8:30p. We got a little over 10lb tonight. I got the dairy pellets this afternoon, so things should be looking up. Before closing shop, we rearranged animals again so that everyone would have cover from the rain. We've got a stormy night forecast. I also put Skittles in a kidding pen because she is looking so close. I'm glad we've warmed up again. Today Jessamyn started a batch of No Knead Bread. It was such an easy and successful recipe for me on the first try, that I thought it might be good for Jessamyn to enter into the Creative Arts festival at the upcoming livestock show. I also started a batch of cottage cheese, but used buttermilk instead of cultured buttermilk, so it probably won't turn out.

P.S. (And this is a BIG note to myself) Please remember to check the halter on Abby calf. Paul discovered that it had gotten seriously tight and was most likely causing her problems...I felt terrible for not noticing earlier.

9:30a. Forgot to get feed this morning so we are still on oats. Anabel doesnt mind but I think its cutting down production.

Baby tomato plants

10:38p milked for 10 minutes and got 11.5 lbs. Have used the Dynamint cream a couple of days now, and not sure I'm seeing a difference. Although it was a day for relaxation, I did have a customer come out to visit the Dexters. It was worth my time and trouble because he bought two of the cows. Interesting enough, he breeds miniatures for the MBBRA. That stands for the Miniature Bucking Bull Riding Association. I also was contacted by a woman who had bought from me last year, and who now wants to buy all the Saanen does I have for sale. It was nice talking to her about our shared interest in the dairy goats and dairy cows. Along with the beautiful, warm sunny weather...this made for a nice day. Our family went out for Sushi to celebrate eldest daughter Bethany winning first place in state for a Latin competition. That was terrific news.

9:38am. Sunny day, much warmer in the 60s. Pleasant change after freezing, rainy, and extremely windy weather we had the two days prior. Jess is training Abby calf to have her feet picked. As soon as the mud clears up, I will have her practice loading in the trailer. I milked the back quarter longer than 10 minutes and got over two gallons of milk - unfortunately my scale was acting up. I ran out of dairy feed, but Anabel didn't fuss too bad to only get oats.

9:00pm on Saturday 3/28. Weather miserably cold, but the nasty west wind seems to have gone away. Verrrrry long day. Up early for piano festival in Frisco with three girls, and skipped milking in the morning. I hoped Abby calf could help me out here! Unfortunately Anabel was frantic at her nighttime feeding. After piano festival I spent the day running eldest daughter Bethany to appointment for makeup and nails, and then spent a nerve racking afternoon trying to style her hair and pin her dress for senior prom. I was so relieved when the were on their way.

3/27 10:30pm. We had the 4-H kids over to work on their Creative Arts entries, eat pizza and popcorn and play games. It was a fun evening. Earlier in the day I had a family come out from Denison who were thinking about getting into goats. The weather has been miserable....lows in the lower 30s, pouring down rain and mach force winds from the west. After milking tonight I got on the tractor in the dark, switched out implements from the plow to the hay spike (harder than it sounds), and slid around in the mud steering only by virtue of the brakes, in order to get a round bale of Sudan on the open west side of the barn to block the goats from the frigid onslaught. It was nightmarish.

9:17 am. I definitely left some in back quarters but I ran the machine a good 12 minutes. Maybe didnt rub down hard enough. Will get Hamby delivery today and can try out new cream. Moved animals around so goats could have protection from north. We will have temps in the 30s next two nights. 61 now.

The temperature is supposesd to be dropping and the rain is coming, so we spent the morning moving animals around so they would have the best protection. I think I got somewhere around 8lbs.

7:30pm. I didn't have my phone to blog this evening so no picture. I got 8lbs 5 oz in 10 minutes for 5 scoops of grain. It wasn't near long enough between milkings and I'm sure there will be an overload tomorrow morning. I made cheese for the first time at home and it turned out very well. We used the mozzarella on spaghetti and meatballs this evening. I also made a tiny bit of ricotta from the whey and I seasoned it to make a cracker spread. We will try that tomorrow. I also started a double batch of No Knead Bread that I found on the web that originated in the New York Times. It may be no knead, but it has to sit for 12-18 hours! I made it with the whey. Interesting thing is that you use a dutch oven to give it a crusty exterior...I can't wait to try it. We've had violent spring weather tonight, but fortunately it has almost all gone north of us. I'm wondering if we'll hear about tornado damage in the morning.

