My own climate is much closer to yours. Here in the high desert of Central Oregon I’m still growing tomatoes and basil and flowers and veggie starts in the house and trying in vain to harden them off each afternoon outside. Alas! The night temps have been 16 and 22 the last two nights. Yes, too frigid for tomatoes. So they are now 2′ tall and starting to flower. I keep waiting. Even with Frost Blankets and surrounded by jugs of water for the thermal mass… it’s iffy. Sigh. Oh for a greenhouse!
Love the look of that basil. Yum! is right!
Susan

You can grow basil in Alaska. Wow. I live on the Central Oregon Coast. We had a present the other night of air from Alaska (thank you so much) that brought us a frost warning, so I wrapped my jasmine in a blanket and covered the plants that had wintered over in the house with more blankets.

It’s in the 40s at night here now, and in the 50s, usually in the daytime.
But in my particular place, I can’t grow basil, nor tomatoes nor peppers. Hot here is about 70, which happens rarely. And we get a lot of wind in the summer, too.

But the forests are indeed very green, the alders are out completely as well as the underforest, so everything is vivid new green, just beautiful.

Great topic! Lately when things are busy and stressful and I am unable to make it to the beach during the day (which is my favorite place to go to de-stress), I will take some time at night to either pop in a cd or pick a station on Pandora and bust a move/rock out/bee bop around the house. My cats really love it if I sing along too >^..^<

Hello Alex from your farmgirl sister in the wilderness north of Nenana! Spring is the time my stress level rises. After a long winter(and you know how long this one has been) of planning and devising all those summer projects by the time the snow is melting I am starting to feel overwhelmed worrying about how I am going to get it all done in our short summer. I find the best stress buster is to just get outside and take in nature. Pretty soon I’m cleaning a flower bed or moving planters to the greenhouse, raking fall leaves or just sitting in the sun watching the dogs play. These are my "aaahh" moments. Now if I can just find my "to do list". :)) Have a great summer!!

So much going on! Thank you for sharing!

Nancy
http://www.liveasavorylife.com

Happy Spring Alex! I so loved this post… I can smell the hay and Duke and feel the soft fuzz of your baby chicks too!
You are right, something about being around " the farm " IS soothing, comforting and just feels right. I hope for your very own farm one day! Sounds like you will be right at home there!
thanks for a wonderful post!
Deb ( your beach blogging sister )

I Loved this article. I am also a huge animal lover but not to the scale of your farm. I just love all of them, but the photo that I thought was adorable was Maybe! Soooooo darn cute! I just want to pet him. I think the next step is to write a book with lots of photos telling us about what it like having a farm. I could picture myself on a porch, in a rocking chair, with a cup of coffee or Green Tea, smelling the hay, and reading a book like this! Think about it!

HAPPY SPRING TO ALL OF YOU!

Loved this article and so fun to see the photos. "Birthing" is one of the few things that is missed by my husband after we quit dairy farming in 2001. The thrill never goes away. Pulling calves…even calf mouth to mouth…getting the little bugger to drink out of the bucket when we needed to start milking mama. Nurturing that new life…so cool. Another memory of much younger days as you speak of eating the chickens…scalded feather smell to pluck them. Have had several conversations with people about this recently. A smell never forgotten. Blessings, Gail

Alex,

I just wanted to drop a quick line to let you know that I love your voice and writing style. You have very quickly become my favorite farmgirl blog (no offense to any of marjanes other fabulous farmgirl blogs meant). Keep up the good work and thank you for sharing your unique perspective.

Sharon

I enjoyed this article very much! It was fun following the progress of the eggs and how the children experienced this along the way – all the teachable moments! Standing on eggs!! I’m tempted (sort of) to try that. 😀
I love the kind of school you have. It’s just the kind I would love to have started myself, or to have had available to my daughter when she was so young. Keep up the great work!

——————-

Thanks Theresa! Louise’s Farm School is a great program, and I’m honored to be a part of all of the fun and learning that goes on here.

What a wonderful post! You bring a breath of fresh spring air to my gardener’s mind…imagine doing all that in Alaska! Wow! Keep up the great work, indeed!

——————————————————————–

Thanks, Nancy! Agriculture is a challenge in Alaska, but it’s a challenge I’m eager to take on!

Ahhh, so many memories come flooding back whenever I read your post! Alaska is definitely a beautiful and unique place….My husband and I lived in Alaska for 13 years, our firstborn son was born there, I attended APU but back then they did not have the school/farm – what a wonderful and fun opportunity – and we were the first in our neighborhood to plant a garden…we even had a resident young bull moose one winter who enjoyed our raspberry bushes and we had one inquisitive enough to peek in our kitchen window. And, oh yes, I’ve been to the peak of Pioneer Peak 🙂 Thank you so much for your posts – Alaska has a special place in our hearts and Palmer especially since it is farmgirl country. Enjoy your chicks – we have one hen who hatched out 2 in February and we have a broody hen now on a nest of 5 or 6 – gotta love spring! ————————————————–Thanks for the Alaska connection, KJ! I’m looking forward to climbing Pioneer Peak this summer!

Yes, I am a Mary Jane. I have a broody hen and we bought 6 eggs from someone with roosters and have put them under the hen. Unfortunately, the other two hens keep laying their eggs on top of the broody hen and I broke one of the good eggs while trying to get the other unfertile eggs out. April 7 or 8 is due date. Hopefully we get some chicks. I have never raised them but the hen was on the nest broody for so long we decided to give it a try.
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Thanks for the story, Mary Jane! Good luck with your eggs and chicks!

A good flashlight in a dark closet works great. Just hold the egg right on the light lens and you can see everything. This is definitely ‘chick’ season. I’m trying to resist the temptation of buying half a dozen. My will power is seriously weakening. ;o) If only all the children in this nation could benefit from such a wholesome education.

