Here we are again. Another year of grazing, and another year of babies.❤️

2021 marks our 15th year of calving! We had a longer break from milking this year since we purposely waited to breed our mamas a month later than what we’ve done in the past. We thought this would maybe decrease some of the mud issues we’ve faced in past Marches, and also give the grasses an extra month to grow so our mamas’ feed would be more lush after calving. As it turned out, this season has not been a wet one, lol.🤷🏻‍♀️ But that’s ok – we were happy to have this longer break to prepare us for whatever is to come for 2021.🙏🏼

Last week we finished up getting all our groups of cows out from their winter area and out grazing in the pastures. It is always such a delight to see everything turn green and flowers pop out in the Spring!🌷

The yearlings were the first to move. Here they are on the 13th.☀️

Here are the dairy girls in route to their paddock in the Shire on the 19th.🌤

And then the last group to move on the 19th was our beef herd.

So that’s all our grazers, and now it’s time for babies!!💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻

Today, Mike left the farm for a bit to help a friend. He gave me a head’s up that he was pretty sure it looked like Nat was prepping to have her calf soon. It was nice the girls were in the Shire by our house. I checked on them every hour or so. It wasn’t long and I saw an extra face in the grass…😍

Once Mike returned, we got the fences ready and started the routine of bringing the calf and mama to the milking barn.

We decided to name him Gary, in honor of one of our friends who is recovering from a very serious surgery. Lord willing, he’ll be well enough to come out and visit his namesake before the summer is over.🙏🏼

Plan B involved calling Michael. He was home from work, so Mike asked if he wouldn’t mind bringing the 4wheeler over, lifting Gary up onto it, and then helping to drive Gary to the barn. We’re grateful he was willing to help, and Mike was especially happy he didn’t need to carry this calf!😬

<Click here to read about Nat’s calf from last year.>

<And here if you’d like to read about when Nat was born.>

Then Mike & I went back to bring Nat over for a milking. We figured she’d be at the back of the pack so everyone would make the trek, and we were right, lol.😏

Now that the dust has been blown off the blog, I look forward to writing more updates as babies arrive.☺️

Wow, Lord. What a perfect day to bring our first calf of 2021. Thank You for giving us this opportunity to be here and capture pictures of life on this farm. Continue to prepare us for what is to come, and may we never cease to be amazed at how You orchestrate every detail, always.✝️❤️🙏🏼

Current tally: 1 boy. Lord willing, 4 more calves to go!