs but sometimes I'm on edge when I meet new large dogs, especially ones who aren't either indifferent or busting out of their skins to say 'hi!!!'.
I also have zero tolerance for keeping dogs after unprovoked attacks. I would also not have any problem defending myself with fatal force if I was ever threatened or attacked. There were times walking around the farm, back by the woods, when I would come across a pack of dogs. I really thought I was going to ripped to shreds and I'm lucky I never was.
Now, the family has a pit bull that adopted them. Tyson, as in Mike Tyson. Ha. He came to live there and has not left. He is also the sweetest, smartest, most well-trained dog they've ever had.
But as with all of our dogs, he doesn't have much room for error. Violence and fear does not mix well with livestock and children.
What is your "role" in your family?
Other than to nag DadH about his health and escort MomH around the world on vacation, it was to "get out and find a real/city job."
When I left for college, I never lived at home again - mostly by choice, but also because of my parents urging. I wouldn't say I was kicked out of the nest, but I was strongly encouraged to stay at college during the summer breaks and take classes/get a summer job. Part of that was to get in as many credits as possible before tuition hiked up again in the fall, and also because as my mom said at the end of freshman year, "There's no reason for you to come back."
Now, that's not because they don't love me or want to see me. Fact is, as much as I loved being on the farm, I was the one with the best chances to leave and actually make money.
Perhaps one day my role will be to support the rest of the family in case something happens to the farm. I think we'll be fine, collectively, but every so often something happens up there that makes me worry about their financial security. Farm life is hard and there are no guarantees for good health, good weather and good milk prices.
For now, I'm still referred to as "The One Who Escaped". It's difficult for me sometimes when I know everyone else is together for birthdays and holidays. I miss them all terribly when I let myself think about it, but this is where life has us for now.
We're a pretty stoic family and not given to emotional expressions, unless smart-assery counts. We all know we are loved even though the "L Word" is never uttered (except by SIL and the girls). So I was almost brought to tears when Dad put my suitcase in the car at the end of a recent Christmas visit.
"I always knew you would move away. I just never thought it would be so far."
