Annie,

She is so cute! My grandfather had a dairy herd when I was small and then when I was in high school changed to beef cattle. I loved living right next to the farm. Now my grandparents are gone and the farm is rented out and the only animals are the barn cats. Too sad my grandkids won't get to enjoy the same fun I remember.

Enjoy your baby!
kat

Awwwww...Valentine is so cute. Not sure why Elery thinks you have a bad habit, you're a good cow mama.

Thanks for sharing.

Nancy

awwwwwwwwwwweeee I want one!!!!! I need a milk cow..LOL

Is your other "big girl" calfing this year ?(or is it calving?)
I grew up around Herefords. My grandfather had a few on his "ranch" which is actually a more of a personal farm. 3 ladies and a big old ugly bull in the back pasture...(my uncle now uses the property as one of his many "family" rentals) I WANT THIS LAND! Grandpas girls loved to have their "curls" combed..LOL

She's adorable! I'm just a sucker for baby livestock. I know it's a lot more work, but some days I wish I was a farmer and could stay home rather than working for someone else. Enjoy your time with your new Valentine!

Yup, she's cute! But I don't want one! Alice is still on the fence about raising an animal for fair this year. She is leaning toward a pig. She talked about a steer until last summer when a senior girl raised a steer all year that she couldn't show. He was beautiful but she couldn't tame him enough to be able to handle him. Wild thing.

(Elery knew long ago exactly who he married!)

Well, Terri, you won't get much milk from a Hereford, LOL, they are strictly beef production. I could see you with a nice, sweet tempered and docile Jersey, though! No ugly bull here, I'm going to just "rent" a bull for the summer, so I can control when the babies are born, sometime warmer next year!

My other "big girl" should also have a calf this year, I hope to heck she waits a month, at least. It's just too cold for the little ones to survive in this weather. elery says my cows are so fat it's hard to tell when they are pregnant and when they're just fat. He's right, LOL, but my other cow "should be" expecting sometime in March, if my calculations are right.

Nancy, Elery just thinks I work too hard and that the farm takes a lot of time and energy, which it does. I keep reminding him that it's not really "work" to me, it's my recreation. He doesn't quite get that yet, I don't think.

kat, just bring your grandkids to my place. They can go fishing for bluegills, ride the horse, play with the calves, catch frogs in the pond and generally run amuck as children should be allowed to do.

Heck, it sounds like I should open a summer camp, LOL.

Annie

LOL, Barnmom, Elery did know who he married. He still teases me about my "golden chickens" though, even though I got 14 eggs today, one from each hen. Good girls....

I'm betting that wild steer was black angus or simmetal, something like that. I've never seen a wild Hereford, not even the bulls, and they top 2,000 lbs. That's why I like Herefords, they're easy to keep, docile, friendly, not too bright and they have a natural layer of subcutaneous fat that keeps them from getting too cold in Michigan's winter, even if I feed them no grain at all. Plus, they're all curly!

Bri, it IS hard work and you can't make a living small farming. So I work 60 hours a week running the Prosecutor's Office and support my "bad farming habit". Like Dad, if I won the lottery I'd just keep farming until it was gone.....

Annie

"Heck, it sounds like I should open a summer camp, LOL."

What an excellent thought. Seriously, that would be a great camp! You could do it.

Jim

I know Annie...so actually I'll need a Jersey girl and a Hereford girl..so I can have milker and a meater..Ha ha...

When we lived in Napa about ten years ago we discovered this place. It was a petting zoo of sorts and a farm animal rescue spot and was privately owned back then. They tied in with the city summer camps program. My kids went there and loved it (Alice especially). They learned about sustainable farming and animal husbandry and did a bit of cooking and some crafts. It was loosely structured back then but kept the kids happy, busy, and pretty grimy all day long.

I can easily see Ashley as head camp counselor. ;)

Here is a link that might be useful: Connolly Ranch

Well of course you need TWO, Terri, that way they don't get lonesome. ROFL

They are sure big, hungry, expensive pets, though not any bigger or hungrier than horses, I suppose.

Jim, I think I'd need more than one horse, one pond, 4 head of Herefords and 14 chickens, LOL. they could get good and dirty, though, and I'd feed 'em really well!

Annie

Oh geez, Barnmom, don't encourage me. (grin)

I feel really badly for today's children, so many never got to wallow around in the mud and get truly dirty....

