The autumn season is upon us and, like every year, I stand and marvel at the beauty surrounding me. Crisp air, leaves dancing about, the rustic smell of bonfires scattered about the valley and the thunk of the walnuts falling from the trees let us know October is in full swing. This year there is…
I hate when I have to ask this question. It is the usual story – at least around here. There is a new milker in the stall (both the cow and the boy), we are late for school, the barn door gets left loose, the cows take advantage and have free access to the feed barrel…
1st time milking animals don’t know the milking routine. You have to train a milk cow how to milk. We’ve trained two enormous beasts how to milk. That means we are not experts and still have much to learn and even if we had trained 100 cows to milk… the 101st would be completely different.…
We’ve been anxiously awaiting the birth of a dairy calf here on our farm. After weeks of checking and rechecking and nightly treks out to the cow pasture….One of our milk cows, Dixie, finally gave birth to a large, healthy bull calf Sunday afternoon! If you haven’t read my post about Waiting On A Dairy…
A few nights ago, my 13 year old son was about to orbit Mars when our new Guernsey dairy cow, Izzy, kicked over the 3 gallon milking pail which was almost full of creamy, frothy fresh milk. She kicked. He scrambled for the milk pail and missed and we watched the milk flow like a river all over the milking area. …
Last week, we took a 3 hour trip to fetch a newly freshened dairy cow to add to our Guernsey herd. On our way, we also stopped by a Guernsey Dairy Farm and picked up a newborn bull calf. The trip went smoothly. Everyone watched giddy and excited as we loaded her up. She handled the ride in…
He knows she’s a moo cow and he’s not afraid of her. He runs right up to her and moo’s with her. He doesn’t like the chickens much. He tricked them by walking around the yard with an empty feed scoop. They kept begging. He kept shouting “NO” and pointing his finger at them. He’s a small…
Our boys are the main milkers here on our farm. They have strong hands to prove it. I am very grateful to them for all their hard work around here. Having a milking animal changes life pretty dramatically. She’s a big part of the family. She requires attention and care daily, but we are rewarded…
One of our boys read an article outloud to the family this morning about cow gestation and how to tell impending labor. It was quite informational and much more interesting than an A Beka reader. Then we went outside to check on her. No baby yet, although, she is definitely showing signs. We are anxiously awaiting. …
In case you have been wondering where we went…we’re still here. I amazed at how busy life is. Fall is already here in full swing and it is absolutely amazingly gorgeous outside. Every year, I stand in awe at the amazing painting that appears. We have a lot of things coming up in the near future. …
Our 6 year old came in the house a few days ago with an important farm announcement concerning our barn cat. Missy Mouser is definitely pregnant! She has a big round belly and is losing feathers around her teats. I guess that might be a sure sign to this little farm boy who is confusing the…
As you have probably seen by now, we have been working on a new backend for vaughnshire.com. We are maintaining the blog for the usual family update, political rants, and theological musings, but we felt the farm needed a little more flexibility than the blog could provide. We have a lot of exciting plans for…
Baby calves are so enjoyable to have around on the farm. We love watching them romp and play. Here’s one of our baby cows named Havala. Here, Hava is chasing our 8 year old as he makes his way over to one of the other calves. We plan on keeping her here on the farm…
We have been so busy living the life of cow owners, that we have not even taken the time to really share all the great benefits of our Guernsey milk. Here is a quick list of recommended articles that will help explain why we passed over the dozens of Jersey cows and sought out another Guernsey…
* Updated original post that mistakenly said the prescription bill had passed. In fact the prescription bill was “amended” to be the cow share bill. …if you own at least “part” of the animal. Here is the original bill that was amended: http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/106/Bill/HB0720.pdf The amendment completely changed the bill. In a small farm hostile state it needed to…
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