On Havng a Cow

After my Q & A post the other day I was asked one more, impromptu question. Since I rather like the gal who asked the question and since I rather like the topic of the question she asked.... I thought I would make a post about it.

Hey. Bloggers can do that sort of thing.

The question was- Have you ever thought about (or plan on) getting a milk cow?

The short answer is... YES. In fact...last year my brother gave us (as his Christmas gift to our family) a tidy sum to go toward a milk cow. We call it our Heifer Fund.

The long answer is... but we don't know when it is going to happen.

Part of Matt starting his own business was to allow for more animals and (finally!) a milk cow on the Place. His going back to work has put all of our plans in a sort of tailspin. Matt is now back to work (and away from home) very often and can not be in charge of the milking and I am, ironically, allergic to cow dander so adding cow milking to my list of responsibilities will leave me a sneezing, swollen and dripping mess for the rest of my born days.

I am considering just dealing with that fact, since I long for a milk cow (and abundant milk and dairy products!) at Hopestead but also sort of dread it.

And despite this conundrum, we also have a fair amount of chores to do before a milk cow can call our place Home:

~ cleaning out the old cow barn of its decades' worth of junk.
~ fence in some pastureland
~ tear down the middle barn before it kills someone
~ get water and electricity to the barn

The first one, especially, is going to be a C.H.O.R.E

So yes. We think about it every day. Andrew asks when we will be getting one SEVERAL times a day. We long for a milk cow. Not only for a quality product and for the experience of having a milk cow (Matt has been infatuated with farming and owning a dairy since he was a boy and has had dairy experience for decades now. He even went to Cornell for animal science.) but also (and especially, in my case) because I value the sustainability of producing your own product so that we will still have access to dairy products (and plenty of them!) even if for some reason we can not get to the store or afford them. In this economy, I rather like being independent. A milk cow, in my mind, is a HUGE part of that.

But, for now, I will enjoy the little luxury of not milking a cow, feeding and watering one through winter and being stuck making batches and batches of cheese (and yogurt and butter) every week until we finally get *our* cow.

Now a question (or two) for those of you who HAVE milk cows, if you please:

~ Do your children help with milking? If so, how old were they when they began milking?

~ Do you find the milk to be overwhelming? What do you do with the excess?

~ How often do you make your own dairy products?

~ Are you happy to have your own cow or is it burdening to you?

And lest I forget~ the LAST of the no groceries challenge!
BECAUSE TODAY IS SHOPPING DAY!!!!!

::: Wednesdays Menu :::

Breakfast~ Zucchini Huckleberry Muffins. Yogurt.

Lunch~ Whole Wheat Pasta Salad with the last of the Feta, peas, red pepper and spices.

Afternoon Snack~ Raisins annnnnnnnnnnnnnddd.........BROWNIES! (I found a BOX of brownie mix tucked WAY back in the far cupboard which means we got something yummy and sweet even without having sugar OR milk in the house!)

Dinner~ Crispy Oven-fried chicken strips with maple mustard glaze. Smashed rutabaga and carrots with honey, brussel sprouts and homemade applesauce.