A Field Trip to the Farm

I wasn't sure if I was going to share this day here because I am pretty certain it will prove to be of little value for you to read it.  Blogging is risky business.  Maybe you will find it interesting and/or entertaining, maybe you won't.  At the very least I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Remember a month or so ago I mentioned Scott's cousin?  The one whose husband is a farmer?  Well, for two years I have invited myself for a tour of their farm but for various reasons, like moving, I never could keep the date.  Well, the day finally came when I followed through.  I even brought a homeschooling mom friend of mine and her two sons which made it a field trip and even more educational.

Janet and Doug (the farmer with kind eyes) own a big farm outside of Auburn.  A dairy farm.  We saw cows.  Lots of cows.  Big cows, little cows, curious cows and scared cows.  About 4,000 cows reside there.  Four thousand.  Let that sink in a minute.

These first pics were taken in the milking barn.  Here the girls are lined up and hooked up to give their milk or have it taken.  Depends on how you look at it. 

This is a pretty sophisticated business.  Each cow is given a number and their milk production is recorded on computer in the office.  With all the data they collect (through the milk, can you imagine?) they can tell if a cow is sick or diseased and plenty of other stuff.  Pretty fascinating, I thought.

Good morning, sunshine!

 There are many barns on the property.  This one is just for feed.  It was big and there are several varieties.  Who knew?

 I thought it was a little bit sad that the cows only get a number and not a name.  Look at that face.  But I guess when there are 4,000 to deal with naming would be ridiculous.  I got over it.

Curious Cow

Hungry cows

Janet taught us a lot.  I never knew that manure had so much value and purpose.  Or how it is stored and 'repurposed'.  Maybe it was more than I cared to know.

I was actually pretty impressed with how organized the cows are and how they are moved around from barn to barn for different functions and seasons.

This is where the newborn calves live.  They call these 'hutches'.  There were many more than what's shown here.  If I remember correctly they come here just a few days after birth.  That seems so soon.  I've been whining lately that I only have my children at home with me for 18 years, but a few days?!?  She says it's because the mom may step on and kill her baby.  Well ok then.

After their time out here they get promoted to the big barns.  Soon after, the farmers get 'em pregnant so they can start milk production.  I am not sure what to say about that.

While they are out here, they are bottle fed a few times a day.  And they suck fingers.  We didn't offer ours. With no hand sanitizer in sight, I was sure I'd end up putting the same finger in my mouth at some later point. Ewww.  This is the farmer's wife's finger.  She is not afraid.  This ain't her first rodeo.

Baby calves all on their own.  No mom in sight.  I wouldn't make a good cow.

Janet then told us that about five calves are born every day on the farm.  There was a pretty good chance we could see one.  So we headed off to the maternity barn.

She was right.  We were just in time.  This is the fifth of the morning. We waited about ten minutes.

There it is!  The boys thought it was slimey.  And gross.  I wondered how in the world did Mary give birth to baby Jesus in a stable.  I whispered a thank you for hospitals.

The boys were right.  This was kind of gross.  I guess two moms cleaning you up is better than one.  Why not lick your friend's newborn?  I'm all for community and living life together with a group of friends, but I'm not sure I could do that.  Bring a meal, yes - sign me up - but this?

Next we saw some heavy machinery.  This is Doug's tractor.  He's the big cheese.  He was out of town so we got to play in it a little.  It was big.

See what I mean?  Huge.

All in all, it was a very good day.  I learned so much and really enjoyed all Janet taught us.  I asked a million questions.  Like this one.  "Do you cook for and feed all the farmhands breakfast and lunch everyday?"  She just looked at me.  I could tell she was thinking, 'you read too many books or have watched too many Hallmark movies.'

She also doesn't wear a skirt around the farm and feed the chickens from her apron.  There are no chickens.  Only cows.  This was the only disappointment of the day. 

After a few hours on the farm, we were hungry so we went to a local diner for lunch.  There's nothing like it.  This one was cute (50's style inside) and served yummy food.  We had cheeseburgers and chocolate milk.  Is that bad?