Awesome video/Dolly Painting

I had a painter (Debbie Lincoln) contact me a month or so ago.  She wanted to do a portrait of Dolly, just for me. 
I am so honored and humbled and blessed.....and now she has it done.  Here is a time-lapse video of her painting it:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viWonP42KB8

It is very hard for me not to tear up watching it.  It's a tribute to an awesome cow, and Debbie knew that.   THANK YOU DEBBIE!
She used my "cow board" avatar , and here is the painting:

On another note, Daisy is doing awesome--she is a great little cow who enjoys her brushing! :)  Saturday I felt the (tiny!) baby rolling around in her tummy, and again this morning. It is always awesome, no matter how many times I've felt a calf in-utero in the past.  :)

Kyle called Sunday--the are officially done with Basic and moved right into AIT.  Their 'ceremony' was a bonfire after being out in the field for most of the week.  He will graduate in April, and is already enrolled in summer classes for college.

Jared and Chandra are doing well, he's been out in the field for training as well last week and again this week.
 "They" are officially due August 14th.  I'm excited! 
On a sad note, her dad's house near here caught on fire a week or so ago....as well as another of their classmates' house.  It is a sad, heartbreaking experience, and one I pray and hope not to ever have to go through. :'(

We got some rain and lots of fog this week, and snow is on the way with some colder temps (again).  I am grateful for the moisture, but not overly excited about another wild temperature drop.  It's hard on the critters, and the vehicles (and us).  I know each day is another day closer to spring, AND the days are getting longer!!  Wooo hoo! :)

Morningland Dairy Cheese Destroyed

Today all the cheese(s) that Morningland Dairy had was destroyed ($250,000 worth.  That is a lot of work that was destroyed). 
It's been 2 1/2 years since this first all started......and it's a shame.
I am still very put out and angry of "how" this happened. The Dixons did nothing wrong.

Instead of re-writing it all, for a wonderful overview, check out TruthFarmers' Blog (Doreen Hannes) entry about it here:
http://truthfarmer.com/2013/01/18/morningland-dairy-the-final-solution/

Doreen has followed this from the start, and went to hearings, etc.  I have much respect for her, she put lots of hours and miles into keeping everyone up to date on what was going on, AND told the Truth. 

RIP Morningland Dairy.....there are many who won't forget who you were and what you stood for.
 This travesty taught others many things.....unfortunately at your expense. :'(

A New Queen

We are back to being  a One Cow 'herd'.  Daisy has arrived--and yes, she is the New Queen.  She is a sweetie and settling in nicely.  She is a bit smaller than Dolly was, but has the same awesome attitude and laid-back temperament.

 

Wide Load! :)

 

 

Daisy is due in March....to a Heinz 57 bull (meaning a little of this, and a little of that!).   I was warned she'd get wide; really, really wide before calving.  She'll look like a barrel with toothpick legs by then!

She came with a red halter.....it was a bit tight so I grabbed Dolly's halter and sure enough it fits!  (Actually I would of been shocked had it not fit.)  :)  

 



Dolly has only been gone 3 months, but I sorely missed her no-nonsense companionship.  Oh yes, they learn our idiosyncrasies, and we learn theirs over time. 
It's hard not to get some kind of a bond with a cow you have your head on/near their flank twice a day for months at a time. 
And we worry about them: the weather (too cold, too hot, too wet, too dry!), their pasture/hay (what literally keeps a cow alive), their shelter, their feed, their water (tank and supply), when they calve, when they are ill, when they need bred, when the weather is better (time of year) for them to calve in.....it's alot of mental work for milk, not just the physical act of extracting it!

Crazy New Year

I'm not even sure where to start--things have been interesting around here lately!  We got 4" of snow, that sure helps the ground moisture!  We have rain coming in a day or two.....we'll take it! :)  We had some bitter cold, now the temps are warming up in the daytime, slowly melting the snow.
My frozen hose thawed out, so I don't have to McGuyver the other hose now to fill the stock tank.  :)  That always helps cut down on the work load!

Jared and Chandra left the morning of the snow (on the 31st) , and managed to hit a patch of black ice down by St. Joe....and someone behind them ended up hitting them when they came across the black ice as well.  They are all OK, but the truck was bashed up.  It made it to NC....for which we were all grateful!  They are now home safe, easing my mind!

We got Kyle back to Ft. Leonard Wood on schedule....a big thanks goes out to the neighbor Kesha for giving us rides to and from the car rental place at the last minute.  All I know is January 3 was a loooooong day for all of us!  Driving in the cold and dark + fog isn't my idea of fun trying to get home! 
On an interesting note:  we didn't see any deer on the way down, nor on the way back.  Last time we went down that way they were all over the place!


I had two hens laying....I put them into a large enclosure next to the chicken coop, and they could get into the garden as well while we'd be gone for their safety. 
But  'something' still got one of my hens.  No dog/cat tracks....no blood, just feathers scattered about and drag mark(s) in the snow. 
Then two days later, another hen missing, same scenario. 
So I go out that night to check on things:  low and behold, not one, not two, but three owls flew out of the cedar tree near the hen house.  Culprits found! (I was thinking Red tailed/Chicken Hawk....I've had issues in the past with those.)

Sadly, it was the two hens currently laying that they got--the one was a banty cross and I was hoping she'd hatch chicks for me this spring.  (If you remember Bwocky the Bantie [a real character!], it was her chick she had hatched almost a year and a half ago). 

I will say, the owls haven't been back....yet.  I'm amazed I haven't had missing cats, as they sleep in the stanchion area which is attached to the coop.

But it also means now I am down to 3 hens and a rooster.  I had 10 hens, but the dog attack earlier this year, and now the flying predators have made the flock very nervous.  That sure doesn't help egg production any! :(

Kyles inside cat managed to scratch me on the face the day after he left--giving my left eyebrow an interesting look.  I say I have "cat scratch fever"! HA  She is mad he is gone....but getting over it faster this time than the last time.  The other cat could care less....some days I want to be a housecat with no worries! :)