Milk For Sale...and other ramblings

I (Taylor, not Alesha) get several comments about how sure someone is that this milk cow thing CANNOT be profitable. I typically just shrug (sp?) my shoulders and let the conversation drop. I do not point out the fact that, assuming they can afford it, that if a man's wife were to ask for a new car, a horse, a vacation, etc., that the husband would likely find a way to give it to her. My wife happens to want a milk cow. She has wanted one for years. The fact the our milk cow actually produces something of value is, I think, a point of envy that some of my friends are trying to justify. :-p

Another point that I only recently realized is that many of the people who make such comments to me DON'T BUY MILK! Ok, maybe they buy a gallon of milk a week at most, but little do they realize that we easily go through 5-6 gallons of milk per week...and that was when we had to buy it and I rarely drank it even though I like it a lot. We also like yogourt, ice cream, butter, whipped cream, and cheese*; that is just a few things that we have been able to make using Annabelle's milk. I wonder if any of these "nay-sayers" have actually put the numbers to this???

From my estimates, it should be close to breaking even including the time involved, though it is hard to value time when Alesha is playing and experimenting with new things. From others who have gone before us, they have noted that a "family cow" is actually somewhat profitable.

I suppose that after all of this the bottom line is that we like our milk cow, Annabell, and that it is good enough for me to see that my wife is happy.


*Hopefully, Alesha will write about our cheese making adventures. She has gotten quite good at making a type of "farmer's cheese" that we like a lot.

Annabelle

Here I sit, drinking milk that is less than 5 hours old! :) Four days ago, we became the proud owners of this 2 year old Jersey! Besides the learning curve of how to pasteurize without completely cooking the milk, everything has gone amazingly smoothly. I asked the Lord to help us pick an animal that would be a good fit with us, and I am thankful for what I feel was His choice. In one day, Annabelle went from being driven along with a herd on a dairy, to being led on a halter rope and tethered in a pasture. By the second day with us, she learned how to get her tether rope untangled from around her hooves, and began nudging her new-found masters for treats in our pockets. :) Only once, so far, has my knot not been snug enough on her tether. I looked up to find her not where I left her; she decided that lawn is much lusher than pasture! :) Some have asked about the time comittment that she adds to already busy days...but consider this...If I had a horse, I would feel bad about daily saying to my children, "sit here on the swing set, I am going to go riding". However, she has to be milked, so other things just have to wait. A lot of good thinking and singing and praying can happen in a 20-30 min. milking session, where all is quiet exept the zing of the milk into the pail, Annabelle's rythmic chewing and the occasional ruccus of a young chicken that can't find his place on the perch. Sure, there are times when Daniel needs a nap and I'd rather be finished, or when I missjuge how long I need and we are late to be somewhere... and she just WILL NOT be hurried...but for the most part, it's not really so much an added chore but an added activity, and a pleasant one at that! :)