A DAY IN PHOTOS: EVENING CHORES.

Moving the milking stanchion, letting the animals into their new paddock, tying up the calf and then milking Lily, collecting eggs without getting killed by the geese.

FIRST GLASS OF MILK.

This past week has been the start of a new journey for me - milking a cow. We are sharing a lovely lady named Lily with our Bugtussle family, and she calved a little over a week ago. Cher and I have both been at every milking, morning and night, trying to figure out this new routine and rhythm. It has been difficult and educational - and I just now feel myself understanding the flow, the muscles, and the energy needed for the task. You can read Cher's thoughts about it here.  Soon, I will take over a few milkings a week on my own, but for now we both have been working at it together. We've worked through enormous rock-hard udders and weirdly small teats and mastitis fears. Slowly but surely, we are getting it.I love it. I love resting my head against Lily's warm body, I love watching the little calf sleep near her mother's head, I love the calm and stillness and magic of it. I can't wait to be better, quicker and stronger - without the sore hands! But I love it still.I will take pictures of sweet Lily soon, but lately I've been too busy trying to get the process down. I did snap a good one, though, of the view from where I milk.- Hannah.

THE BEST CHORE.

The cow we wrote about last week, Dandy, did in fact pass away. Not only was it very sad, but it also left the farm with a somewhat laborious chore - feeding her newborn calf.  With the Smith family on vacation, this task falls to us....but I'll be honest. While it is time-consuming and must be done twice a day, it is definitely not that much of a chore.Feeding this little orphan face every morning is a delight, crouching in the dewy grass while curious sheep and cows sniff at my ears. This little guy is, in fact, a little guy, but Jesse and I hope to one day raise and bottle-feed a little heifer to become our milk cow. Until that day, we will just keep practicing, and enjoying every minute of it.- Hannah.