Tulips and alfalfa are confused....

On eof the many tulips I have, wondering is it winter or summer in MN?

Boy does this weather in MN have my plants, flowers & veggies confused!  Not to mention the poor cows.  Just yesterday afternoon we were dodging thunderstorms in a humid 70 degree haze.  Today we are talking about snow, wind chills, and oh yeah....FROST!  Last week we endured a low overnight of 19.  That's not only harmful to my precious flowers....but also to our alfalfa.  It's scary to think what this next cool night might bring.  Last week's frost nipped the tops of all of our previously georgious alfalfa plants.  Most appear to have survived, but they are most definitely stunted.  Tonight's weather is going to put some already stressed out alfalfa plants at greater risk for more damage and even possibly death!   Our alfalfa crop is critical.  Healthy plants, harvested correctly, will make healthy feed for our cows...thereby growing healthy cows ;)  So, we are praying with fingers crossed that by the end of the week our dear alfalfa field will have survived the cool weather and resumed their path to an early harvest in May. 

Nutrition...a confusing maze of information!

Like all young people, Jon & I are working on making sure that we are eating the right foods and taking care of ourselves.  With the change/move to the farm, we have been able to have at least one solid meal with each other, everyday.  Usually that meal is at about 1-2pm, when all of the cows and calves have been fed.  In addition to sitting down for an hour for a hot meal, we also talk about the daily happenings at the farm and catch a little daytime TV.  We bounce between local news and Rachel Ray.  Later, when doing dishes and book work I might catch the Doctors or Dr. Oz. 
While I am not an avid follower of any of these shows, their rhetoric lately has caught my attention.  In an effort to capture viewers' attention they throw out words like "organic", "natural", "toxic", "poison", "miracle cure", "fountain of youth", and many more sales pitches!  Since we are early on our journey to better nutrition, I thought I would find the information on these shows to be useful and informative, but instead I found it to be inflated and false.  My perception was that it was a lot of hype for a variety of  "natural" solutions with false promises.  Example: I would love to eat a miracle berry from China that can reverse the signs of aging while taking a plethora of supplements for every possible ailment I "could" have in the future.  If even half of these ideas worked I should live for...well, I don't know, how's about forever!?!?!?  The saddest part of this revelation is that the average consumer doesn't fact check it, and therefore falls into a trap of misguided intentions. 
My personal experience has led me to believe that the miracle cure & fountain of youth lies within ourselves and how we handle our everyday lives.  My grandmother passed away at the age of 93, my grandfather is still alive and will reach 90 soon.  My father boasts of being in his late 50's and still not needing an ounce of medication for his heart.  The key to their successful, healthy lifestyles.....a balance!  A balance of good nutrition, exercise/daily activity, and reducing stress through positive relationships.  I know for a fact that their lives had/have balance.  My grandmother was noted for her lunches and dinners.  My father still brags about how she'd feed everyone 5 times in a day!  (morning rolls, breakfast after chores, noon dinner, afternoon snacks, and finally supper)  She balanced fruits and vegetables with meats and breads, in addition to dairy.  without even knowing, my grandmother was teaching invaluable lessons.  My father starts each day with the same breakfast before milking...an orange, some type of cereal with milk and flax seed, and 2 slices of toast with jam.  Add his farming lifestyle, filled with physical activity, and his heart is that of a healthy 20-something.  And even though my grandfather is almost 90, he still comes to the farm to help my dad....staying young! 
I guess what I'm trying to point out is that with all of the hype about good nutrition these days, it pays to look back at see what worked.  Those skills that my grandmother passed down are far more important to good health than any special berry from China or supplement from the store.  As for me, I'm sticking to my basics...a balanced diet, lots of physical activity, and relationships with others to help me enjoy life.....and I too hope to live well into my 90's as well!

Appreciation for Mothers of Multiples

Just a couple of the sweethearts I get to feed each day!

