On the right, aspirin for people. On the left, aspirin for cows. Twice a day, Lottie, the Jersey cow, gets two of the big ones. The instructions say ‘by bolus’ which is a fancy way of saying ‘poke it down her throat.’ It’s a common technique, and every feed supply store sells a simple [...]
Lottie’s had a rough week. Her 4-month-old calf is a rather vigorous nurser. Add a bit of chapping from winter weather, and her tender parts got quite sore. She quit letting the calf nurse, which led to other issues. She wasn’t too amenable to hand-milking either. We tried one thing, then another, and she got [...]
I slept through the actual moment of Winter Solstice, when because of the Earth’s tilt, the Northern Hemisphere leans farther away from the sun than at any other time during the year. It happened just after midnight here in the central U.S., and thus began the first day of winter.
To celebrate, Mother Nature brought [...]
Two weeks after the due date, Rosalie finally gave birth to her first calf. Rosalie’s a grade Jersey and was born here on the farm. She was bred to the same Limosin bull as Lottie. Unlike her mother, Rosalie chose a nice shady spot at the edge of the pasture that’s easily accessible to the [...]
The answer to the surprise quiz picture: milking stanchion. (It was a surprise to me that I couldn’t upload the text.) My genius husband combined ideas from several designs and built this one, which suits me perfectly. Lottie Le Cow is less impressed but adjusting to the new stanchion, new stall, and new routine. [...]
About 4 p.m. every day, the Jersey cow leaves her grazing spot at the other end of the pasture for this clearing near the old barn. Early weed sprouts grow thickly here. Chickweed seems to be her favorite, and she’s keeping it trimmed short.
Right now, she’s just ‘Cow.’ And she’s taller than she looks in this photo.
Cow is a four-year-old grade Jersey who’s due to calve around the end of February. She’s gentle, a bit shy, loves corn, and seems to believe that if she keeps looking she’ll find another cow somewhere in the south pasture. [...]
I suspect I’d be sad too if I saw this in the mirror every morning.