I’ve had the opportunity to travel overseas when I was younger 🙂 🙂 i still love to travel. However, I’m at the point in life, where I just want to stay in one place. I’d love to have a place with a yard big enough to grow my own food 🙂 ): That’s a dream of mine!!!

Alaska is GORGEOUS. I went there to visit my grandmother, once, when I was a child…before she moved back to California!!!

Love and hugs from the ocean shores of CAlifornia, Heather 🙂

I really enjoyed your blog Alexandra! Thanks for sharing! Happy Spring! :o)

As someone who used to travel to Europe almost every summer and who hasn’t been in 10 years, I’m definitely wanderlusty but not as much as I probably should be. Rather, I’m more interested at this point in doing nothing on vacation which means being at the beach, lying in the sand, maybe reading a book. Hopefully this contentment will last!

Welcome Alexandra to the MJF blogging team! I’m awed by your sense of adventure and it makes me feel as though age 20 isn’t as far away as it is in reality. Yes, I had wanderlust!! Yes, I followed it – not globally, but in this country as much as opportunity allowed. I loved back-packing into the mountains.

What a grand trail you are on. I’m so looking forward to seeing what your world looks like when it isn’t under all that snow. Louise, your inspiration, was quite a woman!!

My wanderlust hasn’t really waned, you find ways to follow it in a way that works for your age. Sleeping in the ground is over for this farmgirl…but I have a packhorse and a new little glamper. Love the FRESH view of your farmgirl wilderness! Take me where I may not walk anymore ;o)

There are seasons in our lives. I traveled with my parents as a child, being somewhere new every two or three years. Loving the experience of new cultures and environments. This life did not allow us a planting season or animals.
I then settled for 35 years to build a home in the country, and raise three children. My husband and I farmed and were almost self sufficient for years. Raised animals and enjoyed the wandering wild life. I have had the comforts of a warm fire and the cat on the hearth along with the faithful dog by my side. All these years of living on the farm, loving every minute of it, I still yearned to travel and experience life away from home. Only having two cats left on the farm now, I can only hope they will be fine without my presence for a few days at a time with only the company of my husband. I plan to have only seasonal gardening and travel when the earth rests. In a life time you can do all that your heart desires.

Welcome aboard! I look forward to reading your posts and learning more about one of the few states I have never visited when I was a full-time RVer. Congratulations on becoming the Rural Farmgirl!

Thanks for the welcome, Adrienne!  you must have an RV full of stories after Life as a full-time RVer!  Alaska waits for your visit, Best, Alex

Dear Alexandra,
Welcome to MaryJanes Sisterhood. I love reading about how other women share their interests,knowledge, and love of our country and sisterhood values. Congratulations and I look forward to reading about your farmgirl experiences. Blessings,
Toni

Thanks for your kind words, Toni. Best, Alex

Welcome Alex! I love to see "newcomers" because it means there is still hope for me! I grew up on a very large, family owned, dairy farm. It is my hope someday to go back. I have spent nearly 30 years working in one of those office jobs in order to get good retirement and health insurance. I have only 4 years to go, and then I hope to be able to get back to cows, chickens, and llamas! The older I get, the more certain I am that I want to get back to my roots. I have done the "responsible thing" that my parents wanted me to do, which means staying at a job long enough to earn retirement benefits and security. But my "life" will not really start until I can get back to the country and the farm where I grew up. All these blogs are such an inspiration to me. Please keep it up – you never know the effect you might have on someone, or that maybe on a particular day, they needed to hear just what you had to say! Love, Annie

Thanks for your kind words, Annie.  While you may not be incredibly happy with your position now, it’s refreshing to see that you are still inspired to follow your dreams.  You are an inspiration to me! Best, Alex

Welcome! Looking forward to getting to know you better through the adventures and musings you share. New beginnings can be exciting and so full of optimism if we let them.

Thanks Jo!  New beginnings are time consuming but oh-so rewarding!

Welcome, Alexandra! I’m excited to read your blog. Sounds like you are a true farmgirl 🙂

hi alex i’m so excited to hear more from AK! i too farm in Idaho and always dreamed of being a pilot in AK. I grew up in a flying family in Chicago and love the idea of being somewhere so remote and beautiful. stay warm!

Thanks Kate!  I love those Idaho farms, and I love that you are from the midwest!  Any flying in your future?  Best, Alex

Welcome, Alex! I’m looking forward to reading your blogs. The first picture of Pioneer Peak is breathtaking, and Taz is a real cutie, too. Glad to "meet" you! Big Farmgirl Hugs!
Your blogging sis’, Nicole (Suburban Farmgirl)

Thank you, Nicole!  I love your blog, as I am a born and bred Suburban girl. I’m lucky to live out here with cute animals and awesome views! Cheers, Alex

Welcome Alex! So glad to have "met" and cant wait to read more about your life adventures! Taz looks like the ultimate farmgirl- calm,gorgeous, and totally in control of her surroundings! I have a dog named Rose Marie who fits the mold well too. She adopted my family after someone dumped her at the end of our farm lane about 8 months ago, and has slid into the role of boss dog without a hitch. That is saying something about her diplomacy considering we already had four other dogs! Anyway, welcome and glad to meet you!

Thanks Meredith!  Taz is the best–you describe her to a T (for Taz).  I can only hope that my future farm dogs will be as great as she is.  Your Rose Marie sounds like she was meant to be part of your farm from the get-go! Best, Alex

Welcome, its good to meet you. I’m from the midwest, I live in Michigan. I enjoyed your post on Alaska and look forward to many more of your blogs.

Thanks Kimberly!

Welcome Alexandra, I’m looking forward to reading more!

