Ice Milk

Wow! What a blustery day, as Pooh would say. It was 9 degrees this morning when I headed outside to milk. I am milking in a milk barn these days, though for the first 3 years of milking, I milked my cows outside in the pasture. I think this morning I would've rather been outside sitting in the bright sunshine. My little barn isn't heated and it really holds in the cold air when the temps get so low at night.

This is Annabelle being milked and Molly is patiently waiting. I'm smiling because this picture was taken in the spring. When it was much warmer than 9 degrees.

You wouldn't have seen much of my face this morning. A cow's normal body temperature is around 102 degrees, so when it's 9 degrees outside, you snuggle up real close to those cows! They don't mind. And I don't mind as long as they haven't laid in poop overnight. Uck.

Oops. I mentioned poop again. Cowboy Cody tells me that most folks don't talk so freely about poop. But we're very proud of our dung beetles. (You can see one in the photo above!) So in the warmer months, I can be seen crawling around on the ground following the cows taking pictures of poop. And dung beetles. They're really very helpful and interesting little creatures. But that's another blog.

Back to milking.

The barn cats didn't even offer to keep me warm this morning. They were at the door enjoying the sunshine.
Most folks have to get up and go to town to go to work in the mornings. I get up, put on my insulated coveralls and go to the barn. Oprah would love to do a makeover on me, I can guarantee it!

But I enjoy my cows. And we love the raw milk and the products we make from the raw milk. Cheeses, yogurts, kefir, butter, and the best homemade ice cream and whipped topping!

So, I'll continue to get up and head to the milk barn, even on days when it's only 9 degrees outside.