Don't forget the little people

The farm life is a tough life. There so much to do, so much hard physical labor (I have the calluses to prove it!) and the weather is rarely corporative…

But it’s great!! Being on the farm is an entirely wonderfully different lifestyle, work and pace! (P.S. All pictures are from a previous visit... Rebekah accidentally packed the camera...)




Your sense of smell is on overdrive; there are good smells and there are really bad smells: the clean country air, the fresh grass, the bales of hay, the cooking, the wildflowers, the honey, the tractor exhaust, the cow feed, and the manure… lots and lots of manure. Manure so strong you can taste it!

So yesterday was one exciting day here at the farm: the hoof trimmer came! Once a year, the hoof trimmer gives the cows a pedicure! They don’t like it the way we humans do. They get coaxed into a contraption where straps are tightened around the cow’s belly, and then the machine lifts and tilts her onto a table where her feet are secured. At this point, the cow usually poops, so watch out!! After the hoofs are washed off, the hoof trimmer holds what looks like a powerful sander and trims and trims! It’s a fascinating process. It hurts the cows a little, but it’s a good kind of hurt because they’ll be able to walk better in the end. Often, cows have terrible warts. When the hoof trimmer touches it, the whole cow jerks like crazy! Cows are pretty tough, but not when it comes to their warts… Thankfully, the wart can be treated and cured in a few days.

After dinner, Matt and I went to the barn to milk the cows. Again, another fascinating process. With Grandpa Gus’ coveralls and borrowed “poopy boots”, we were ready. The cows have to be led into the stalls—6 on either side—(this was our favorite job because we yell “go on, get!” with the strongest southern drawl possible), once their number is punched in, their teats cleaned, the pumps do their thing! The cows’ udders are at eye level, so you have to be careful of kicking, but more importantly, beware of splattering poop!! Once the milking is done, you’ve got to spray the teats with an iodine solution to prevent infection, then haul them out saying “go on, get!”




87 cows later, the manure needs to be scraped into the slats at the bottom of the barn: not fun! STINKY!! This is where you wish you didn’t have your sense of smell… The fun part comes last: a very, very powerful hose to wash everything down. The hose is so strong it pushes me back!! Finally, all of the pumps need to be washed and the cows tucked in for bed. Whew! It’s a long, long process from start to finish, and it happens twice a day, every single day!!

So, next time you eat or drink dairy products, whether they are French, American, German or whatever, remember the little people: the farm workers.

Favorite quote after I asked Matt a question: “Udder know”