Thanks Debbie!

Welcome Alex! I will be looking forward to your posts. I am from Southern WI and just like you, I am inspired by the dairy farms that are part of my State’s history and hopefully, future. Louise sounds like an amazing woman and a wonderful muse. I am so glad that she is being recognized for her contributions and spirit.

My Hubby is in love with Alaska and wants us to move there. I am not so sure. I have been looking for a hobby farm in the Driftless Region of WI for the past couple of years. I look forward to your posts so I can get a glimpse of Alaska through your words and pictures.

Diane, you make me yearn for the Driftless area–such a beautiful, secret place.  In college I dreamed of having a farm and teaching near Viroqua, spending my weekends canoeing on the Kickapoo river…

Cheers, Alex

Welcome Alexandra . . from Alaska!
Thanks for sharing your life with us and I trust your experience as the Rural Farmgirl "Blogger" will one of tremendous reward.
Grew up on a farm here in southwest Colorado where I still live (returning after a few years in the Arizona desert) with my hubby, dog, cat, llama and hobby herd of Longhorns.
WELCOME!
CJ . . . aka "ceejay48"

I have a warm place in my heart for Alaska. My daughter and son in law lived in Anchorage for 3 years and I was there when their first son was born. Then our son went to school at UA at Fairbanks. I’ve flown up 4 times and miss that there is no one to visit now. Love your pictures. And I will always dream of being there again someday. Welcome aboard!

Thank you for the kind welcome, Brenda!  Alaska is a beautiful place and I feel very lucky to live here (at least for the time being). It’s great that some of my readers will be able to identify with my experiences.  Cheers, Alex

Welcome from me too! I live at the end of a dirt road in a growing rural town in northeast San Diego county. I am looking forward to hearing your stories. You sound brave and open to new experiences. I predict that you will have a very interesting life.Thanks for sharing it!

Thanks for the warm welcome, Lorrie!

Hey Alexandra! It was so great to read your blog & read about you & what you’re doing in AK! I love the photos & the history. I live in rural Isanti County, near Braham, MN & I noticed you’re from around here. We have a little hobby farm & we’re so happy to be doing the whole organic thing with chickens, apple trees & honeybees. Everything we’ve made or remodeled has been with recycled materials. My husband remodeled a little room for my writing and art studio, using all reclaimed wood that is 101 years old. Our chicken coop is made out of reclaimed materials and this spring we’re making a greenhouse out of materials that were advertised online. We’re looking forward to getting a larger animal like a cow or sheep. I love coming online & reading people’s stories, I’ve been a reader of Mary Jane’s farm for about 4 years & it was what inspired me to get out of the Twin cities in the first place. It is beautiful here with the sun rising almost due east now, & we have Common Redpolls at the feeder which I haven’t seen before. Happy Spring! Peace, Love & joyous farming! <3

Carolyn, your farm sounds perfect!  I hope to one day have a very familiar situation in nearby NoDak! Thanks for sharing and enjoy the balmy MN spring! Best, Alex

Dearest Alex, The Pederson family…many generations of MJF farmgirls deep in North Dakota are so proud and wowed to call you our own! Through the many generations of stewardship and conservation for the land we have been allowed to call our own, each generation has not only preserved but renewed our responsibility for the soil we hold dear. With your environmental education you will be able to take it one step further and share it with people who do not have our opportunity.
New beginnings while seemingly linear are full circle for some in my family. Happy Farming and we can’t wait to read more.

Thanks Gail!  I have you to thank for my first exposure to MJF (coming in a future post!).  Love you and miss you!

I don’t live on a farm but am 86 years old and love to read the blogs. I can just relax and think what a great life you are all enjoying. I liked haveing lots of flowers and a big garden. Loved canning fruits and vegetables. Can’t do things like that now but we are still quite active and I like reading because it reminds me of the past. I live in Springfield, Il, and all our kids and grandkids live here but one. He is a park ranger in the Grand Tetons in Wy. My best to all of you. Louise

t

2011 taught me the value of friends both old and new and the joy of family. It also taught me to be a farmgirl as I started farm life with family on a small farm and have animals to love and care for. 2012 is the year to gain more knowledge – to grow strong seedlings and a better garden and to learn to be more frugal while making time always for family and friends. I can’t believe how busy you are when you are no longer working a full time, out of the home job! With all of the hardships in the world today it is a blessing to have a home, people to love, and things to do each day. Life is good!

I love what you shared Libbie! All one needs is wide-open spaces and time with the family 🙂 blessings in 2012!

What did I learn?

That giving up is pointless.
That hard work brings its own reward.
That there is no such thing as "luck," there is opportunity that we take or not take.
That the death of one thing often leads to the beginning of something wonderful.
That life is short and we should never forget to enjoy ourselves!

First time blogger here…
It’s rewarding to read such enthusiastic entries from everyone! Libbie you are indeed fortunate. What a lovely and rewarding life you have so vividly put into view for all of us. Yes, indeed it is the simple things in life that should bring us the most joy, void of the fast pace world’s complexities and anxieties. This last year, 2011, has been a rough one for me. I am making all efforts to positively and productively embrace 2012. I too make out-of-reach expectancies of myself as new years enter and old years fade. In fact I have outdone myself for 2012’s resolutions! I will ease the tension I have placed on myself and take your advice Libbie by adding, "more often than not" to those over-zealous demands.