After the past couple weeks, I am gaining a new appreciation to those mom's who have multiple children or even more so, have multiples.  It's been crazy busy in the calving pen at the dairy barn.  In the past 10 days we have delivered 8 calves.  5 heifers and 3 bulls.  In addition to that, our cows have delivered a total of 23 calves in March!  Needless to say, we're running out of room to put them all.  I've decided to get a little creative and pair some of the newborns together until we can make space in other huts. 
This buddy system is working great for me though.  I have the ability to feed bottles of milk to 2 calves at one time instead of battling through daily feedings 1 calf at a time.  The calves don't seem to mind at all either.  Now they each have their own cuddle partner until they grow to be larger and then will "want their own room".  The added newborns have been keeping me busy, with an additional hour added to each morning and evening feeding, not including the extra times I stop by in the afternoon and night to make sure everyone is doing well.  I love spending time with my little calves, but with all of these newborns, I just not sure how moms with multiples can do it.  And I don't even have to change their diapers ;)  So...back out for afternoon calf check!

An Amazing Week So Far!

Pen 1 (Cows who have had 1-2 calves) enjoys a tasty lunch in the new barn.

We have been having an amazing week so far.  While the mornings have been early and the nights have been late...it's been worth it all. 
On Monday we had our monthly DHIA test, where we learned how the cows have been adapting to their new home.  It was awesome to see how well they are doing!  In all honesty, the past couple months have been a trial for them.  The old barn was over crowded, and the bedding was piling up.  The freedom and space of the new barn, combined with the comfortable stalls and added feeding space has really paid off.  Our #1 cow...Orange Patch Rockette...or you can just call her Rockette, produced a whopping 168 pounds of milk in one day (almost 20 gallons!)!  She's definitely a rockstar in our eyes!  Our #1 heifer (had just 1 calf so far) named Orange Patch Morty Blessing...or Blessing for short...produced an also impressive 120 pounds per day!  Both of these cows, are like so many others in our herd, who are exceeding our expectations, and we are truly blessed with the opportunity to work with them.
On Tuesday we had herd health in the new barn.  We used the headlocks (as seen in the picture above) to "lock" our cows, so our veterinarian could check them out.  Using the headlocks proved to be an enjoyable experience for us humans, but more importantly for the cows!  They really enjoyed being able to eat while we did their check ups, and even after we released them, the cows kept coming back for more attention.  The good news is that we have another 18 cows and 4 heifers ready to have calves in September!  We're really excited about that! The better news was the herd health took less time, but more importantly, was kinder and gentler on the cows! So cool!
Today, was another great experience....we enjoyed visiting with the area high school animal science class.  The 21 students came to our farm this morning with a really good general base of knowledge about dairy farming, thanks to their awesome ag-teacher.  With the knowledge they asked some great questions about the practices we use on our farm.  I can't say enough good things about the importance of ag-education in high schools and the importance of teaching our teens where their food actually comes from!  Overall this was one of the best, if not the best tour group of teens that we've ever had! Just awesome! =)

They're Home!!!!!

Sparkles and her friends on Day 1 in the new barn..  These cows have never seen a stall before.
We were so proud of them for figuring out right away how to use their new beds!!!

Well, we finally did it!  We moved the first group of cows into our new barn!  The barn is not completed yet, we have many little things to do, but we were running out of space and our girls just couldn't wait any longer to check out their new home!  It's been so amazing to just walk up into the new barn and see how calm and comfortable the cows are!  Jon and I often just sit and watch them, resting in their sand bedded free stalls, chewing their cuds, and relaxing!
I'm really looking forward to getting some time to sort through the many pictures and videos I took along our journey, and getting them posted to our blog.  It's been a wonderful...nope make that AMAZING winter in Minnesota for construction, so we were truly blessed.  And, hopefully at the end of this project I can feature more videos and pictures of the cows.....enjoing the fruits of their (and our labor)!  Stay tuned!