Annie

Annie,

You have a great idea, you enjoy kids and you love the farm, summer camp sounds like it would be such fun. My parents built their house just down the road from the big farmhouse on part of the farmland. My grandfather had bought a sawmill and moved it to our farm to supply the lumber needed to build my parents house. My sister and brother and I spent most of our time on the farm. My grandmother raised chickens and in addition to the cows Grandpop had pigs and they planted corn, wheat and soybeans. I remember once getting angry with my mother for something and I ran away from home. I took off for the farmhouse and my grandparents and went right across the cornfield between the houses. The corn was just over my head and my mother could see me moving through the field! So much for running away! So many good memories; picking the wild blueberries by the woods; helping Grandmom with the chickens and the garden; riding on the tractor with my grandfather. It was a great way to grow up. My daughter has been trying to keep my grandson from getting dirty since he was born, he needs a farm with animals to play on so he can really have fun getting dirty!
When does the summer camp start? :)
kat

She looks like she came prepared for winter and has a thick coat of hair! Now if only they could stay little! To me calves are cute.... big cows not so much! But I do miss my chickens ever so much!!

Grace

Oh wow! She is beautiful. Annie, I just wanted you to know that this city slicker gets such a kick out of the farming info that you share. I think you actually live my fantasy life. I am sure I would never have the energy to do what you do but it is nice to dream about it. I get the impression that the simple life I dream of is back breaking, 24/7 work, work, work!

You could do a "city slicker camp for adults" and probably make money off the yuppies that would love to learn to can their own food and bake their own rolls. Don't laugh too quick. LOL

Joan, we already did a canning camp for forum members a couple of years ago, but I keep threatening to go into the personal training/weight loss business.

I figure if people pay to go to those "boot camp" places, I could put them to work with a rototiller, then they could shovel some manure, then pick up some hay. They could start with small 60 pound bales and work their way up to tossing 80 pound bales into the top of the haymow, LOL. Did I mention hoeing and digging holes for fence posts and scrubbing tanks and cleaning chicken coops? Oh yeah, lots of exercise going on here, I should be able to make lots of money in the physical fitness arena. (grin)

Actually the real problem with small farming is that it costs so much. Dad always worked to support the farm, and now I go to the office 60 hours a week to rest and support my bad farming habit.

Annie

$200.00 bucks per week per day-camper kid could buy some hay. 6-8 kids per week... Yes, those are Napa prices but even half that might feed the hens nicely.

Start composing that liability release form, Annie. ;) Sign 'em up!

What a cutie even though she should up in the middle of winter for y'all. LOL @ Elery! Thanks for sharing Annie...I want to see those new chicks this spring.

David

that would be showed up....time for me to go to bed...LOL!

I'm sure she will produce some good stock for you in the future Annie. I still want to see those chicks this spring...I was surprised years ago that many get them through the mail.

David

How cute. Perfectly named too.

Ann

March 15th birth - Julius? or Julia...
March 17th birth - Patrick? or Patricia....

Always something going on at the farm!

Valentine is adorable! Annie, I so enjoy hearing about the goings on at your farm and the pics too! You are one "gritty mama" in the best sense of the word!

Teresa

Great pictures Annie.Thanks for sharing.

Shelley

So sweet!

When I was little girl my Great Uncle who farmed also had a calf born on Valentine's Day. I was enthralled with the calf and wanted to name him. Uncle George wasn't too impressed with naming cattle but he let me and I named him Valentino! LOL Probably the reason why I'm not much of a beef eater!

Sometime later, when Valentino had grown, I asked at dinner where Valentino was My older cousin Blair replied " Your eating him". I was immediately sick to my stomach right at the the table! LOL

Thank goodness Valentine is destined for a better fate.

Great Valentine's Gift. So cute!!!

Linda

Valentine is a sweetheart. All the physical work (even the yucky stuff) sounds inviting when you spend so much time sitting behind a desk.

My grandparents lived down the road from a dairy farm. I loved going down the alley to the farm. We would bring kittens, bunnies and chicks back to the house, begging to keep them. We climbed in the hayloft and jumped off the bales. The brave ones jumped from the loft down to the barn.

I loved feeding hay to the cows. It was fun to watch those giant tongues and the chewing sound of their big square teeth. Of course, the best part was the big brown eyes and long eyelashes. I even loved the smell.

The farmer has an old collie named Shep -- how classic is that?

He kept that farm going as long as he could but finally had to sell the herd. People said he had to go away the day that the cows left because he couldn't stand to watch them go. They turned the barn into a market for produce and flowers and gift-y stuff. I'm not sure if it is still going. I haven't been back in a few years. The last time we were there we bought corn and it was delicious.

Your little farm sounds like paradise. I agree that kids need a place like that to run free, get dirty and have fun. Kids lives are too structured (and clean) these days.

Valentine is adoreable! I'm glad your enjoying the farming life so much. I know it is a lot of work but you are getting quite a bit of personal satification out of it which is wonderful.

Aww...she's so cute!

I remember my aunt and uncle had a dairy farm in Wisconsin when I was a kid. I was so excited when they named one of their cows after me! LOL

Linda

Annie, I never cease admiring you. I don't know how you do it.

Little Valentine is sooo cute!

