Cow Talk

Milked a buncha cows this morning. Five of them: Butternut, Wendy, Nygelia, Chicory, and Andromeda. And I didn't milk three heifers: Delta, Demeter, and Lilith. Together, they're a herd. Herda cows. Actually, they're mostly Holstein, and some Dutch Belted thrown in there, and Bnut has some Jersey. I'll milk two of them this evening: Bnut and Andromeda. I like cows.

I went out after my milking and did a head count of the pregnant-or-waiting cow herd (known to us as the "Preggie Herd"), on the East Slope pasture. I found five of them down on the far paddock, and three of them on the hay feeder. Ok, they weren't really on the hay feeder; they were beside the hay feeder, and sometimes they stick their heads in the hay feeder. I've never actually seen a cow on a hay feeder, although I've seen a calf in a hay feeder. It's really hard to get a calf out of a hay feeder. I try not to do it.

I'm glad it's a fairly cold morning, because there are no flies. I really don't like flies. I know, I know, not all flies are the same, and there are helpful, useful flies, but frankly, I don't know them. Ok, there's those little flies that pollinate figs. I like figs. Oops, those are wasps. I like wasps. Back in the day, when I was studying insects, I never could get over my prejudice against flies, but I did manage to eat a bunch of wasp larvae (sauteed in oil, lightly spiced) and so developed a fondness for them. All wasps, pretty much. But no flies. I will never eat flies. Flies kind of bug me.

Anyway, Summer and the baby seem to be happy and healthy and they're both female, and the smaller one has a lot of hair! Cute as a button, and born about 7:15 yesterday evening. Blessed be. We're all pretty happy.
much love,
Kelpie