Start Up - Part One

On the morning of August 5th, 2014 the black and white beauties walked through the milking parlor for the last time at Hillside Farm

.

 As I watched them walk up the steep hill to the new barn, I felt every step forward pull at my heartstrings. 

It had been a long climb to get to this day.

As the cows arrived at the barn, along with all of our extra help for the day, I felt my heart beat a little faster.

You know that feeling right before you jump off the diving board?

Imagine that with 170 cows and the rest of the world watching.

So at promptly 9:00 a.m. on a Tuesday the first cow was guided to the robot.

We all glanced around as if waiting for the signal.

"Hillside Farm you are clear for takeoff"

And so it began.

We milked one cow and then another.

We stood by as they were milked all day.

And all night.

And the next day. And the next night.

And every hour since.

Over the past 12 days I have seen every cow at least 100 times.

I have opened a thousand gates.

I have blistered my feet and consumed more coffee than I thought humanly possible.

I have made new friends and cherished the ones who have been there all along.

 I have made countless lists, laughed at my own mistakes, yelled twice and cried once.

After losing too much sleep I might have even felt like this...

But...

This morning I came into the barn to see this.

And standing there I realized that every second has been worth it.

Every hour of sleep lost, every day of work, every week and month and year of planning has paid off in this moment.

There is no greater happiness for a dairy farmer than to see their cows with all of their needs met.

And though I cannot say how the story will end, I can tell you that there is a red barn in the hills of Southwest Virginia that is full of happy cows and farmers that are very grateful.

Dawn

For those of you new to Harmony on the Hillside, our family is in the process of transitioning to a new robotic milking facility for our cows. While reading the post below you should know that though our cows have moved into the new barn (just this week!) they are still being milked at the parlor until the adjust to their new environment. We do this to try to make the transition as stress free as possible for the animals. I hope you enjoy reading and stay tuned for updates as we began using the robots. Feel free to visit http://www.lely.com/en/milking/robotic-milkingsystem/astronaut-a4_0 to see how these amazing machines work!

Beautiful Ride

The sun had finally set behind the mountain and I too had to give it up for the day.

My weary, pink muck boot wearing feet sat down on the blanket and I breathed in the first relaxed breath I had taken today, maybe this week. 

Maybe this month.

We had packed an impromptu picnic of ham sandwiches and watermelon and had decided to go out by the new barn for some much needed quiet time. 

I did manage to sneak this photo as the smallest bit of light still spilled over the mountain in the distance.

What I couldn't capture was the field full of lightning bugs dancing behind us.

Or the glow of a nearby town and the cows grazing on the hill.

I couldn't capture how many hopes and dreams and sleepless nights are held in the frame of this red barn on the hill.

As we sat in the damp air of this July night, I thought about the future. I thought about the past. 

I took a deep breath and  remembered how this hillside looked 2,190 days ago when the evening light was just right and my love was down on one knee.

All those plans I had. 

How I learned they weren't my plans to have.

You see, I haven't accomplished all my goals.

Maybe I never will.

But if I have learned anything in the years I have been given, it is that nothing is in our control. 

I must be honest. I have had an unexpected couple of weeks.

They didn't add up like I thought they would. 

They didn't go according to my plans.

I can't make the barn be done on time or make all of our animals stay healthy.

I can't make it rain when we need it or save that new calf that was backwards.

I can't avoid walking in that valley while wishing I could have just stayed on the mountain.

And though I can't make the plans, I can keep looking forward to tomorrow knowing that His plans are far better than mine.

Just look at all these moments I might have missed....

A still evening

Porch with Papaw

Picnic with my buddies

Dinner at the new barn

Farmgirls need Starbucks too!

Late night grocery shopping

Helper

Beauty

"Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me, let me be singing when the evening comes."

Proud to Dairy

For those of you who know me personally, running late is a habit I can't seem to shake.
While visiting with some of my oldest, dearest friends last week we roared with laughter as we poked fun at each other about our old habits. They were proud that I had arrived within a 10 minute window of when I said I would.

So even though June is slipping by more quickly than I thought, I wanted to ask you to help me celebrate June Dairy Month!

My favorite way to do so is by eating ice cream and hugging lots of cows, but you can celebrate it in any way you want :)

I will be posting more dairy facts, recipes and stories over the next couple of weeks but for now I wanted to ask you to take a moment to remember the community of people who are working hard on behalf of all those who enjoy dairy products.

