Heifers Homecoming...

Settlement on the other farm happened a few weeks ago, but we were able to keep the dozen or so bred heifers over there until we ran out of feed.  I'd say Jim planned pretty well...last fall he had to guestimate how much silage we would need until late Feb/early March, and it worked out just right!  We brought them home on Saturday morning.

These three youngin's have no idea how their world is going to change.  They're used to having the run of the outside pen...

It took about fifteen minutes to load the ten heifers and young bull into the the trailer, and another five minutes to get them home...

(those barn cleaners are getting a long needed rest after being used daily for many, many years)

The outside pen is once again full of animals, back home where they "grew up"...

They don't care much where they are, just so there's food, water and shelter available!

Once the meadow greens up this spring, we'll let them out to graze to their heart's content.  As they spring up, they'll then be sold at a dairy sale.  Anyone need some nice first calf heifers?

Adjusting...

It's been two weeks today since we sold the cows, and we've been gradually adjusting to our new normal.  We're still feeling good about our decision, but there have been adjustments.

I will say, it's been easier in some ways than we expected, and harder in others!  The hardest part for me has been giving up my time at home.  Although we were very tied down with the cows, we often had flexible time throughout the day for running errands, etc.  That has changed a bit and is an adjustment, but we'll figure it out!  I need to be more intentional about meal planning, cleaning, laundry etc.  Jim still has some manure to haul and projects that he would like to tackle, and will have to adjust to the same thing.

I headed off to a new job almost two weeks ago, working in the office at a feed mill. I'm enjoying being able to remain a part of the ag community and I'm also enjoying the work that I've been doing.  I have a LOT to learn, but thankfully the people there have been very patient with my many, many questions!

Jim has been trying out a few things and hasn't decided for sure which direction he would like to go.  He will find a good fit I'm sure, but it might take a little time.

The dogs and cats may have the hardest adjustment of all!  They were used to having us around all day and would enjoy many ear scratches or belly rubs, and sneak treats throughout the day. Snickers has, in the past few months, bedded down in a pile of straw and corn fodder in the cow stable.  When the barn was full of cows, it was nice and cozy even on the coldest of days. When Jim cleaned out the stalls, he left her little pile in place so that she would have a comfy bed.  She could easily sleep upstairs in the straw with Murphy and Phoebe, but she chooses this...  

I'm headed off for a half day today, and when I get home the dogs will be jumping (at least Phoebe will be!) with excitement.  It's good to be loved, especially in the midst of big life changes!  :)

Reminiscing...

I had a day off from my job training today so I tagged along with Jim to the other farm when he went to feed the heifers.  Settlement is next week, so we took what will likely be our last opportunity to walk through the apartment where we lived for nine months when we were first married.  We lived on the second floor of the farm house (our kitchen was inside that huge bay window), Jim's Grandma lived on the big side of the house, and another family lived directly below us.

Here's our trip down memory lane... 

We entered off the porch and headed upstairs...

Our little kitchen table was inside those windows.  This faces south and east, and was a beautiful warm sunny place for eating breakfast and keeping my African violets blooming!

The tile back splash and cupboards have since been painted, but the tile was a bright aqua blue and the cupboards were a natural wood twenty five years ago...

Sycamore trees really make a mess in the yard, but this beautiful landmark is huge, old, and such a familiar sight outside our kitchen windows...

Older and hopefully wiser...

Our pretty little bathroom with the huge linen closet...

Checking out the heifers in the barnyard from the bathroom window...

On the north east side of the house was our bedroom.  When we got married, the bedroom suit that we had ordered from an Amish carpenter, wasn't ready yet.  So, we put our mattress and box spring on the bedroom floor and borrowed a dresser from Grandma D.

The tobacco shed out the spare bedroom window...

We lived here during the fall, winter and early spring months, so we didn't spend much time on the balcony, but it was so warm and sunny today!

Here's Jim almost exactly twenty five years ago, with the balcony behind him, holding our very first milk check!

Jim will be feeding heifers here for a little bit yet and then we'll be bringing them home to our farm.  The gorgeous blue sky against the beautiful white barn and tile silo today was just begging to show off in a photo, so here you have it!

Thanks for coming along on our trip down memory lane!  More coming soon on our new jobs and how that's going!

Time For Something New...

It's been a season of changes around here, and this week, they became reality.

On Monday morning, David, a young Amish neighbor who is starting out farming, came to choose which of our cows he wanted to purchase.

On Tuesday we sent several cows that he didn't want, to a dairy sale.

Yesterday several older cows went to the sale barn, and early this morning Jim and I headed to the barn to milk for the last time...

It was pretty cold, but thankfully not windy...

We finished up milking and kept our eyes on the clock, anticipating the cattle hauler arriving soon...

He first transported some cows from another neighbor and then arrived at our farm...

The cows cooperated quite nicely as they were loaded onto the truck.  Off he goes with the first load...

Last trip down Clearview Road...

...and here they are, settling into their new home!  Henry, age 2, looks on...

Our job for the next hour or so will be draining all the water lines in the cow stable.  We don't need any surprises when the weather warms and we turn on the water again to the barn!  For now we'll water the heifers with a hose from the milk house into a stock tank.

It's the end of an era, and as we expected, we have mixed emotions.  One thing that helps is knowing that most of the cows went to a neighbor, and will be helping him get off to a start in dairy farming. We've felt a lot of support from friends and family, and are looking forward to what's next.  What all that is, we don't know yet, but we're slowly piecing it together.

Jim and I spent almost twenty-five years working together, and we think that over all it went very well!  We might not get to eat three meals a day together any more, but we'll be fine!

For now, we still have some heifers and a couple of young calves that will keep our fingers in farming for a little while!