Spotted first scissortail of the year at cemetary during my run.

11am. Cool, misty and muddy today. It rained good yesterday. We are expecting a cold snap this weekend, possibly snow. I milked late this morn due to waking up with a sinus headache, and going back to sleep after using some nose spray. It took several cups of strong coffee before I felt lucid. Youngest daughter Jessie (Jessamyn) helped by working with Abby calf...she will have her very tame and halter broke in no time. Got 14 lbs 12 oz in 10 min with 5 scoops of grain. I thought I had left some in the back right quarter. Jessie was worried I wasn't leaving enough for Abby, but the cow and calf are still together full time.

14 lbs 5 oz in 10 min after 12 hrs between. Withdrawal due to mastitis med finished last night. Had calf with us tonight and fed 5 scoops of grain. This follows a full day of shopping for daughter Beth`s prom....prom underwear, prom clutch, prom jewelry and prom underwear. This is where all my money for the farm gets diverted to!!!

It did not look like much in the udder but I got 15 lbs 10 oz at 10 min milk 12 hours between and 5 scoops of grain. Baby is still on fulltime. Jessie took over halter training her today and named her Abby. She is 8 days old. I made an order today with Hamby and am excited to try an uddercream that will stimulate let down called Dynamint. We will see how that works out.

Anabel was fidgety and I didnt bring calf in. It was 14 hours but I got less than 8 lbs at 10 min.

12 lbs 5 oz at 7a this morn, 10 hours since the last milking, 5 scoops of grain.

Night milking after 4-h meeting...what a long day. 10 lbs, 6 scoops of grain,machine on 10 min.

Last nite got only 7 lbs 1 oz, but was only 9-10 hours between milkings. This morning I got 11 lbs 2 oz, just barely a gallon and a half. I should be getting more. I've been feeding her about 4 scoops of grain, and the last one I parcel out a cupful at a time so that I can keep her on the milker longer. Her back quarters appear to be pretty fleshy, so it's impossible for me to gauge when she is milked out.

Back quarters were really tight this morn cause she left early last night. I weigh taped her for the first time and she was 77 inches around the girth or 1111 pounds. She is a big girl. Poor thing, her udder is just awful...no midline, teat placement on the outside of her bag, the back quarters much bigger than the front...absolutely no symmetry! I started weighing milk this morning instead of guestimating by volume. I got 13 lbs 4 oz.

No milking pictures tonight, but Phoebe is keeping my hat warm.

Less milk this morn...1.5 to 2 gallons tops. Still throwing it out. May have to go to 2 a days with Maggie the goat to continue feeding her twin girls.

Got a lot of milk tonight as well...heavily massaging back udders. Have to throw milk out for 4 days though cause of med. Baby was withheld for 3 hours due to meds too and was reunited with mom after milking. Looks like baby is nursing off back quarters now...must be easier now that they aren't so tight.

Did an extra late afternoon milking cause Anabel was so engorged. Managed to work down back two quarters quite a bit. Treated them with mastitis medicine. Milk withdrawel is 96 hours. Calf must be seperated for 3 hours. Got 3 + gallons of milk. Tested with California Mastitis Test which came back negative.

31 inches on the weigh tape equals 87
pounds at 5 days old.

Tiny bit better let down in back....wish she would have let me hand milk the bak quaeters after the machine. Tad bit more than a gallon.

Late to work!

Resisting arrest

Less than a gallon this morn and yesterday morn. 1.5 gallons last night. Back two quarters huge and tight...won't let down with warm wash clothes or massage. Calf nursing lightly front right quarter. Cow is standing good for machine. I'm milking 7-9 minutes.

First opp with milk machine...good.

First Anabel milk from second lactation. Hard won. Wanted to let baby nurse and was not interested in food. Left front teat hand milked while avoiding kicks and getting tail swatted in the face...numerous times. Hope it get easier. Back was so tight I couldnt get any milk. Set up compressor and oiled it. Brought in surge milker to be washed.

29 inches on the weigh tape equals 69 lbs...seems heavier. i couldnt carry her more than a few feet.

The day before