Good job

How nice of you to share a moment with Evelyn and her calf. I am sure that not all farmgirls at heart have milked a cow. Merry Christmas. Bonnie

Thanks, Bonnie! What I REALLY wish is that you all could come and milk with me IN PERSON! Oh, well…next best thing, I guess! xoxo, Libbie

I swear by bag balm- after cleaning the udders after milking- I liberally apply bag balm to them. It keeps them soft, and helps sanitize them. I find this keeps down infections. Bleach tends to dry out udders- so this would be really good for you to use.
We lived across the street from a dairy farm and I milked a cow every morning for our personal milk. The owner/neighbor believed in me learning the old fashioned way as a kid- and I learned to love it. I use bag balm on goats as well- and even my own hands. I always keep a tin of it on my farm. Good luck with your new girl!

I have used Bag Balm – and I just love it, too. I hadn’t thought of the anti-infection part of it, though! Now it’s on my next shopping list… Thank you! xoxo, Libbie  

I don’t know that I could milk a cow like I did grpwing up on the farm now. We milked about 10 cows by hand and had quite a bit of milk. We strained it and put it in gallon jugs. When the cream rose to the top it was removed and we churned it to make butter. The buttermilk was used for made from scratch biscuits. As a family of seven children and our parents we made two large cookie sheets of biscuits for breakfast. I would use the sifter and sift Martha White self rising flour into a big dishpan. Then I would hollow out the center and pour in about four cups of buttermilk and a about cup of melted butter. I would use a spoon to begin with stirring the milk and butter while scraping a bit of flour from the sides. When it reached a workable consistency, I used my hands and pan kneaded it til it was just right for biscuits. Light and fluffy. I would take a handful and roll it around and then place it on the greased cookie sheets. When I ran out of dough I flattened them til they all touched. Then they were baked in a preheated to 400 degree oven. They rose and filled the pans while baking. They amelled heavenly and went well with the rest of the meal. Often when we came in from school and changed our clothes to go to the fields to work we would poke a hole in a left over biscuit and pour cane syrup we had made in and let it soak up and repeat til we had what we wanted of the syrup in the biscuit. On the way to the field we would eat those syrup filled biscuits and be ready to pump the water from the hand pump so we could all get a drink of water before starting to work. And if you really want a treat make biscuit pudding out of left over biscuits. It is like the bread pudding people made out of bread but we didn’t have light bread so we used biscuits. Yummy.

Oh Alice! Those biscuits sound WONDERFUL!!! Thank YOU for making them "with" me. xoxo – Libbie

Hi! I so want a cow, but we haven’t ventured down that path yet. Do you milk once or twice a day? What do you do with all the milk? do you drink a gallon a day? I haven’t gotten a handle on how we would handle all that milk if we did get one. Here is Texas iwth the drought I am glad I don’t have one right now. enjoyed the article!
Thanks,

I miss life on the farm. I live in the city now, but dream of a small farm someday soon.(we have the land, need to build the house) I grew up with milk goats. The process is very much the same.

Now, you have to do this two times a day, right?

Nice story- thanks for sharing. The note from the boys was a definite hug. It’s been many a year since I tried to milk a cow, but I remember Grandpa Lloyd milking Jers and Old Gerns at our farm in Ohio when I was a kid. Mamma and Grandma Grace would make caramels out of the cream and sell them for a dollar a pound ( this was in the ’50s). My job was to cut the squares of waxed paper to twist them in. Your boys will have such memories, too.

I grew up in the 4-H program, we showed and milked dairy cows, Jersey. My school teacher lived on a big dairy farm that I spent time on each summer with my dad. He put up silage with her hubby, and I kept her youngest son company, riding his pony which wouldn’t behave for him, we would do clean up after dinner, and go out to pick goose berries for her for pies,on the creek, take out lemmon aide and cookies to the guys, and get everything ready for the evening milking. They did 100 or more twice a day. Galen and I would get all the feed ready, and bring in the gang when it was time. We would make sure the wash water was always clean and hot, and that the milk was running through the tubs, and not getting plugged going into the tanks. and let the girls back out again. It sure didn’t seem like work, we enjoyed it, and each other. We were pals, and we learned alot together. Then Dadand I would go home and milk our 2. the only problem I had was one of our cats jumped off of something, landed on my cow, Star, while I was milking her, clawed her as she slid down her side, Star freeked out, jumped forward, and stuck her foot in the milk pail and messed up the milk which had to be thrown out. So my suggesstion would be to keep the cats out.

We are contemplating farm life and a cow would be fun. I have never been around farm animals and am a little apprehensive. It looks like a fairly simple thing to do. I am reading everything I can get from the library.

hopefully soon, down on the farm.

I am currently milking 2 nubian goats. For nyone who cant do the commitment of a cow gots are great. the cream doesnt rise to the top though like cows milk. That is becuse goats milk is naturally homoginized. So if you want cream for butter or other things you will need a cream seperator. I also milk from the left but this is because of how my milking stand is set up. When I strain my milk I use a big milking funnel (available from Hoeggerfarmyard.com) and it fits on a mason jar. I dont use the paper filters though. I use butter muslem (like cheese cloth but finer, available from cheese making supply houses) and I fold it in 4 and strain my milk through that. i wash it out after each use and hang it to dry. Also the jars I store my milk in are place in the freezer before I go to milk. The milk cools a little faster then i put the milk in the fridge. i milk twice a day. Happy milking!!!

WOW how amazing, Our Dexter calved on Dec 1st and we just started milking her in much the same way, sharing the milk with her calf. Brought me back 20 years to my first homestead milking experience in Pennsylvania (when I would nurse my baby while milking!)
Thank you for sharing such a sweet story.
Not too many folks know someone who can milk in our neck of the woods!
Happy HOlidays, love the note from your boys too!

Oh I just love this! Thank you thank you! I am a suburban girl who now lives in Kansas country and love the farm life, even tho i dont do a lot of it, i live next to it. I have always wanted to milk cows and have chickens but until I get the nerve I live vicariously thru people like you! THis was wonderful!

