long time, no see... and Zinnia!

Hi there folks!  Yes, it's been quite some time since I have written here.  Life is so full, and every moment so precious, with a toddler, two big kids, a small farmstead, homeschooling, and animals - both big and small - concurrently tugging at my every spare moment.  To all those parents out there who seem to magically pull it all off every day and make it look so easy.... I tip my hat to you.  Damn, this sure aint easy.  Ahem.  Onward!

Allow me to introduce to you, Zinnia cow, our latest family member and supplier of all things dairy.

She's a rather petite Jersey cow with a sweet, if not a little pushy, personality and just the right amount of milk for our little family of five.  Zinnia joined us back in June and to be totally honest, I'm still adjusting to life with a dairy animal, especially as the weather has turned cold and wet and the days so very short.

I'm still getting used to the invisible milky tether that keeps me within arm's reach of the farm at all times, the achy muscles in my palms that I didn't even know existed until I began hand milking every day, and loads of rich, creamy milk that occupy nearly all of the real estate in my refrigerator and requires near daily processing to keep up with.  As a lifelong vegetarian and former vegan, it still cracks me up and shocks me to open my fridge door and discover So. Much. Milk.

Despite how much work this beautiful animal has added to my life, it's pretty awesome to watch my family consume and thrive on her raw dairy goodness.  The milk, the butter, the yogurt (oh my god, the yogurt), and the cheese.  My cheese making skills are still in the budding stage, but I have high hopes for full blooming maturity someday.  Ah, yes, someday.

I'll leave you with this rough video taken with the camera clenched between my knees as I attempted to simultaneously milk and record.  Enjoy!

And, I hope to see you again here soon!