Ella has arrived!
The first day of milking went about as I expected. A quick recap:
We put the feed in her trough and she jumped right in. She didn't seem to mind us milking her at all. What she did mind, however, was the horsefly that bit her. That was how we lost our first gallon of milk.
She didn't cotton to that second horsefly either. That was how we lost our second gallon of milk.
The third horse fly? Well, that one only cost us about a half gallon of milk.
So, getting wise to her distaste for horseflies, I started snatching the pot out from under her the instant I saw her twitch. So the fourth go saw us milking merrily along and then at about the 20 minute mark, ol girl said, "Y'all done."
And you know, when a 1400 pound girl decides that she don't want her teats fondled no more, there ain't no whole lot one can do.
So, after straining the trash out of the milk, we ended up with a grand total of a scant quart.
I talked to a friend who has milk cows and he told me about the anti-horsefly spray we should have used. A horsefly spray I will own before the sun sets again. He also told me how he milks into a cup and, when full, pours that into a larger bucket kept safely out of reach of his cows' hooves. So, hopefully, tomorrow will see us a little more organized and perhaps we might end the day with enough milk to make a respectable pone of cornbread.
"Solve world hunger, tell no one." "The, the, the . . . The Grinch!"
"If you can't beat them, bite them."