Thursday, February 26, 2009

Kitty Spa
During the cold months, a fire is built in the stove in the milk tank room each morning and evening so the room is nice and toasty. I call this room the Kitty Spa! At one end of the room is the milk tank , and here's the other end of the room with the wood stove and miscellaneous milking supplies.

When we go down to do chores, we let the cats and kittens come in so they can get warmed up. They are spoiled rotten. There are 9 cats visible in the middle picture above, but there are probably another 5 or 6 just outside your field of vision. That's Johnny Carson by the stove and Spitz's kittens Spice, Spots, and Sparks in the picture on the right.
Kitten Kaboodle is smart and always manages to have her babies in the milk tank room. Here they are in January , happy to sleep in their box; and now they have to be like the big kitties and sleep anywhere and everywhere . From front to back: Kitten Kaboodle ("Boo"), Gretchen & Shadow, Spike, and Boogaloo.
There is a fan over the stove that blows some of the warm air into the milk parlor so we don't freeze to death while we're milking when it's really cold. This morning we didn't even need to wear our hooded sweatshirts while we were working in the milk pit!

I'm wearing my favorite sweatshirt. Can you see what it says? "I'm in over my head..." Standing in that milk pit, I don't think there's a truer statement ... except maybe "Sh** happens!"
The cats (we have 40+) await fresh, warm milk every morning and evening, which I deliver to 5 locations. I told you they were spoiled!!! Kit Carson has moved her three "babies" from the junk yard to the little shed next to our house. One of these days they'll move to the hay barn (I hope!) and then I won't have to bring milk to this fifth location. Carson (the mom) is in the center, with Samantha on the left and Lightning on the right.
Carson's third baby, Obama, is a scaredy cat and won't come out until he's sure it's safe.
I hope you've enjoyed this little visit to the Kitty Spa and the milk parlor. Want a kitty??

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

I SURE KNOW HOW TO PICK 'EM
The following is a quote (January 8, 2009) from Hoard's Dairyman, The National Dairy Farm Magazine:

"It's official, at least in the eyes of the Wall Street Journal writers, that dairy farming isn't much fun. In the January 5 issue of the New York-based business paper, dairy farming ranked 199 out of 200 professions. The only job below it was lumberjack."

My first husband was a lumberjack for 4 years in Brimson, MN. My second (and last!) husband is a dairy farmer.

I SURE KNOW HOW TO PICK 'EM