Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

It's not unusual to have mechanical failures when farming but it seems to happen at the least convenient times. Monday's task was to bale 40 acres of good quality hay.  When the first bale kicked out of the baler, a bearing went out and stopped everything. 

I'm thankful for the generous neighbor who loaned us his baler so that we could get every bale harvested before the wind storm  struck just an hour after the last bale was rolled up!

Wednesday Wake-up

Would you like this kind of wake-up call?

This baby was born after midnight and is enjoying a time of rest but this new mama says it's time to get the day started!

In just a couple of hours, this new mama will join the milking herd and the care of this baby will become my daily responsibility.

Calves grow up to become the cows that produce milk, so we make it a priority to get them off to a healthy start. For the first three months, this baby will live in an individual pen called a calf hutch that allows the calf to freely move about but provide protection from the heat and cold weather. 

Happy Wednesday !!

Labor of Love

Yesterday we celebrated my Aunt Alice and Uncle Pete's fiftieth wedding anniversary with a fantastic gathering of friends and family. Our labor of love  was  a fun and memorable event  that  also  brought us together as a family throughout the last few months as we  planned  and implemented  details for the event.

I enjoyed watching Aunt Alice'  friend, Linda, prepare the cake. It was absolutely a work of art--edible art. A personal touch was the addition of brooch pins  from my grandmother and Uncle Pete's mother as part of the cake decoration.

My own love for blue probably started with my Aunt Alice wedding--that was her   color!

We were all amazed that our blue punch matched the cake and no one went home with blue teeth or lips!

I'm not sure you could make a more delicious punch than equal amounts of 7-Up and Blue Hawaiian Punch topped with a carton of pineapple sherbet!

When it was all said and done, 

these smiles were the greatest reward for our labor of love!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

While I was  mowing along the fence yesterday, grass clippings blew within reach of these soon to be mama cows. Although our pregnant cows  enjoy grazing in the pasture and are fed a  special balanced and nutritious  diet to prepare them for calving, they were enjoying the grass clippings like kids in a candy store.

                                       I'm thankful for these unexpected moments that bring a smile
                                 and for the  appreciation I have  for these perfect recycling experts!

Farming: A Family Affair

Today was the the announcement of our  2014 Benton County   Farm Family.  It was exciting to see this young family receive this honor for their hard work and dedication to their row crop,beef , and agri-tourism farming operation   and commitment  to   their church, 4-H  and community.

Farming is a family affair. According to the USDA, 97 percent of U.S. farms are family owned and operated, often by multiple generations of the family.  Although the look of the family farm and the technologies have changed, the same values of caring for the land and animals still exist.

For me, today was not only recognizing and celebrating this great farm family's accomplishments, but also  acknowledging the generational impact made by our agriculture and farming community. 

Congratulations to Cody,Carrie and their children Garrett,Emily and Ty!

Peaches and Cream

 We made vanilla ice cream for our 4th of July celebration and topped it with fresh blueberries and strawberries   so I'm now on the look out for some ripe peaches that will be perfect for peach ice cream. Although I don't remember who gave me this peach ice cream  recipe that I found in my recipe collection box , I'm certain  it will be good!

Peach Ice Cream

1 quart very ripe peaches,crushed
Juice of 3 lemons
1 can evaporated milk
3 cups sugar
dash salt
whole milk ( add to fill 1 gallon ice cream freezer)

Mix peaches,lemon juice, evaporated milk, sugar and salt in large bowl; pour into ice cream freezer can.  Add whole milk to fill line of freezer can and freeze according to ice cream freezer directions.

                     
                        There's never a bad time for summer  picnics, puppy dogs or homemade ice cream!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

I went to check on this group of calves that were moved from the hutches to the pasture a few weeks ago. They're all doing great and I laughed to see who was leading the group of Holsteins--our little orphan beef calf, Lucky. 

Lucky will join the beef cattle herd when she gets a little older but for now she seems to be enjoying life with the Holsteins.

I'm thankful to work every day on our family dairy farm 

raising and caring for animals on the land we call home.