Living in the country: Part #1

As I was looking through some of my pictures, I realized that a lot of you don't have some of these. We all have christmas pictures, school program pictures, pictures of our kids clean and in church clothes and first day of school pictures. However, I don't think very many of you have milking the cow pictures or how to make butter pictures. If you do, just bare with me here.

This is Abby, our milk cow. Kim milks her when we have school but on the weekend and during the summer the boys do it. Dakota likes to coax Abby into her milking stall with a broken shovel handle. She totally understands his reasoning.

It might just be me, but can you see he is ready to run at any moment? Abby tends to be a little tempermental at times. There is a rope tied around her. It is to tighten up if she tries to kick. If you tighten that rope up it holds her leg back to where she can't get full extension in her kicks. Which is very helpful if you are under her milking......or so I've been told.

This is why I don't milk the cow. I don't even go out to the barn when they are milking the cow.

because of the ..........poop!

sunshine

manure

dung

There are lots of creative terminology, but let's face it, I am not comfortable with milk I am supposed to drink being in such close proximity of the poop. I'm just not.

I have a small confession to make. I have NEVER had a drink of Abby's milk. The thought of that behind covered in**insert favorite slang poop term here**is enough that I can't even think of drinking it. I know they strain it, I know they wipe off her udders---shudder, I hate that word too-- and I know it's better for you. I am not going to do it.

I love this picture. If you look close you can see his milking muscle in his forearm. If you milk a cow for very long, you have massive forearms!

His dad tells him to push his head into her side when he milks. It is supposed to help you not get kicked, but I know for a fact Dakota washes his hair three times after he milks.

He tells me wet cow smell is even worse than wet dog smell!
I'll take his word for it.