I’m sure by that question you wanted me to explain why we have a milk cow? Or why go to the trouble? Or why don't I just buy milk at the grocery store like a normal human?
It’s all rather tricky to explain, but let me tell you what it’s like.
I’m up early or late milking, and worried about her mastitis or bloat, with my arms deep in bleach water cleaning my milk machine afterwards. (Yes, I use a machine to milk my cow).
You’ll find me buying Carhartt overalls & work gloves, for myself instead of Madewell clothes and the third pair of boots for my kids this season.
We all change our clothes about twelve times a day between the endless fountain of bodily liquids coming from the newborn, my breasts, cow blessings left in our yard, or mud. Laundry is not my friend. Thank God I taught my two-year-old how to start a load.
In between making peanut butter & butter sandwiches for my toddlers, I’m making a batch of raw milk cheese, wondering if my husband will like the raw milk ice cream, and chasing a calf around the property hoping she won’t run onto the road. And no, we don’t pasteurize it. That’s the whole point. Yes, we drink her milk from the teat.
Isn’t it so fun that instead of spending five dollars on a carton of yogurt I get to spend five hours making it myself instead?
It is a glamorous life. I have a free lawn mower and her name is Bella; Bella Boo.
I love to scoop poop in my free time, teach my children how to not get run over by large animals, and post about it on Instagram. And milking the last of her cream straight into my coffee is one of the great delights of life.
If I told you all the real reasons I have a cow and why raw milk will change your life, solve your allergies, and give you the highest vitamin D levels around, you’d call me a conspiracy theorist. Which maybe I am.
If I told you I’d rather my kids do this than take them to karate class, you’d think I’m crazy. And we might not be friends.
If I told you I love brown cows, feeling the sun on my face in the afternoon, and the satisfaction that comes from pouring a glass of raw milk for me or my kids, you'd look at me funny.
If I told you about the grounding affect of 3:30pm milk time; how it keeps us sane and gives us a irrevocable rain or shine rhythm to our days, you probably wouldn’t believe me.
If I told you how I’ve never felt more connected to the earth, to have MY cow convert free grass & weeds into nutritious milk, and how I’ll never take a dairy product for granted again, you would nod your head and say “interesting”.
If I told you about how caring for this pretty brown cow for 18-months has made me a more faithful human, one who laughs, more and keeps commitments, & sees value in nature all around us…you’d scratch your head.
So instead, I’ll just say yep, having a cow is fun.
///
A satirical piece Inspired by Lindsay Rush
///
Do you like cow content? Would you like more on the story of Bella’s birth and what it’s like to have a small homestead with three kids under four? Let me know in the comments.
xo
Kate
gosh, I needed to read this today. I literally just posted a piece about how discouraged I felt yesterday about wanting to embark on this homesteading journey. I read a piece about how ridiculous it was to want a milking animal, and also, how ridiculous it was to romanticize any bit of it. This piece, while honest, and based in reality, actually brought the romance that I feel in me, to the truth. Yes, it can be hard, and dirty...but also romantic in interesting ways, haha. Thank you for sharing. Just found your blog and can't wait to read more :)
This is so delightful!!