I am so glad to hear that living a "farmy" life is interesting to you – I was a suburban girl who moved to the country, too, and let me tell you – there’s no going back for me! Go right ahead and get the chickens – you’ll love them. Then you can move on to a cow from there! Thanks so much…..xoxo, Libbie

We milked 2 cows and my brother raced – hated it when I won. We would pour the grain in a trough in the yard and have to be finished before she walked away. It’s funny how careful you are about washing Evelyn’s bag. I don’t remember anything more than brushing off the straw and big pieces. The milk was strained and separated (we had an electric) and the skimmed milk went to feed the calves while the cream went downstairs into the cream can for sale. Our milk was kept in gallon jars in the fridge, whole milk before it was separated, and I loved skimming the cream off the top. Took it for granted, really, fresh cream for baking and coffee and porridge. Those 40 below prairie winters (I grew up in Saskatchewan) seem so far away, now — I have been living in Hong Kong since ’92. Thanks for the memories.

This brings back memories for me! I loved going down to the barn and milking our one Jersey, Mikki. She was so adorable and very old, but she gave 4 gallons of milk a day, minus one bad teet!! The mornings and evenings with her, the smell of the old hundred year barn, the quietness of the open fields beyond, bring a sigh to me right now. I loved those times and the cats loved it too!
The saddest day was when we took Mikki to auction because she was getting so old. I couldn’t stand it! My husband took me back out to the auction yard to try and see her, but she was gone. I always figured she ran away and is out there in a beautiful green field somewhere, at least I like to think she wasn’t made into glue. If you see her let her know that I still love her for all the great milk she fed our family over the years. Bless you!

I love your stantion set up in the picture. I want to do the milk cow thing and have done it a few years back but I run my ranch myself and I bartend so the hours of that are not condusive. Plus if i have to go anywhere there is no one to take my place. Must tell the story a few years ago when I did try the milk cow thing. I answered an ad in the paper for a holstien named Oreo, who had had one calf. the owners had raised her from a calf as a pet and low and behold found that their kids just didn’t want to do all that milking. (surprise). She had never been tied up, just lured around with left over vegetables from the grocery store from where the owner worked. (cute) She was very tame. I bred her to my beef bull. I put a colar on her and when she was ready to calve put her in the barn with nice fresh hay. I watched her calve and even took pictures. that went well and then I new I had to milk that 10 gallon udder by hand or I thought she would soon explode! I tied her to the wall by her collar but she kept kicking at me to I tied her back legs together and that helped. and i spent the next 3 hours trying to get her milked out. It just kept coming and coming. Even though I let the calf (cookie) suck on her all the time too. somehow I preservered and went out to milk her every day twice a day. the milk was wonderful but I was bartending so I Would milk her in the afternoon and then after work at 2 am in the morning. I thought I must be a crazy person. If anyone in the bar knew what a did when i got home at night! After a few weeks my arms started to go knumb in the middle of the day when I wasn’t even milking and plus they were getting very big ungirl like muscles. So I bought a portable milking machine ($1,000). that worked pretty good and saved me from carpel tunnel syndrome, but there is a lot more cleanup of equipment involved. but the milk stayed fresher longer because I could get it cooled faster.
I am very proud of myself for that endeavor and plan to do it again but here is what I learned
1. First of all i like your idea of just milking the back 2 teats and letting the calf milk the others. Brilliant.
2. If you only milk your cow once a day or only milk a certain amount out of her,her milk supply will adjust to that. just do things gradually. Beef cows do that naturally.
3. Its better to use a cow with less milk production and more butterfat, like a jersey or something.
4. Half gallon canning jars are perfect for keeping milk in your fridge. the milk cools faster in the smaller container and you can pour right out of it like a pitcher without spilling.
5. milking by hand is simpler as long as you don’t have a 10 gallon cow.
6. It would be so great to have a house husband who could do all the cooking while i did all the taking care of the animals and gardening. Plus who was a great electrician, plumber and mechanic and had lots of money to buy tractors and equipment and stuff. Lol! We can dream

We all have so much to be thankful for at this time of year and we all need to remember that. I’m so thankful for my family, for having a home, food to eat and the ability to cope with my daily medical problems. Life is good.

Barbara, I agree. Life IS good. xoxo, Libbie

A lovely list of "to be thankfor fors".
I have so many things that I can’t list them all, but never-the-less I know what they are and I am so thankful!
Good on you for all of your wonderfulness.

Thank you so very much! Many hugs and much love, xoxo, Libbie

Happy Thanksgiving, Libbie. I especially thankful for my good health and the wonderful place I have to live, for my husband of over 30 years, my children and their children, for good friends without whom my life would be dull. I’m thankful for my sister and her children and their children. Mostly I’m thankful for my Heavenly Father and His Son.

God Bless you and yours.

Esther, thank you for sharing your "list" with me. Blessings to you, and much love, xoxo, Libbie

Libbie: Beautiful post and thank you for sharing. Truly enjoyed the pictures as well. There are so many small and simple things to be grateful for hiding amongst the crack and crevices of our lives. May we be fortune enough to sit quietly and observe for a moment the many blessings we have to be grateful for. And may we do this frequently. You know it has been shown that a grateful heart creates a happier person. Any one working on a badge? This would be the perfect time to start that gratitude journal. Sending you warm wishes and lots of love. Justine

Justine, after reading your lovely words, I’ve started that gratitude journal with my long list. And I’m keeping it going – for the Sisterhood badge AND for myself. Sending those warm wishes and love right back at ya’! xoxo, Libbie 

Loved your post Libbie! I sure miss you!
Evelyn sure turned out pretty. Doesn’t really look much like Mona at all..isn’t that weird..but they are both such pretty cows. We are lucky farmgirls!
Your boys are growing up so much!
You have a great week.
Love, Jenny

