Another 12 Inches of Snow

Well, the first day of spring brought us another 12 inches of snow. Light and fluffy till it started to rain mid morning.  Praying the warm weather will really kick in and start melting the endless white cover.

Winnie has settled in fully now and seems to always have a smile on her face, except for when Little Jack Fuzzy Bear was a little too close to "her" chickens in her paddock.  She ignored me and her favorite snack (whole wheat tortilla) for a moment to go charging at him.  Once he returned to the outside of the paddock she calmly walked over and enjoyed her treat.

Mabel seems to be enjoying Winnie's company as well.  Though they are separated by an electric fence, they seem to enjoy being near each other whilst chewing on hay and enjoying the sunshine.  May actually lingers around Winnie's end of the field more instead of just under the tall pine (her old favorite spot).

After the storm, we are all enjoying some quiet time with temps this afternoon finally being in the high 30's.

Week One

The occasional 'mooing" continued for about two days.  Now it is down to a trickle and I often just get a greeting "moo" when I'm coming or going.  Winnie seems to have settled in quite nicely and I am now after day five feeling a real connection with her and from her.  She is even giving me kisses with her distinctly rough tongue. She is such a smart, sweet and fun girl.

Wednesday and Thursday brought us a late winter storm and another 12 inches of heavy snow and another power outage.  Fortunately we keep extra water supplies in storage and we have a generator.  So it is not as bad for us at it is for some.  Mabel the horse was especially energetic but Winnie was quiet and relaxed through the whole thing.

Today was the longest I was away from the homestead since Winnie arrived.  After visiting the folks, a session at work and picking up some milk from a local farm we got a flat tire on the way home so made it home about an hour later then I had even expected.  Throughout the day I notice myself thinking "I wonder how Winnie is doing?"  or "I can't wait to see Winnie when we get home."  I found that I missed her quite a lot.  Her kind, inquisitive eyes greeted me when I went down to feed her and I realized then how I too had become dependent upon her.  Just being around her energy brings me such peace.

Although she has plenty of fresh air in her stall, I am looking forward to letting her walk outside in her new pasture soon.  I think by next week the weather will break and she can stretch her legs a bit.

Saturday Afternoon

It was just too nice of a day to wait so I let Miss Winnie out in her paddock area.  I think she just loved it.  I'll let you be the judge! Unfortunately I had to break it down into two videos because it was too long but you get the idea.

We Meet

The search for our family cow began 2 years ago.  We spoke with many dairy farmers both with large and small herds.  We spoke with those who had Heifers, Gurneys and Jerseys and those who had young and old cows available.  Some were still milking and on their 6th or 7th calving, others were 4 or 5 and had not calved at all.  We finally found one that appeared to be our dream cow.  She was only 18 months, pure bred Jersey and was pregnant!  She also had been dam raised so was about as healthy as a cow could be.  A quick email to the seller expressing an interest and a little about our farm and we were sure to have our perfect cow.  Unfortunately, the responding email advised that our dream cow was already spoken for and our search continued.  I even kept pictures of her on my screen saver telling myself if it was meant to be things would change.  Our search continued but each cow or the situation was never quite right.  About a month later, that same cow became available.  The next day we met our Miss Winnie and we knew she was indeed the cow for us.


Day One

The sun is not quite rising but beautiful Venus is beaming in the near black sky with it's reflective light on the horizon telling me that the sun is soon to follow.

My body says it is 4:52 AM but daylight savings time says its an hour later.  Today is the big day and the stars have aligned such that our family cow "Winnie" (my Grandmother's name though not named after her) is arriving at the homestead today!

Pick up was fairly uneventful and even unloading was a breeze. Really things could not have gone much better and believe me, I am truly grateful for the ease of transport.

It didn't take too long and she was quietly eating her hay and checking out her new home.  The occasional "moo" calling did bring the reminder that her mom (and companion for the last 20 months of her life) was far away in another town. I am hoping this will be the worst of the transition for her and that she will not feel too lonely.  Of course, how can she even get any rest when I am out there checking on her every 20 minutes!