I miss my boy. Oh, I miss his sister too, but I have gotten used to her being away at college, traveling out west and flying on planes and all so it is easier. However, he and I spend a lot of each day in engaging conversation. Sometimes I just tune him out when he gets babbling on and on about tractors or cars and such, but nights after work we always share a few minutes out by the garden pond just chatting about the day. I was out there alone tonight and felt deprived.

I miss his help too. He can always be counted on to light the fire that I lay in the woodstove each day. I put the papers and wood out sometime in the forenoon, but it doesn't really need to be lit until evening chore time, when hot water will soon be needed for showers. Now that he is over at the fair with his big sister, it is just another job I have to do myself. Not a big one, certainly, but time consuming just the same. The field work is taking longer without his able tractor work too. He usually does a good part of the chopping, baling, feeding and unloading of hay. With him gone, his dad has to do it all alone and then come in and milk Liz's string of cows both milkings too. We are starting early and finishing late these days.

Feeding calves just takes forever. When everyone is here, one person scrapes up and throws down hay, two feed the milk calves, while the boss milks the bucket cows and sets up the pipeline washer. At most it usually takes about twenty minutes. With just the two of us and Becky it takes close to an hour before all the critters are fed and things are cleaned up. I will be glad when the fair is over for sure.

Alan got his picture in the Troy Record today, or at least the reporter said that it would be there. He was sleeping on a show box and Hootie, the tiny little Jersey baby, and Foolish, the youngest Holstein, put their heads on him and slept too. It was probably pretty cute. However, we haven't been able to get a copy of the paper so I guess we won't be seeing it. A man from Excaliber Sires stopped by the string at the fair today and admired the cows and went to his car to bring the kids back a stud book, which was pretty encouraging. It is nice when someone who knows what they are looking at likes your stock.
Text and photos © Northview Dairy 2005