Oh, Jenny – I sure miss you too. How can it be that we live so close and still see each other so very little? We’ll have to change that, huh? It’s way interesting that Evie and Mona look so different – and you’re right – they’re both just darling!!! Much love, xoxo, Libbie

Hi Libbie, I too am a farm girl raised in central Utah on a small farm. I have had many almoster projects too. My husband and I have used a method of breaking jobs into smaller goals and smaller disappointments to get things done. It has helped keep things going and eventually get-er done moments. We haven’t got it all figured out but enjoy our little piece of paradise.
We have a large garden and greenhouse, two ford Jublie tractors. We like to be on the go so no animals right now. We love to build and create homespun furniture, quilts, etc.
I love the dark night sky with the stars twinkling and the falling stars, the deer that slip into to the yard at dusk. I love the one minute drive to work(if I have to wait at the stop sign). I love our homey place built with our own hands and that of our family on a couple of acres of my parents farm. We work hard to survive here, but it is all worth it to live the county life.

Obsessions: Husband Chris, Children, Grand children, Gardening, hot coco and the Warmth of fire, hearth and quilt. Quiet.
Current projects: Piecing and Quilting, planting spring bulbs, and making gifts and decorations for Christmas. Cleaning up garden and the leaves one more time.

Favorite home spun projects: Sticky Pine gum salve, Soap making.

Messiest projects: Sticky Pine gum salve, Soap making.
( I think I see a pattern here)!

Favortie farm girl memory: Riding along on the fender of the tractor( dad or husband).

Happy Farm Girl Fall
Deann

Hi, fellow Utah farmgirl! I’m excited to "meet" you – what a cool thing! You know, breaking big jobs down into little ones is a great step. And if I can actually DO the things (is that the smaller disappointments part?) that would really help things get underway. Thanks so much, Deann, for your thoughts and for "introducing" yourself! XOXO, Libbie

Oh Gosh Libbie….I am a born Almoster..and I am alot older than you. You are awesome!!
We need to get together sometime soon. One of those things I almost do is call you!!!
Have a wonderful weekend!~

He he! I’ve almost called you so very many times!!!!! Okay, so here’s to the call I’m going to make to you over the next week! xoxo, Libbie

Welcome back sweet Libbie! Please know that you are COMPLETLEY loved by all of us at the farm. Good to have you back in the saddle again …

…the difference between the rural farmgirl and the almost rural farmgirl is the difference between osculate and oscitant.

Okay, MaryJane! You had me running for the dictionary at "osculate" So, here’s what I’ve found: osculate: to kiss; and oscitant: to yawn… Yep. It’s true – you DO do both of them with the mouth, but there’s just a WORLD of difference, no? Much love to you and ALL of the folks at the farm. xoxo, Libbie

I needed this today, thank you…
Another almoster, yet always striving to finish more:)

Amy, somehow it IS reassuring to be in good company, isn’t it? 🙂 xoxo, Libbie

You’re just a baby at 40 Libbie,however I do feel that at least once a year you should take stock of where you want to be in the next 12 month and break those task done into attainable goals.Your most important project at this time is the raising of your family and focusing on them probably takes more out of you than you think.List of course play an important part in my life. I have a steno pad that I write on everyday and when the day is done I tear that page off and prioritize for the next day. The important thing is to keep putting one foot in front of the other EVERY day and not spend too much time wondering why you can’t get more done.Didn’t you know "a woman’s work is never done"?

The steno pad is a GREAT idea! The annual "life review" idea is one that I can really resonate with. I’m a real "list" person, too, and tearing "that day’s" page off sounds so darn satisfying!!!! xoxo, Libbie

Great ideal about breaking it into small jobs. My husband and I do that all the time, but I must say he is a pusher and will push to finish something. My personal jobs, I write down or at the least keep it in my heard till I can’t stand it any longer and I just do it. I know enough not to take on more that I can do. If it doesn’t seem like a lot of jobs done, you can take pride in the fact that, what was started at least got finished. Each year I try to improve on the garden, and there are always disappointments, I make it smaller until I can control it. Making quilts is an on going project. But at least work on it once a week. Read a little every night until that book you are reading gets finished and you can go on to the next. Stack the wood 10 pieces at a time until it is all stacked. If you didn’t get all your flowers planted in the pots,don’t buy so many next year. Did you ever notice the little plants that come up on their own each year because you didn’t have time to deadhead? Sometimes it not such a bad thing to not get something finished!Always take the time to reward your self, for finishing those little jobs,to set on the porch and have a pop-cycle with the kids.Good luck.

You know, there really IS something to be said sometimes for lowering the bar… or maybe even changing "bars" entirely! xoxo, Libbie

I thik you are being way too hard on yourself. I too read Ms. Hooles’ book a long time ago, and it gave me a complex I still haven’t gotten over. I know I will never be good enough to meet the expectations of those perfect people around me. I just try to do my best every day, and thats all I can do.. I too live on a farm in rural Utah, and life gets pretty hectic and hard out here. Those pansys are alright. Its those two beautiful children that really matter. And I bet your are the best mom they could ever have. Hugs and happiness to you…

Another Utah farmgirl!!! YAY! That made me laugh about the "Hoole complex!" Maybe I should just stop reading about how other folks do it all and just experiment with what *I* can do to be satisfied and pleased with what I do and how I go about doing it. Sound advice!!! (and I’m still chuckling about the "complex!"). xoxo, Libbie

Ohhh this really hit home L O L……I work a great deal…evrn more then "full time" and spend my off time playing and training my Doberman…..so ummmm my house is..lets say livable…..my den is also my office at home…..crafts (yarn…I seem to be a hoarder!) I have an "incredible sweater machine" that I haven’t even put together yet…because I needed the perfect table, found the perfect table…..ummm it’s still sitting in its box in my foyer……..sorry…..life always happens and I’d much rather be outside working in yards (we live in the pinelands…and I believe in "all natural v b g") or taking my dobe to obedience matches etc. each day you’re supposed to do small things…..well yes it makes a difference…but you know what…the house will always be here……clean or not up to Martha Stewart’s standards…..I "have" to work to make a living……but my doberman is certainly more important….V B G

I did get a sewing machine, good intentions……..I like to use the knitty kniter…have everything the company makes, I think.

