On the Second Day of Christmas..

..My true love gave to me...

TWO gimpy babies!!



That's right.
Two.

I know the pictures aren't exactly professional quality...evidently my fancy camera got lost in the mail.
Years ago.

HOWever, you can still see the casted-babies whom I am keeping in the "wounded warrior" pen.

This is my little Dolly.

She has a small break in her joint just above the hoof.
We are hoping that this will heal...fingers crossed!


This heifer is big Suzy...or "Soooooozzzzz" as I call her.

Her real leg is broken. A clean break across the metatarsus.
This was a result of a cow stepping on her.  (Sometimes they do that).
Don't you worry though!  I talked real stern to that cow! Pffffttt! Hurtin' my babies like that!

I originally had them splinted...I don't know if you realize this yet, but I am sort of "crafty".
You should have seen those splints...ah geez...

They were not picture worthy, let.me.tell.you.
So, I put in a call to Judy.

Who is this "Judy" character, you ask?
You know how I have 3 Wise Men?
Bossman has 2 Wise Women....
1.The Heat
2.Judy

Without these women, Bossman would be lost.  DO NOT TELL HIM I SAID THAT.
...I already don't have any gifts under the tree.

So, back to the story...
Judy runs Bossman's office...and her tail off...She's a good woman.

I called her and 'splained to her what I needed to do.
Being the good woman that she is, she listen and seemed un phased at the request.
"How big is the leg?", she asked.
After a few minutes of planning, and asking details, she agreed to send some casting supplies home with BossMan.

I will admit, I was a little excited about putting casts on the calves, seeing as I had never done that before.
New experience!!

I needed some help, so Tim agreed to lend a hand.
We got the bag of stuff that Judy sent, and set out to conquer the world!

I read the instructions in English, Tim read them in Dutch...and neither one of us comprende'd.
So we just started opening stuff and dunking it in water.

Suzy was the first patient, who calmly rested under me during the procedure....
(That's really all you can do when someones body weight is onTopOfYou).

It all went really well!
It would have probably taken about half the amount of time that it did, had we been given material that didn't expire in 1990.....DOTDOTDOT...

But we got it done, and the girls are up and at 'em.

Tim swears he can get the cast off without taking the leg with it, and by golly he better!

The best part of the experience?
I feel fully confident that I can put a cast on anything!
...I'm just waiting for Tim's mouth to break.

I Can't Make These Things Up

There I was, all ready to tell you what happened on the "Second Day of Christmas", and then ....
...well, this happened.

 

Good old 6434.
Evidently at some point last night she had decided to "make sure" all of the hay was out of the ring.
Quality check.

I imagine the idea seemed flawless on the front end, however hindsight is 20/20...asyoucansee.

I found her BESIDE.THE.ROAD. like this.
Actually, she was laying down, having obviously accepted the fact that she would now spend the rest of her life inside the hay ring.
No way around it.
Oh well....

And don't think for one second I don't know what people thought as they drove past the dry cow lot this morning...
"Oh, those farmers. It's such a shame the way they treat their animals. First making them stand in the rain, and now THIS!"
Or,
"I wonder if they know she is in there?! Let's stop and tell them! Better yet, let's call the police and they can handle it!"
Yep.

People can be so helpful and understanding.

I saw her first thing...I mean, how can you miss her?

I was on the phone with my Honey, when I spotted the situation...
"I'm gonna check and see if I have any new babi---?OH!BAHHHAAAAAHAHAHAHA! Hold on...WAIT! Let me call you back I have to take a picture....".
I am sensitive to their needs like that...

I called him back, then lifted the hay ring and 6434 walked right out.
No 'thank you' no nothin'.
But I got a picture.  Win.

These things just can't seem to help from happening.
One day, a couple of summers ago, I came back from lunch only to find a bull stuck in a hay ring.
....only he was walking across the field in it, pushing it forward with his head.

He was headed to a cow in heat, on the OTHER side of the fence.
I caught him halfway across the field, and freed him, because I'm not made for those kinds of calamities.
True story.

Not many things stand in the way of a bull in luv.
Inside a hay ring, barbed wire fence between the two...where there's a bull, there's a way.

I gotta run out and feed real fast, but I'm wearing new coveralls...which means I'm rockin' the awesome.
Get ready for the 'Second Day of Christmas' though!
It's right up there with new coveralls....and those are hard to beat:).

On the First Day of Christmas....

....My true love gave to me.....

A calf with a bucket on her head...bombombom...

OK, so maybe I'm a couple..sevenish...days behind, but who said you have to start on the first anyway??
Exactly.

