Little Ms Milkmaid pt 1

I'm learning a new trade skill: milking! It might one day come in handy. Since I have the time I thought I would give it a try. Besides it looks really easy. You just grab the teet, squeeze and pull. Sure...rrrrrright! I found out if you try it that way the cow will either turn around and look at you like you are crazy or kick. I got both!

Luckily my reflexes are pretty quick from working around horses, and for the most part Mickalyn is pretty lazy so her leg didn't go to far. Of course, I could have been imagining her leg kicking up when she was just stepping forward. But it sounds more exciting if I say she kicked. :)

After I got situated on a stool by her back legs, which had my safety sensors humming. I think I remember hearing that sitting near back legs of a hoofed animal wasn't the smartest idea...hmm..must not be true because I have been handed a stool and told to sit.

Having never done this I felt like I was getting a little too personal with Mickalyn, I wasn't too sure how to proceed. Sometimes you just have to jump in with both feet or in this case, both hands. I slowly moved towards the udder, so I wouldn't scare the 1000 lb animal with hooves near my head, and started to squeeze. Nothing came out. What do you mean this isn't how you do it!?! But this is how they do it on the TV! What!?! The TV is wrong!?! Well, I never...

After a little instruction from my milkmaid mentor, Sharon, I was on my way to becoming a bonafide milkmaid...well, sort of. My right hand sorta, kinda figured it out but my left hand was useless. I was seriously thinking about returning it in for a new hand. Maybe another right hand. But since that wasn't an option, at least not until I went home, the left hand was just going to have to figure it out.

Slowly but surely I started to get milk from Mickalyn. The right hand was getting the hang of it, I am so proud of my right hand. This is why I always use it to write with. The left was figuring it out. The contrast was kind of sad. Right: strong steady stream of 100 degree milk like the mighty Mississippi; Left: a trickle of milk like an Oklahoma creek during a drought. Poor Mickalyn, what she has to endure with a new milkmaid.

I was concentrating so hard on getting the finesse of the milking correct that sometimes I would forget to aim the milk. So it would end up on me. More than once, actually more than 5 times I squirted the milk right onto to my pants! Fun! I had warm milk running down my legs. I could already feel myself getting sticky.

Pretty soon, it was apparent that Mickalyn's patience had run out. So Sharon, my lovely milkmaid mentor, stepped in to finish her off. Then we headed off to separate the cream from the milk. A slow process but well worth it when you see the cream you get. Yum!!!

When I got home and walked through the door I was rushed by my four legged crew. Each of them stuck their noses to my legs and followed me everywhere. I felt like I had grown five new appendages and each one was a hindrance that wanted to drag me down so they could like my milk soaked pants. I had to get out of those pants fast, before Jackson and Willow took me down! Next time I am going to aim better!

My goal for my next milking lesson: Get more milk in the bucket then on my pants!

Cows coming in for the evening!


Mickalyn considering her options; get milked or hide?

Rosie wants to come in! Did someone say "Grain"?

Come on gals, freedom is this way!!

Where is the grain!

Calf Tan: "When will I be old enough to be milked?" Calf Tan, darling, I don't think it is as exciting as you think it is.




Separation: The Good Kind

Look at how thick and creamy the cream is! Yum!!!! All I could think about was Dad's homemade Vanilla Ice Cream!

Wild blackberries growing in the paddocks. I just had to pluck this one and eat it. It wasn't quite ready but it was worth it. I can't wait until the rest ripen and I can have blackberry pancakes and make blackberry jam!

Beautiful Cone Flowers!


Chickens and Fresh Eggs

Foggy Kentucky Morning Drive

This is what I saw on my way to work this morning. A foggy morning in Kentucky.


You can barely see the barn across the field.

A beautiful manor house that I pass every morning. They keep it meticously groomed. In the early spring they have hundreds of Iris' blooming along the rode.

No horses in this field this morning.

None here either!

Where have all the horses gone?

I think an alien abducted them.


See how spooky it is down this road. Definitely had to be an alien.

Hopefully the aliens will bring back the horses before my drive home!

Rains Storms + Dogs = No Sleep

I made it to the other side!!! We survived the morning storms. I think the storms were less of a danger then my dogs were to me. When the thunder hit overhead Willow was climbing all over me, thinking that I would be a good shield against the scary storms. But then she decided that being under the bed was safer. You see just me as a shield wasn’t working, but me and the bed would save her. (Her logic is amazing!)