It sounds like you have one lucky dog, so to speak! It’s true – it’s all in the priorities, isn’t it? xoxo, Libbie

Libbie:
I too am an almoster. Especially during the holidays, I pore over patterns and ideas for handmade gifts, and every year I find myself working my fool head off the night before Christmas trying to finish something up. I am looking forward to hearing suggestions from some of your other readers. I drive myself crazy!(Or actually walk there, crazy is pretty close)

Hee hee! I think that I can walk to crazy from here, as well! As I read the suggestions, I am so inspired – and I’m guessing you will be too. Much love! xoxo, Libbie.

Hi Libbie! Sure is nice hearing from you girl! I was beginning to worry.
I really like this quote “The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experiences” ~Eleanor Roosevelt~ However…..If you are like me I want to see and do it ALL! Sometimes I come home from a trip and am exhausted because I tried to see and do it all.
I do not always do this …….. but I think the answer is to give yourself a pat on the back for all those things you complete and do well(I know there are a lot of them). I want to photograph, cook, can, garden, paint, hike, blog, write, sew, volunteer, and quilt (plus be a good wife, mother, daughter and friend). Wheeeew….. BUT I no longer try to "measure up" I work at being a true, authentic and sometimes "unique" person.
I retired this summer and won’t be driving around to see what is growing in your fields anymore. I still might stop by for a cup of tea sometime. Hugs to you.
Life is an adventure.
Barb

Thank you, Barb! I LOVE that quote, so much so that it’s now printed out on my refrigerator. YAY on your retirement, too – you know, now you’ll have time perhaps to come by and stay for a while, although I will miss you coming by to "check" on me!!! xoxo, Libbie

Happy Autumn Sunday to you, dear~

Truth, be told, I do believe there are more of us gals like you than not. Nearly sixty years of trying to get-er done moments have taught me to savor the process these days.

Projects, hopes, dreams, schemes can be monumental. It appears that multi-tasking should not be in my own personal life’s path. Nope, doesn’t mean that I can’t. Means I choose not to anymore.

As I watch the pink whisper of morning’s hello, my feet on a cold concrete floor, my steaming hot coffee next to me, a hubby softly snoring in the front room, two grandbabes slumbering and two old doggies up for their morning fortitude of kibble, I sigh thankfully for this quiet moment and hope to accomplish almost farmgirl stuffs today. 🙂

We live on a very small footprint of dirt, hence, the hydroponic gardens. We have two "older" barred rock hens, and eight newbies that hopefully, we still laying their beautiful soft brown eggs right around Christmas tide.

Three assorted kitties keep the mice and snakes at bay. Shoot, we live in West Central Florida; these critters were here long before us~ 🙂

We still can our garden surplus, bake bread, make our own laundry soap and try very diligently to eat locally if not all organic.

Adore your posts, thank you for sharing~

Happy Thanksgiving, dear!

God Bless you BIG!

Grandma/Mama T over @
Tindel Den Cottage

Theresa, it’s been so long since someone called me ‘dear!’ Thank you so very much. It’s early in the morning for me right now, as well, and I wish I were sitting with you sharing the coffee and sunrise. How peaceful. The vision is wondeful – and many, many blessings to you, as well! xoxo, Libbie

I, like you, have many almost finished projects. I am 59 and probably used that same homemaking book in high school, since I graduated in 1970. But I don’t know that we should measure ourselves by what is not finished.

I have a beautiful woven shawl I am cross-stitching in dragonflies and butterflies for a little girl’s birth. I think she turned 6 this year (and yes, I gave her another gift at the showe. It is almost finished. Her grandmother, my best friend of 45 years, asks about it occassionally. I assure her I will finish it before her wedding day. But I did transfer my grandson’s message to his father, teach him to embroidery over the letters, helped him machine-sew a fancy frame around it, sew it together on the machine, stuff it and turn it into a pillow for father’s day in just four days.

I have cooked with three of my grandchildren and those projects were completed with much joy and a sense of accomplishment for them, including an apple pie made from scratch and our homemade pizza crust that someone decided complete with a cheese-stuffed crust when the dough was too big for the pan.

And there have been those little disasters that won’t change lives like when we were making the Veteran’s Day meal for the vets in our house last week. We latticed the cherry pie and I grabbed the cinnamon-sugar marked shaker for the crust, not remembering that I had replaced it with cocoa when making tiramisu, and gave it to the grandson. You guessed it, over half of the pie was chocolate. We just added the cinnamon and sugar and ignored all the questions about it being burned.

What I am saying is, the unfinished, embroidered Christmas table runner, tucked neatly in the sewing box, hasn’t kept us from having wonderful family gatherings and making beautiful memories. The table leaf that hasn’t yet been stripped to match the refinished table doesn’t keep if from holding our plates at a meal. And someday a guest will enjoy the antique tables I stripped but haven’t yet painted and they will never know I left them unattended for several years while I played with the grands.

I send my husband out the door with breatfast at 6 and I have supper on the table when he gets home at 7:30. Inbetween those times, who knows what will get started and what will be completed. But there is a lot of love inside these walls and that is what matters most.