I would rather start somewhere in the middle, and keep you guessing.
I mean, really I should start on the twelfth of December, that way the song ends ON Christmas day, right?

But how many of you are gonna read this on Christmas?
Exactly.
I know you.
I got yo numba homie.

I will probably post something inspirational on that day, but that'sjustme.
I'll be working anyway.

Baaaaack to the matter at hand....

Exhibit A.

This little angel is one of 42 calves I have on milk.
36 of which are in hutches(no vacancy there), and the rest whereverICanFindASpot.
Stalls....The Heat's basement....the backseat of my truck...ya know, cozy spots.

Mercy still helps me feed in the evenings, but in the morning it's a whollllle different story.
A whirlwind of blood, sweat and milk replacer.

The entire process would take a lot less time if I didn't have cheeky little gals who put buckets on their heads, run into EVERYthing and deposit them in the veryBACK of their hutch....
Not that I'm pointing fingers.

OhOhOh!
AND I haven't even told you what happened last Friday morning,
Well, I am just now able to laugh about it, seeing as last week was an ugly blur...
I'll tell you now...

It all started Thursday evening, when I got a call from a 'restricted' number.
(I don't normally answer those calls..kinda weird ifYouAskMe.)

I answered it...(I'mPretty)..and the other line paused, for what seemed like an ETERNITY, then said "...mmmmichelle...?".
So I hung up. True story.

It was on my mind for the remainder of the evening, because my Hondurans occasionally call me that.
It infuriates me when they do.
THAT'S NOT MY NAME!!!!

I didn't get anymore calls, so I tried not to worry.
If it was important, surely they would call back..and how was I even sure it was them?!

I get to work Friday morning, head to the calf barn...and there they are.
ALL 16 of the big, weaned calves from the corral are out.
Actually...they are inside the barn, sleeping soundly on EVERYthing their little hooves had destroyed.

I, very calmly, woke them up and herded them into their pen, then closed the gate.
One of the calves in their group, had decided to stick her head through the gate, take it OFF the hinges and free the rest of the prisoners...
I'm tellin' you...CHEEKY.

Disaster averted.
Or so I thought...

A couple of hours later, when I was treating sick cows, Bossman calls me.
Ruh-roh.

He informs me that there is a little Jersey bull(one that I am keeping), in the dry cow lot.
I told him about the calves getting out and that he must have gotten into the field that way.
Hmmmm....I wonder if there are any others missing?

Later, after getting the bull back in, I counted the calves and they were all where they were supposed to be.
Good deal.

It wasn't until Sunday morning, that I discovered the teeeeny tiiiiny hoof prints, going UP the SIDE of the ROAD....

Thursday night must have been very..... eventful.
It's just sad that Michelle had to miss out....



Three Wise Men

It's thunder storming in December....am I the only one who thinks this is odd?
Hello?

Well, I have my rain pants ready to go so it's all good.
There are very few things worse than wet pants...letmetellYOU.

After the cluster that was last week, it has become quite evident that I am not doing this alone.
By "this" I mean, this farming thing.

Sure, I have 4 Hondurans who give me anxiety, Teddie who make me think I'm a genius, The Heat who signs my paycheck, and Chuck who has to be there no matter what who loves me.
I'm not talking about them though.
I'm talking about the 3 guys whom I rely on for help in different ways.
I really don't feel like I can do my job without these guys.
...they consistently keep me from taking it out on YOU!
YouCanThankMeLater.

The first of the Wise Men is Mr. FixerOfAllThingsDairy, Eddie!
(NOT Eddie, of the duo "Teddie", mind you.)

Eddie has been there from the beginning.
He is the FIRST person I ever called when I had a problem with any of my dairy equipment.

Note: I DO NOT fix things. I break them. I have accepted it, and so should you.

Water heaters, vacuum pumps, milk tanks, parlor doors and broken hearts.
Eddie's your man.

I call, he shows up and lets me talk his ear off while he is fixing whatever is broken...and my personal problems as well.
It works out.
Though I'm not entirely sure what he gets out of this relationship.

Eddie always says that when he retires he will come work for me...I think he is halfway serious.
...maybe he will work for baked goods and witty comments.
(Those are really all I'm good for anyway.)

The second Wise Man is Dr. TheSmartestManIKnow, Kirksy!

I just call him Kirksy..I'm not sure why.
He has a first name, Glen, but for some reason I feel like he is my teammate so I must call him by his last name...or something like that.

Kirksy knows a whole lot about EVERYthing.
Tru dat.
...he also has like 8 kids.
A good man, that Dr. Kirksy.

I can remember the FIRST time I ever had to IV a cow...I had no clue what I was doing.
I called him at 11:30 PM..yeah, I know...and told him about my situation.
He said she needs calcium via IV.
I said, "when can you be here?"....heheheheh.