If you were thinking that after she got off the bed she wouldn’t disturb me and I could return to some sort of normalcy aka sleep, you would be incorrect. Being that she is a 100 lb dog and “Grace” is not her middle name, and the space between the bed and the floor just barely fit her as a 30 lb puppy her entrance was not quiet nor easy. She is a strong dog and has found she can push through most anything. How does this translate to her crawling under the bed, you ask? She lifts the bed up!! If I wasn’t already aware of this action and its results it would freak me out in my half sleep state. You get the sensation that the bed is levitating and that the monsters or aliens are coming to get you! Only fool me once!

After she got situated, the storm passed. But she didn’t move because it was too much work and what if another storm came through?

Getting her out from under the bed this morning was interesting to say the least! She was wedged not only between the bed and the floor but also between the bed and the wall. Here I thought it was going to be a puzzle to solve *thinking first thing in the morning has never been my forte*, I figured that I would have to grease her up and yank her out. (This is what I came up with in my still half-sleep state, I am sure if I had been more awake I would have been more delicate. That is my story and I am sticking to it!) Willow had other plans, her way of thinking was: stand up, push the bed up, walk towards the wall; when I am out from under the bed do a half turn and then jump on the bed to exit from the spot between the bed and the wall. That worked great... except the bed was lifted off the frame about 7 inches and then let go to slam back down. WILLOW!!!!!!

And Kody, the one who is normally very unsettled during these storms just laid in front of his fan watching Willow. I think he feels proud that he has passed he neurosis on. Thanks Kody! At least he never climbed on the bed and tried to tunnel under me.

Doesn't she look so innocent?

The cats were fine. Jackson and Alec had stayed outside and were fine this morning. George, well George probably slept through everything because that is what George does.

Most of the plants came through without a hitch, only my corn and hollyhocks were really effected. Both were leaning over. Hopefully they will bounce back.

Another four legged friend...

I realized this morning as I was showing off photos of my animals, that I have yet to include a photo of the newest dog in the family. He is pretty quiet and stays to himself, so he sometimes gets forgotten. He is a short squatty thing, mostly brown in color but has some silver/gray spots to give him interest. He is very loyal and takes his job as watch dog very seriously. He always has his eye on the front entrance, no one gets by without seeing him first.

He doesn’t have a name yet, so if you think of one please send it my way.

The Barnett Motley Crew

I took some photos last night of my motley crew. Each has a different opinion of me with the camera.

This is Kody begging, actually no he isn't begging he is telling me he wants to go inside and get out of the heat….

Willow playing in the grass with me… “Oh, I almost have that itch”



Jackson, ignoring me because...well, because he can. A brief moment of quiet, normally he is into something.



George posing for the camera, like a typical girl, (yes George is a girl).

And Alec, the identity confused cat (at times he thinks he is a dog and loves playing with Willow). Now, he is looking down at Willow and just begging for her head to come closer so he can swat it. (He is trying to pretend he is cool and doesn’t see the camera, yeah right!)

Old Farmer's Advice

* Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.

* Keep skunks and bankers at a distance.

* Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.

* A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.

* Words that soak into your ears are whispered... not yelled.

* Meanness don't jes' happen overnight.

* Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.

* It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge.

* You cannot unsay a cruel word.

* Every path has a few puddles.

* When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.

* The best sermons are lived, not preached.

* Most of the stuff people worry about ain't never gonna happen anyway.

* Don't judge folks by their relatives.

* Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

* Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time.

* Don't interfere with somethin' that ain't botherin you none.

* Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a Rain Dance.

* If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.

* Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.

* The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin'.

* Always drink upstream from the herd.

* Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.

* Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it back in.

* If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around.

* Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.

* Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he's too old to fight, he'll just kill you...

My Own Tomato Topsy Turvy

You might have seen the Topsy Turvy Tomato planter on TV or in your local store. It is the invention that grows tomato plants upside down. Allowing for the plant to be hung instead of planted into the ground, this way it takes up less room on your patio or balcony. It works wonders for city dwellers you don't have a lot of land but want to enjoy fresh tomatoes. For people you do have enough land, such as me, we use it to keep the tomatoes off of the ground so that they don't rot before you get them.

The one main reason I am trying this type of growing is because we are getting so much rain here in Kentucky and not a lot of sun, so my tomato plants are really growing. They are healthy but have not reached for the sky like my other plants. So I thought I would try this other method after seeing my friend's tomato plant in a Topsy Turvy.