Now that the canning jarss have been washed for the second time, and since I have had the food processor on the counter for a week, perhaps I should make the pear butter from this year’s harvest.

Oh, Jeanie! I am learning so much from all of the comments to this post – it’s true, isn’t it about  the truth that "things" shouldn’t stand in the way of "folks" and definitely not in the way of love. "But there is a lot of love inside these walls and that is what matters most." That’s beautiful. Thank you. xoxo, Libbie

 

Hey Libbie,
I turned 65 on November 2 and I’m a Farmgirl thru and thru. I grew up on a small farm in Central Wyoming and went to business college in SLC. I make lists for each week and sometimes have to carryover things I didn’t complete the week before, but I find having a tangible list makes it easier for me to complete my tasks. I’m retired but still have things on the burner. My present project that is hanging over my head is a quilt for my newest Great-Grandchild which I need to have completed by the middle of Dec.

Good Luck and hang in there. "One step at a time"

Bytheway, the web site is my husband’s he writes historical novels, check it out.

Yes, Esther, lists are a farmgirl’s friend, indeed! I really like the idea of a weekly list — then there wouldn’t be so much re-writing involved. Yup. The "one-step-at-a-time" thing is my new mantra! xoxo, Libbie

Hi Libby,

When I was reading your post, it was like I was reading about me. I have a house full of things to finish and I am so tired of living that way. I don’t know why we do this to ourselves…I just can’t believe that another year is finishing and that my house is not what I want it to be, I haven’t lost the pounds I intended to lose this year, the sweaters I started to knit a couple of years ago still aren’t finished, etc. etc.

I really don’t know what it will take to get things under control but, after reading Deann’s comment, I’m going to
start with baby steps and maybe a timer, and I’m starting right now.

Have a nice day!

Kathleen

Kathleen – isn’t is wonderful how we all inspire each other to live the lives that we hold in our hearts? I, too, am tired of "almost-ing" along, and you know what? I’m starting right now, too.  xoxo, Libbie

Libbie:
I think that anyone who knits or otherwise crafts is required to be an "almoster". The objective is, after all, to acquire a stash you could never use up in a lifetime! As a wife, mother, minister, and grad student looking for a job, I can completely understand that things don’t always get done the way we would like them to. I think the question we have to ask ourselves is this: does anyone else even notice? If not, then is it important enough for us to worry about, or can we set it to rights some other time, after the kids have been played with and snuggled? My house never looks the way I would like it to, but it runs, and my family is usually pretty happy. Is my congregation as "seen to" as I would like them to feel? Never, but I am only one person. Part of the challenge is to help people to tend to themselves and each other, but not to forget how to love. Thank you for reminding us that we are not alone in our "almost-ness". Since the work is never done, we’ll always have some growing and enjoying the process to do! Be well, be happy, and rest assured that what you do matters to the people who love you!

Kathy, that is so inspiring to me. And your words are very vivid. AND, yes, I think I also needed to be reminded of the actual objective of yarn shopping is – it made me truly laugh…as I went out of town this last weekend and came back with two lovely hanks of yarn…that I have no plans for…yet…I think… xoxo, Libbie 

Libbie, what a relief to know there are a lot of almosters out there. I do have an idea that one of my friends at church came up with: Once a month she wants to have a UFO (unfinished object) party at the church in the evening. Everyone would bring an unfinished craft and work on it. Doesn’t that sound like like a great idea?

Barb, LOVE the UFO night! I might have to create a personal weekly UFO night here at home where I take a project that needs to be finished up and, as the popular slogan goes, JUST DO IT. What a cool idea! Thank you! xoxo, Libbie

Hello, Dear Neighbor! Libbie, I am so happy to see your posting! I’ve always so enjoyed your blog. You have a gift for words and writing. And, although living nearby I know much of what is happening on the Farm, I do so enjoy reading about it through your evocative writing style. Yours is one of my "happy" reads and favorite blogs!

Oh, Gail – thank you so very much for the vote of confidence – especially from a great blogger/writer yourself! Much love, xoxo – Libbie

I could not resist commenting on your insightful post as I am a part-time member of the "Almoster Club". Part of the time my projects get finished, part of the time my house is clean and tidy, part of the time my garden/beds get tended to…you get the idea. I always looked at this trait as a personality flaw; something I should work on and change or recover from. Until this past January, that is. My oldest son (12) was admitted to Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh with severe pain in his left hip. For 2 wks prior we went back and forth with local docs trying to figure out what was going on – 3 different docs – 3 different answers. 1 kid in severe pain – 2 very scared and angry parents. Hence the whirlwind ambulance ride to Children’s. 4 nights on a hospital room couch, 30 docs(not exaggerating), lots of antibiotics, very strong pain meds, a radiographic hip aspiration later – we took home a smiling, happy, healthy kid. A miracle! Diagnosis: Severe pain left hip secondary to a viral infection – yep, new one to me, too. Fast forward to May. I came down with what I thought was the flu. With 2 kids in grade school it’s a regular event. 3 days in I could tell I wasn’t thinking clearly and hubby took me to the ER. Long story short, I had a serious bacterial infection due to a tic bite on the back of my right leg that developed into a serious case of cellulitis -probably acquired while working in my beloved herb garden. Left untreated for much longer and the bacterial infection would have killed me. 4 weeks of very strong antibiotics later I was healthy again. To me, another miracle!
My point in giving you these personal details? Perspective. When you put unfinished projects up against a very sick child and almost lossing your life over a bug bite, you are suddenly VERY HAPPY to have unfinished projects smiling back at you. Now I tackle them one at a time, when I have time between normal every day stuff, telling my guys I love them every chance I get, and thanking my lucky stars that I’m still around to start more projects and get half of them finished!