I believe I called him every ten minutes for the nextTHREEhours.
I worry a lot.

Now I call, describe what's going on, and he tells me how to handle it.
He has trained me well.
Thanks to him, I feel like I can handle almost any situation thrown my way.

Earlier in the year he found out he had a brain tumor, and would have to have radiation.
...he told me all of this while preg-checking my cows.

The week after his radiation he was back at it...never missed a lick.
He's pretty awesome, if you ask me.

The third Wise Man is HaulerOfTheJuice, Tom!
(He drives the milk truck....my milkshake brings him to the yard. Heh.)

I know that if anything is wrong with my milk tank...temperature, washing etc...Tom will tell me.
That is very very important in this business.

He loves his job, and is always joking around.
He is the man behind the chocolate roses, and fresh picked flowers left in my office.
In return I leave him alllll kinds of baked goods.
It's a fair trade.

The past month a man named Ricky has been picking up my milk, in order to help Tom out.
Tom has quite a few loads to haul.

Therefore, Tom and I have not been talking as often, and I just assumed he was pretty busy.
Occasionally we will text each other just to check in, but nothing more than that.

Milk haulers are a dime and dozen, really.  GOOD milk haulers are priceless.
Tom is a good man and a great hauler.

I saw Ricky here on Saturday, and he informed me that Tom probably won't ever haul milk again.
What?!

Tom has acute colon cancer that is also affecting his liver.
He is to have surgery this month, on the 14th.

His doctor is not very optimistic.
This is a tough pill to swallow.
I had no idea.

After Ricky told me all of this, I immediately thanked him and sent Tom a text,
"What are you doing getting sick on me??!!"
He responded, "It's not looking good".
I shot back, "Well this might get you down, but it won't take you out".
He replied, "I'm not so sure".
I fired back with, "I need you!".
And he said, "You're my best bud".

He meant it.
I remember the text I sent him on Thanksgiving telling him I am thankful him and his friendship.
At the time, the idea of sending the text just popped into my head.  It wasn't something I normally did.

Now I know why.

Two Wise Men just doesn't make sense.

A Post of a Different Color...

OK, so this post is going to be a little..ummm...different.
But different is good, right?!
Just nod your head with me....

First of all, I need for you to know that I DO NOT think I am a know-it-all about exercise OR good habits.

Second, this is NOT the be-all to end-all on fitness advice.

Third, I DO NOT normally give advice willy-nilly, however recent events have caused me to want to share the following.

You may not know that I have a minor obsession with staying fit.
It's kinda my "hobby".

Yes, my love is farming and my passion is baking, but my hobby...well it revolves around daily trips to the gym...or out to run.
It's inexplicable, however it seems to pair really well with my passion...

I have been approached several times in the past month by people seeking any advice, tips or tricks to keeping fit through the Holidays.
I can't possibly know everyones' personal issues with fitness, however I can lend a hand in advice on forming good habits that can fit into almost any lifestyle.

Don't get me wrong, I have my own body-image issues...but I work through those and try to stay positive.

I do a lot of reading...books, fitness magazines, lifestyle magazines, and take what I can from each in order to apply it to my life.
It's hard, but where there's a will there's a way...right?

ALL of that being said, I thought I would offer a list of great tips I have acquired through the past few years.
These are things that I try to apply to my life, because I want to feel good and healthy:)....not "skinny".

- Start each morning off with a big glass FULL of cold water!
If you can squeeze lemon in it, that's even better.
This is mainly to get your metabolism going, and to help flush out toxins from your system.
Think of metabolism as a machine that needs to be fed. 
When you don't feed it, it doesn't work like it should.
...I drink a litre...but I'mAWeirdo.

- Make GOOD breakfast habits!
This should be your most thoughtful, packed-with-goodness meal of the day!
Coffee and a muffin or donut are not acceptable.  I'm sorry but they aren't.
Anyone can plan ahead for breakfast. (I make mine the night before.)
It doesn't have to be eggs and toast and the whole nine yards...oatmeal or heart-healthy cereal are great options! 
Throw in some fruit(I use frozen blueberries) and you have some simple-sugars and fiber too!
Breakfast is THE MOST IMPORTANT meal!  Feed the machine!
Caffeine boosts your metabolism, so coffee is not a bad thing!  Just watch the milk, cream, sugar..because those are adding calories, carbs and fat.