We used to live nearby a homesteader/rancher/farmer, who was one of the pioneers that settled outside of Denver. Mrs. Carson used to babysit me, and I loved her dearly, and loved being over at her place. I watched her milk her cows, and was delighted when she would squirt milk from the cows at the barn kittens. Needless to say, they loved the game, too. She tried to teach me to milk, but I never was able to get even a drop out of the cow. Maybe my hands were too small. Alas, Denver grew, and she grew tired, so she sold her beautiful farm to a developer, who promised to preserve the park-like setting surrounding her home. There is now a high-rise where here homestead once was, and they did keep part of the beautiful land preserved, as far as I know. It was very sad to learn of this, but at the same time, she made over a million dollars on the sale, and last I heard had moved to Phoenix and was living the good, (and warm) life.

I read a letter in Countryside Magazine about a lady that started a daycare on her homestead. It's been too long since I read the article, but if I remember correctly it started out that she was home-schooling her own kids, and taught them farm skills, including soap making, canning, milking, all the old do-it-yourself homesteading arts that are getting lost, along with the normal reading and math and stuff. Word got out, and city folks and day cares asked permission for their children come out for lessons. Eventually, she took on some children full time, and was able to supplement her income with her home daycare, or rather, farm daycare.

Sally

Hope Ashley is alright! Even little ones can hurt when they kick.

One of my early memories was hiding behind a light pole when a bull jumped off the loading ramp. Seems the slaughterhouse was not in his plans that day. My grandmother had this high pitched scream that grandpa called her fire siren. Pretty exciting day that was.

Grandpa and Grandma!.. and Pete
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Dragging my feet about doing another herd of bunnies. Love my animals but the every day feeding even when you have the flu and it's 20 below zero.

Best of luck with your herd!

: )
lyra

It all sounds idyllic, until I remember all the hard work that you describe! I agree our kids need to know and experience that side of life. Heck, my grands have a good sized home with a postage stamp for a backyard, their playgrounds include our house & yard, a myriad of public playgrounds or a "play place", an establishment where you pay $8 to come in and run around and play in a safe and clean environment---read a bunch of inflatable climbing apparatuses! LOL I think a farm camp would be just the ticket for these two little guys!

OK, everyone, send your kids to me, that barn will be cleaned in no time, LOL, and I won't charge you very much for the honor. (grin) Ellen, I can guarantee they'll get appropriately dirty. They probably won't smell very good either, but they'll learn about rinsing off in the horse tank, one of life's little known pleasures in the summer when it's about 85F. (The stock drink from the pond in the summer, and a 50 gallon horse tank makes a decent "swimming pool", or at least a wading/rinsing/cooling off pool).

Sally, I don't have very big hands and I grew up milking, so I'm not sure hand size has much to do with it. :-) We had a couple of cows for "family milk", we didn't pasteurize or anything, we just drank it raw. I got up at 4 a.m. every day to milk, came home and showered, got on the bus for school. When I came home I milked again, had supper, did homework and went to bed so I could do it all over again the next day. Dad always did morning chores with me but I did evening chores before he got home from work. My sister hated the farm and the barns and had only "inside" chores. I hated housework (still do) and would far rather be mucking stalls than mopping floors.

Michael, you're right, any kind of animal is an everyday job. It doesn't matter if you're sick or on vacation or if it's Christmas or your birthday, animals must be cared for. If you want to go away, you'd better line up reliable "help". Fortunately, Amanda and David are right across the street and Amanda will check Valentine and Suzy every day, make sure there's food and water, that the tank doesn't freeze. She'll check on Red Cow too, to make sure she doesn't have a calf early, and keep on eye on the horses to be sure the hay feeders are full.

That's one of the reasons Elery isn't so keen on farming, it IS a 24/7 responsibility and keeps you pretty much at home, or close to home. Ashley's fine, although she did get her jeans dirty, LOL, Valentine's little hooves are still flexible, not even hard yet.

In spite of the work and the responsibility and the expense, I love it. I want to plant blueberries and raspberries, a few more fruit trees. I think I'm going to raise a couple dozen ducks for the freezer and I'll be waiting for Valentine's "little sister" or brother.

Hey, it keeps me off the streets, LOL.

Annie

Awwww, she's such a widdle baby :)

What a cutie. Production stock...cool. That means you can get attached.

Valentine is a beauty! Happy Birthday Valentine! I'd be getting kicked too because it would be hard to stop playing with those curls. All the cows we used to have around here were Holsteins. Cute babies but not much in the way of curls. Smiles. When I was young our neighbor ladies had a nice cow in the field behind our house. It would come up to visit me each morning for a handful of the grass on our side of the fence and a good head scritch. Then as payment she'd give me a nice swipe with that sandpaper tongue.

So So Cute! Valentine is so lucky to be production only.