So the Likely Dairylad and i were moving our little herd this morning over to some new pasture, just taking in the sunshine, ambling along, hanging in the paddock with them, filling their water, scratching under their chins (they love that), when I hear Charlene yell out : babe! Tippi is bagging up!

What? Already? Rosie is not even noticeably bagging up yet…

Well, we knew that Tippi was running with the bull next door (the gnarly Limousin mentioned in the previous post)  and that she was probably pregnant, but she’s been home for some weeks now and we were just waiting it out, not really imagining that we would know anything one way or another for some time yet. Dexters are small cows, with small udders. You usually can’t even *see* their udders, so to see our little heifer bagging up was quite exciting. It means she’s not far off, maybe as close as Rosie. We both felt her udder and yes, it was quite tight and full. She’s been a bit bolshie since she ran away to joing the circus, and isn’t having much to do with humans. She’ll turn around and have a go at you with her non existent horns (maybe she still has phantom horns?) so it was hard to get a look at her vagina, which would be swollen if she’s nearing her cavling date.

So we have one heifer, Tippi (she will remain a heifer until her second calf, at which time she becomes a cow), and one cow, Rosie. Both of these animals are also springers! A springer is a heifer or a cow that is about a month off calving. So we say they are springing as they are preparing to calf.

Tippi had a sister, long gone now, who was from the same bull, called Pania, so we know what Tippi’s little one might look like. Pania (Little Pania of the Rocks no less) was brown, a lovely caramel brown, and the Dexters are black, straight up. Pania now graces the living room floor, so her short dignified life provided food and warmth for the family here before we arrived and still now.

There is alot of excitement about our first farm births, and some trepidation. I’m not so concerned about problems that might arise during calving, since I have seen quite a few calves being born in my time, and especially recently at Charlene’s work, and they just seem to get on with the business. Brian said they have very few problem births, and i don’t think they’ve had one this season. My trepidation is mostly around handling the calf rearing aspect, the milking and then the management of ALL THAT MILK! Cheese time! It will be a bit hectic, and we may need another calf or 2 to feed from the lactating cows, but it’s hard to say how much milk Tippi will produce. She’s a dairy/beef breed, meaning they do well for both, but will not produce anywhere near the amount of milk that Rosie, being a Jersey, will produce.

Naturally there will be a photo essay of the whole process! 

I think an update on little Luka is in order. She’s doing well! The Galloway are a hardy breed, and it seems she has not only pulled through but is making progress in leaps and bounds. We treated her for parasites and she now gobbles down 2 meals a day (with livamol which is a gorgeous mineral supplement, apple cider vinegar and garlic! ) and cries (quietly) for more. she seems to like being out with the big cows, and manages to avoid being stomped on or steamrollered. I hope she develops a loving relationship with one of the other cows, because she is still very much a loner. We have seen her trot, which was an exciting moment and she walks swiftly to her meal bucket but she is yet to present the full calf gambol that seems intrinsic to calf nature.

All is well with the herd!

In previous posts I have mentioned Nourished magazine and Joanne Hay, who is the superhero editor of the magazine, and is involved in all things sustainable and most especially passionate about the raw milk movement and the herd share. We made a lovely connection through this blog, and I hope to write for her magazine in the future. We invited Joanne and family out to the farm for lunch and chat and it was lovely! Joanne and her partner Wes and their 3 glowing children are a delight! Interesting, quirky, energetic, productive, and ever so slightly wild! We ate things we’d grown ourselves, and Joanne bought out an incredible raw cheesecake that I must get the recipe for… They live in a couple of yurts in Byron, managing businesses and family and still have time and energy for the sustainable projects they are involved in. We loved them and everything they do. Check out Joanne’s site Nourished Magazine for edification and enlightenment!

Well, it has been a year of change and inclement weather! All this has left me feeling a bit discombobulated, a wee bit out of sorts and … well … lacklustre. I’m one of those who are seasonally affected, mood-wise, and not enough sunshine is a recipe for a not so shiny me… So much great stuff has happened this year, and most of it chronicled in this blog. I feel quite content with the trajectory this small family seems to be taking, more than happy that my hardworking dairylad has found a passion and a livelihood that engrosses and inspires her, enjoying the small communal living situation we currently have here at Matiatia, especially loving the animals and how that is shaping up. There are also some very very exciting things that might be happening that I can’t talk about here yet which go even further towards making dreams come true. So why a lacklustre me? And what am I planning to do about it? Perhaps others can relate… With the lads out working all day I guess I’m missing company and project partners, farmboys to fix fences with and gardening enthusisats to shovel shit and compost with. I seem to have moved inside (the house, that is…) and have become a bit of a farmhouse wife, with tasks focussed around household management and domestic duty, rather than the getting grubby, hands in the dirt kind of activities which energise nurture, inspire and keep me sane! Lists. I think lists are the answer. And enforced family farm activities in worker’s downtime. If there’s anyone out there who’s up for a bit of farm exposure as an antidote to the urban, let me know, we’ll organise a working bee… Oh yes, and yoga. Of course, always the yoga. I’ve been re-establishing my acquaintance with yoga, and do a good hour and a half practise every day, and sometimes with a buddy and i remember that yoga is the one constant in my life. hari om!

I tend not to personalise this blog, but i think my experience of isolation and lack of motivation, and the perils of identity crisis (i’m just a farmer’s wife!) that we fall into when we are used to more complexity coming from the city is an experience that others who have done the sea/tree change might identify with.

Fundamentally I’m loving the simplicity of this life and the direct connection with the earth, my food, animals that provide and I’m really looking forward to taking on the dairygrrl challenge again (oh yes, still on the hunt for a butter churn and cream separator - old not new), but thought the slight malaise was worth a mention…

So I have more to write, but I shall put it in a separate post, since it’s not at all vegan or vegetarian friendly, and I’d like to flag that here first. Self sufficiency can be gory!

See you shortly 

Vx