Our Newest addition

Meet Gracie "Bubbles" ""No-No"" Chambers!   Our newest farm family member.  She is 10 weeks old and a Great Pyrenees. She will be an extra large dog when fully grown. This breed is well known for protecting livestock, children and anything it's raised with.  She already sleeps outside our door on the porch at night, which the other dogs have never done. She has such a  sweet spirit, is loving, kind, careful, layed back and very fluffy. She does, of course, bark at the cats.

I've always wanted this kind of dog and William said I could get her for a mother's day gift.  She quickly has become very attached to McKinley, which I love!

Her name.... well,  I liked Gracie.  One day she got in the kiddie pool with McKinley and the name Bubbles stuck. No-No is what McKinley calls her daily when she takes her toys or pulls on her clothes.  We primarily call her Bubbles. 
It will be fun to watch her grow bigger than the other dogs, to see her personality mature and make lasting memories along the way. We are thankful for such a wonderful pup!

Dirt

Believe it or not McKinley's first attempt at a word was....Chicken. She enjoys them, loves feeding them all by herself, and when they take dust baths she thinks it's funny to try too. This was a fun moment to watch and nothing a good bath can't fix. And, playing in the dirt builds a good immune system!  The only thing missing was her t shirt that states..."I make dirt look good"

Bunny love

The rabbits at our farm are well loved. The cages are big enough that McKinley can actually fit inside them easily to play with them. She rounds them gently into the corner and lays her head down on them. I'm sure they are traumatized by such things, but they take it well.

Rabbits are a part of my family history much like dairy cows.  My father had approximately 90 breeding does at one time and his grandfather grew up on a huge rabbitry and chicken farm before they got into the dairy business.  I never understood why I loved having rabbits so much, until I realized it's bred into me. I always had a couple as pets as a kid but am now really enjoying the small rabbitry we have going.

We currently have 5 New Zealand does and one Buck.  I rotate the breeding program so I have a new litter born each month.  Yes,  this large rabbit breed is for eating, primarily.  I have sold numerous for pets and to help others get started in there own rabbit raising programs. You can raise them to 5lbs easily in 4-5 months and then they are freezer meat.  What does rabbit taste like you say? I think it easily compares to dark meat chicken with NO fat.  We like it. A lot of people in this part of the country like it. 

We respect and love our animals, and in return they nourish us. We don't take this concept lightly.  It's a blessing to be able to raise your own food. 

Allis-Chalmers

 William has numerous projects he's working on at all times. He is truly blessed with the ability to do everything himself. He always amazes me with every new project he takes on, and how effortlessly he makes them look. His 1981 Allis-Chalmers, (78 Horse Power) tractor project started with a flat rear tire, which led to buying a set of new back tires, at 750.00 a piece, which is a great bargain if you're ever shopping for rear tractor tires! Since the wheels were off, he decided to have them sand blasted and repainted too. Then he decided since the wheels were off, he might as well give the Tractor a completely new brake system. So as you can see, one thing led to another and from the beginning of July to the end of August he completely restored his big orange tractor. From new paint, to brakes, to a new seat and hydrolic hoses, It's shining glorious on our farm now. I'm even enjoying driving it a lot more thanks to the new seat and brakes! Although I'll always be a John Deere Green Fan, I am very proud of all his hard work on this project. Now only 187 more projects to go...right Will?  

Annabelle's snake bite

Meet Annabelle. My favorite mess of a Jersey cow! This weekend she conveniently showed up at milk time with a huge swollen face and jaw. Thankfully, my veterinarian, (who is close enough to my family that we call him Pops,)  was visiting at the time and knew exactly what had happened.  He was fairly sure it was a copperhead bite. Being a Yankee, I know nothing of snakes or reactions of bites and this was a huge learning experience.  We gave her an anti inflammatory and I was up every couple hours throughout the night to make sure swelling didn't go underneath her throat and around to the other cheek and cut off her breathing.  Also kept watching for signs of shock and labored breathing.  The next day the swelling had increased up into her ear, down to her muzzle and further back to her neck. I loaded Annabelle into the stock trailer for a ride to Pops house for an antibiotic.  At this point preventing an infected abscess is our main priority. If you ever want to get your entire dairy herd riled up just take one away from the herd, put in a stock trailer (all cows know what a trailer is and the possibility friends don't return) and drive out of the pasture with them all bellowing at each other. Upon leaving the gate I actually spoke to the remaining girls and told them she'd be back after a trip to the vets. That did the trick. They understood.  All cows know that word.  Vet.

Upon returning there were licks and lots of sniffing between the cows, but I kept my word and she returned. It's amazing the bond they carry between them.  I'll write another post sometime about Annabelle's accident with a huge wild cat that took off a piece of her upper right lip. You can see the scar in the pics. She's had some hard knocks, but she's stubborn as a mule and tough as nails and I love her with all my heart. She's currently milking 6 gallons a day and she's raised three of her own calves and adopted another one in her short 5 years already. 

The following morning her swelling had decreased 90%  and I was thankful.  Three more days have passed and she's recovered completely and is back to whacking me in my face with her tail every single time I milk her. And yet, I will cry for days when someday I have to say goodbye forever to her. I'm so relieved that wasn't this weekend.

The Best Little Helper!

Everyday, twice a day we milk the girls and I load the milk buckets into the little red wagon and pull it over to the house for filtering and bottling. McKinley gives up her seat in the wagon for the second bucket and usually walks with me to the house.  Today, she insisted on pulling it herself, all 85 lbs of milk. She was content to push after awhile.  I am thankful for her willingness to try and her thoughtfulness to help. The tugging grunts that came from her pulling on the cart are etched in my heart. Thank you Lord, for our little girl.