-Eat numerous times a day!
When I was training for figure, I ate every 2-3 hours.
ALWAYS started my day with oatmeal and blueberries, then I would have an apple with peanut butter or piece of cheese 3 hours later, workout, then eat lunch, 3 hours later have a snack , then dinner.
You might not be hungry right.then...but you will be.  Chances are when you do get hungry, you will hit rock-bottom allAtOnce and eat whatever is closest...and it won't be pretty.
When you're at the store, buy a few apples for the week.  Don't like apples? Buy bananas or something else comparable in nutrition and quality. 
Yes, fruit has simple sugar, but you burn that off more quickly than foods full of carbs and fat. 
What you don't burn, you store! 
Having a good snack buys you time to plan for a great meal.

-Drink lots of WATER!
Drink with purpose people.
Have a great diet but can't figure out why your gaining weight?
What do you drink?
Soda, sweet tea, coffee drinks, wine or beer?
Where do you think all of that goes?
BINGO!
Sure, it might be diet, but do you really think all of those artificial sweeteners go right through you?
The beauty of drinks, is that they have labels.
Read the label...then drink it.

-Read labels!
Be that person at the store who is holding up everyone in the pasta aisle, because you are checking labels.
Knowledge is power.
When I read labels I read them in this order; carbs, sugar, protein, fiber, sodium, calories, fat..serving size.
Then I decide, based upon all of the information presented, if it is worth buying.
Condiments are sneaky places for sugar and sodium to hide!
Know what is in your ketchup or mayo...and how much a "serving" is.

-Be accountable!
I have a number of friends who either cannot workout because of health reasons, or just simply do not have time.
It's OK, just remember to be accountable for what you put in your body!
My best advice to those who cannot do physical activity is to eat smart and have a cut-off for carbs.
What I mean is, have a certain time set and make a conscious effort to not eat carbs after that time.
Now, be honest, that time shouldn't be 9pm....mmmmk?
It is true, your body does burn calories while you sleep(the machine is always at work), BUT it doesn't burn them the same way as if you're awake.
The calories you burn while you're sleeping should be those that are stored...not the ice cream you ate before bedtime...

-Don't starve yourself!
Think you will lose weight if you just don't eat lunch?
You might lose a bit..but your body will go into "starvation mode", which means it's thinking, goodgosh! What if I neverGetFedAgain!? I better store all of this just in case! 
This results in your body storing more food, than it allows to be burned.

-Eat FIBER!
It's not that scary...for reals.
Fiber fills you up, keeps your digestive system moving, and takes fat with it!
Win, win, win, win, win!
Fiber also helps keep your blood sugar manageable, by helping to prevent the dreaded bottomed-out feeling that you get when you're hungry.

I have gone on and on, and I am sorry for that..it's just something that I am interested in.
I know that I, for one, do not eat the healthiest, or cook the healthiest meals..but I hold myself accountable for everything I put in my body.

It is my belief that you can indulge BUT you must also exhibit self control.
There is not.one.thing wrong with eating cake...just remember that when you are making food choices throughout the day.

I have a physically demanding job, and I workout...therefore I give myself a little leeway in terms of my diet.
However, I cannot remember the last time I ate fast food or had a cola. 
True.Story.

I have a family history of health problems, including heart issues...so the subject of staying healthy is very close to me.
Most of you probably already knew everything I listed, and that's great...thanks for bearing with me;).
Those of you who didn't maybe took something away..that is my hope.

I love you, beyond words, and life is so precious.
Do what you can to stay around a little bit longer, you never know who is counting on you:).

If We Make It Through December..

...it'll be a miracle!

December Employee of the Month!!

On the farm, we embrace all of those little things that make each cow an individual.

Different is good!

Our employee of the month for December is truly an individual.

She has it all; sass, class and a big ol'.......

Set of horns!

It is my privilege to introduce to you, 9925, or "Jada" as she prefers to be called.

Jada is 2 years old, and she was born on February 18th 2009.

More often than not, Jerseys seems to have a bit more attitude than their Holstein friends.

Jada is no exception to this rule.

Weighing in at less than 50 pounds at birth, caused her to be a bit of a "latebloomer".   

Thus, when everyone else was going through the "dehorning" stage, she had not yet begun to show her horns.

By the time she made it to having her first calf, she and her horns were full-grown.

Having horns in a barn full of cows who sometimes outweigh her 3 times over, is clearly to Jada's advantage.

She knows what she wants, and even the biggest boss-cow won't stand in her way.

Jada is one of the first to be milked, and the first back to the feed.

She's a trooper.

As a matter of fact, just yesterday she found out that she is pregnant and due to calve next summer.

Way to go Jada!

She's a jewel, a doll, just don't ask her which direction to go or she just might confuse you....

Much like the scarecrow from the Wizard Of Oz.

In a world full of uniformity, different is refreshing.