So last week we had the biggest snow storm since 1992 and now it has been 70 degrees with intense sun, I think I like this week better! All the staff started on a "sleep in" schedule this week, meaning that everyone gets a morning where they don't have to come into work until 8am, mine is today. We usually start at 5am. Also, my herd started calving now so I am really enjoying watching over them. I have to make sure they have the right amount of feed, make sure  all the calves are matched up with a cow; then draft the cow out of the paddock, make sure to watch and treat for any metabolic issues (health) and keep them happy. We have calved about 600 out of the 800 cows so far and my herd will probably finish calving in the next 5 days, so we are closing in on the end of the busy calving season!

From Paul: Wow! It actually can get cold and snow here in the winter! Today we got to experience a winter storm that consisted of lightning, thunder, hail, several inches of snow, and lots of wind. We moved all the cows to areas on the farm that have good tree lines that block the cold southeasterly wind. Then we gave them lots of baleage (hay) and straw which has lots of fiber in it that will help the cows to stay warmer. We are going around every hour to pick up the calves that are born and we bring them to the calf shed right away and feed them. Today was nice because I had a 3 hour long lunch time! One bummer was that the milk haulers are not picking up any milk the next two days so we had to dump 15,000 liters or 4,000 gallons of milk! Also the "bobby" truck is not picking up calves right now so Brittany has to feed a ton of calves now.We will have to take some pictures of where we have the cows and what everything else on the farm looks like.

From Britt:  Here is a picture from this morning. It has been snowing on and off very consistently throughout the day. I kept singing Christmas songs all day because it seemed so much like Christmas! Then I remembered that it was only AUGUST!!!! oh how strange!  Just yesterday Trish gave me the first daffodil that came up on the farm, and now it's snowing....hmmmmm. It was really pretty at first, then, well, it just was cold and wet, but still beautiful. It would be nice weather like the picture shows (still cold) then all of the sudden you could see this huge storm drop right on you. Then it would stop for a bit, then hail, then snow, then stop, and...you get the picture. Right now we are getting a lot more snow and wind. Our lights keep flickering... so hopefully we will continue to have power until this thing blows over!!! 

Wow, FINALLY I have a few pictures to put up of the little babies. And I figured it was about time to post on the "diary of a dairy" site, seeing as most of these posts are from Paul, I needed to put my few words in too!  These pictures were taken I think in the first week that we started getting calves, so these guys are oh-so-grown up by now and are on once a day feedings. (woo hoo!!) But they are so cute!!! We are averaging about 18 calves a day right now. Aren't these little guys so stinkin' cute!!! 

Well I am glad to inform you that we are a third of the way through calving, which seems like it has just started. We are getting about 18 to 25 cows calving a day which keeps us busy but it is not overwhelming. Yesterday Eugene had the day off so I took over his responsibilities for the day, which is taking care of the springing (calving) heifer mob. It was a good learning experience for me. It mostly consisted of going around the paddock and checking which heifers calved overnight and then trying to match up 8 calves with the 8 heifers that calved. It isn't as easy as it sounds there are 100 heifers in a paddock about 30 acres in size. After that is done we go around and pick the calves up and then we have to draft the 8 heifers out of the mob of 100 which is a fun challenge. I also had to check on any heifers that were in the process of calving to make sure that they were making progress and that the calf was presented right to come out. I am glad I had the opportunity to do this for a day, I hope it comes again soon, because it was quite enjoyable. 

Yesterday I also by myself successfully gave a cow that had Milk Fever metabolic injections, one in the vein and one under the skin over the ribs. The one in the vein takes a lot of effort because first you have to hold the cows head still, then find the vein with the needle, and next attach the bag making sure not to have any air bubbles in the line and finally had the bag up while holding its head still for about 20 minutes, which is how long it takes for the bag to empty out. I know the good Lord gave me a lot of help on this one because it can be difficult for the best stockman to do successfully. As soon as I was finished she stood up and was completely fine again. It is so amazing how fast cows can bounce back from health issues!