Instead of going out and buying one I found directions online to build my own at Instructables.com. The directions call for a two liter bottle, knife, strong string or twine, duct tape, aluminum foil, potting soil and a tomato plant.

First you cut the bottom out of the bottle then punch three to four holes around this cut edge. Tape the edge with duct tape, this way you can avoid getting cut on the plastic. String your holes. *Make sure that your string or twine is fairly strong, it is going to have to hold wet soil and a fairly heavy plant. Just think of all the tomatoes that will be on it. :)

Then I took a small piece of aluminum foil, I used foil because it was rigid and could be threaded through the mouth of the bottle easier. Wrap the foil around the top portion of the plant. Be careful not to get it to tight, you don't want to damage the plant just confine it. After you have wrapped your plant, thread it through the mouth of the bottle coming from the inside. You want the roots to sit inside the bottle. Once situated take the foil off, add potting soil and water. Then find a good place in full sun to hang your tomato plant. Just remember that a sturdy hook or fence will be needed because of the weight.

Because the bottle is acting like a greenhouse to the roots you must make sure to water often! Some say two times a day. Look at your soil and do what it tells you.

I will be interested to see what kind of yield I get from my plant hanging upside down. If this works I will continue to do it year after year. Hopefully the sun will peak out and all of my tomato plants will give me baskets full of beautiful red tomatoes.

Happy Gardening!

Hollyhocks

It was a 40 minute drive to the barn and wasting time in the car was not fun, I would drive as fast as I could to get there. But I always slowed down as a passed this one house, especially in the spring. The house and surrounding property were lovely in their own right but what made it stand out for me was the riot of color I saw in the spring. The hollyhocks were everywhere. They grew right up to the road, so close that when there was a bit of wind it looked like they were waving to the motorists.

This inspired me to one day have hollyhocks. That one day started last year. I bought five bare root tubers from Walmart. The are an old-fashioned favorite and maroon in color. They got planted outside my back door, next to the house where it was just a blank white wall. They all started to grow, resisting the constant motion of the dogs walking to the door. Their leaves were broad and each day they inched towards the sky. It was still early spring so the buds had not begun to show, but in a month I should have some glorious color and the start of my hollyhock garden.

My parents came to visit and my Dad was helping me weedeat. He was enjoying my lightweight electric weedeater! I rounded the corner just in time to see him start weedeating my hollyhocks! "Stop, Dad!" I yelled, running towards him. He turned around in confusion. I just stood there and stared at four weedeated hollyhocks. After I came out of my stupor I explained to him that these were not weeds but hollyhocks that I had intentionally planted. My dad was very apologetic and I can understand why he thought they were weeds. I did have some pretty big weeds growing. Weeds seems to take over in a drought, oh well, back on track.

At least one of the plants didn't get touched by the weedeater.,so I had hope of some color later. And like I had predicted in a month I had some beautiful maroon hollyhocks; except now it was only one plant. But it gave me hope for the next spring. The weedeated hollyhocks were still alive but they never got over a foot tall that year.

This year I have had more hollyhocks come back then what I planted. My one hollyhock plant produced a lot of seeds. I tried to capture most of them so that I could give them to friends and start some indoors. This spring I made sure that no one but me weedeated by the back door. I added some more seeds of different varieties, (I am trying to get the wild hollyhock flower feeling going). So far those hollyhocks have not made an appearance, but they are in an area where the wild strawberries like to grow. So we will see if they come up.

I have started a Peaches and Cream variety with double blooms in the house at the end of May. They are growing and in a few months time they should be ready to go outside.

I just love the tall stalk of color and the fact that they come back year after year. If I had my way my house would be surrounded by hollyhocks, at least the full sun portions. :)

Rain, rain go away...IT DID!!!

It seems like we have had so much rain this week that I should have been building an ark and not gardening. Now the sun is out and everything is growing. And I mean everything. This morning as I was leaving the house I noticed a batch of new house flies that were attached to my house.

And not only are the vegetables growing but now it seems I have a harvest of fungi. Little mushrooms are taking over my vegetable garden. They should be gone when the sun really comes out this afternoon. If not I will be pulling them out.

One great thing about this rain, is that I didn't have to water for awhile. And if it stays cool I shouldn't have to water for a couple more days. Keep your fingers crossed!

The sunflowers are loving the sun!

Kody and Willow

Here is Kody and Willow enjoying the nice June weather!