We as dairy farmers are very honored to serve our communities and please know that we greatly appreciate your support.

I hope you'll take a moment to read what I think dairy farming is all about.

http://proudtodairy.ning.com/profiles/blogs/proud-to-dairy-1?xg_source=activity

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

Lean On Me

I watched my shadow slinking across the dirt road as only the

 stars and a few of the gentle giants looked my way.

My bare feet squeaked in my Muck boots and I gripped tightly onto my flashlight.

On this beautifully quiet Sunday night, my mind was still swirling

 with thoughts from the week before and the week to come. 

This had been a particularly long week.

I wasn't quite able to reach that goal I had set.

And a time or two I felt very small.

Sometimes the gate I needed through was shut.

And I left the wrong one open.

That one thing was so big I couldn't see past it.

While I had almost missed another right before my eyes.

Then just out of the blue, on a sunny Sunday afternoon I saw this.

Check out the cow on the right

While waiting to be milked, this sweet girl had gotten tired.

But she didn't just lie down.

She didn't push through the line so she could have an earlier turn.

She patiently waited, leaning on her steadfast friend.

And it struck me standing there in the parlor.

It's not about what makes the weeks long or the days hard.

It's about who we have walking with us.

"Lean on me, when you're not strong,

I'll be your friend, I'll help you carry on.

For it won't be long,

 'til I'm gonna need, 

Somebody to lean on."

And as I walked under the stars that Sunday night I kept singing

"Lean on me, when you're not strong..."

Running the Race

 I was tense. The morning chores had taken longer than I wanted and now it was already noon.  Now that planting season was in full gear, I was on lunch duty for my hardworking husband who works through lunch and dinner most days just to get the crop in the ground before it rains.

Lunch break

I had already decided it was fast food day.  Is it bad that the thought of food that comes pre-wrapped and handed to me from a window makes me happy?

I trudged to the car, the heat of the day beginning to wear me down.

I was annoyed when I remembered I still needed to check on the heifer that was calving. I just wanted to rest.

When I arrived, I saw just the end of two little feet. I knew right away that things should have progressed further by now. I watched for a bit as the new mama got up and down, unable to figure out what she should do.

My tension increased a level when I realized no one was around to help me pull the calf.

I crept down to the ground and began inching towards her. I was going to just see if I could grab the little feet and gently tug.

With about 5 feet to go, the mama jumped up and walked away.

Hmmm. I sat there in the barn and pondered the options for a moment.

Thankfully she laid back down and again I slowly crawled towards her. This time on my hands and knees so that she wouldn't be startled. Moving at the pace of a turtle also seemed to help.

After only one more attempt to run away from me, she finally let me close enough to get a hold of the calf’s feet.

I quickly realized the gentle tug was not going to be enough to help mama or baby. I went to get the chains and handles.

(For those of you unfamiliar with delivering a calf, calves are born front feet first. Small chains are often used to assist in getting a better grip around the calf’s feet, but farmers are very careful not to apply too much pressure so that it doesn't harm the calf. Without assisting in this way there is a risk the calf will die.)

I began to worry that time was running short.

I gently wrapped the chains around the little feet and pulled.

I pulled harder.

I thought back to a few weeks ago when we had joined a gym and I had set goals for how strong I hoped to become.

How much weight I could lift had only mattered to me then, but now there was a little life depending on it.

How greatly I hoped not to fail.

A little nose emerged that had turned purple.

My arms were burning as I continued to fight for whoever those tiny feet belonged to.

Before long a little bull calf lay in front of me gasping for his first breaths.

Relief flooded my body and my arms and legs felt like Jell-O.

All that fighting for a life had saved it.

All that running I had been doing meant something to somebody.

All that climbing and struggling and grasping will be worth it.

As I sat there watching the mama take care of her wiggly new calf, I thought about all those people I had watched fight their own battles.

How some are smiling even when they have a million reasons not to.

How some have the courage stop and tell you that beautiful sight had made all the difference, saved their very life.

How some have a quiet determination to keep going, keep fighting, keep straining forward to what lies ahead.

I stand up and dust off my pants.

“I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” 

Philippians 3:14 

There is work to do, a race set before us, and a life to be lived.

May we all have enough strength to make it to the finish line.

A little while later with his mama

And making new friends

Hello everybody!

Here's a few more snapshots from along the way: