Cold!!

We've got crunchy mud here, and it looks like it'll be crunchy for a while. Yesterday, while driving over Afton Mountain, we saw that the fog had frozen on the trees to make a crystal sculpture of dark and light. I saw a little dusting of snow, too, and more on the farther mountaintops, but no snow fell on the Oaks. I like crunchy mud, though, and I think the cows do too. It's easier to walk in than the hoof-sucking squelchy gumbo that forms by the water tanks.

I really like cows. The more I work in the dairy, the more I enjoy it. The crew is great, the cows are great, and the setting is near perfect. I like moving inanimate objects and feeling competent, and then there's the wonderful payoff of the milk. During my initiation preparations, I started offering a glass of milk in thanksgiving, and the practice has suited me and the milk quite well. I've tried to make a list out loud of all that goes into bringing the milk to the glass, in order to properly give my gratitude. I've discovered it's a never ending list. There's the cows, of course, and there's me. There's also the rest of the dairy crew and each person's contribution to the working system, including the past dairy workers. And the land itself, of course, and the water, and the systems that went into making the water come up from the depths so the cows (and me) can drink it. Then there's all the piping and cans and whatnot that keep the milk fresh. And then all that the cows eat: the hay, the grass, the minerals, they've all come from somewhere, constantly and abundantly. Not to mention all the organisms that live in the cow and help digest the food. It's a twice daily miracle, that all that goes through a cow, and then comes out as something me, my family, and my community can drink or eat as cheese, butter, and yogurt. I easily see why cows are holy. Tang, the orange tabby at the barn, feels the same way about the milk as I do. I don't know Tang's theology -- haven't asked.

Come drink our milk whenever you want. There's plenty.
okeydokey artichokey,
Kelpie