Adventure in Cows: Part 1

I decided to call this part 1 since I am all too sure that there will be MORE adventures.

 

This last September we got a dairy cow. Pip is an A2A2 casein protein Jersey. She came from my friend Erin that owned a local Organic raw dairy. Erin made me an offer that I couldn’t refuse, and we decided to sell half our miniature dairy goats for a dairy cow. She had been bred to a beef bull 6 moths prior to moving to our house so we were expecting to milk her for about a month and then give her a “dry time” for 2 months before her calf was born. This dry time is needed to produce mammary tissue and be a good dairy cow.

Well…. As per the usual in the land of Nielson, things were not as they were supposed to be.

 

Pip’s milk was about half as much as she normally gave, had no cream and went sour within hours of being milked. It was weird. About a week into milking her, despite trouble shooting for mastitis, acidosis and other problems that could lead to decreased milk production, her milk turned pink! This meant that there was blood in her milk. We got some herbs for mastitis, treated her and hoped that was the issue. NOPE. Colt’s mom and step-dad came out for a visit and made a comment about how our cow looked like she was going to “drop a calf any day”. He assured them that she was over 2 months from her due date.

 

Erin messaged me about all the cows she had that were having calves WAY before their determined due dates…. She said that she had a young bull running with her cows (9months ago) for about a week that was apparently getting busy. I asked her if there was any way that Pip was exposed to him and farther along than previously thought …. Causing the funky milk.  She asked me some questions about Pip’s lady parts, and we determined that… yikes! We were about to have a calf. That day was the last day Pip was milked.

 

I had a nice stretch of 5 days off. I went out and spent time with Pip every day, we prepared for her to have her calf. I told her to go ahead and have her baby while I was home. Like she had a choice, ha! Monday, October 7^th around 11am Colt text me while I was a work to let me know that Pip was acting very funny and he thinks she might be in labor. FRICK! About an hour later, little Mooana (named by Benson) was on the ground. She was a perfectly healthy, full term JERSEY heifer. I missed the whole thing. Colt was in absolute AWE that on our property, OUR cow had a baby! Pip never filled up with milk like dairy cows do because of the lack of dry time. We got no extra milk for that first week.

 

Once Mooana was two weeks old, we built a separate stall for her to sleep in next to Pip so that we could start milking mama in the early mornings and then reuniting them. ITS BEEN SUPER FUN MILKING A COW AT 0600 EVERY MORNING FOR THE LAST MONTH.  I have gotten anywhere from 1 quart- 1 gallon of milk from Pip with a half inch cream line…. No butter for us. Mooana gets all the cream. For the last week, I have tried to bring mama and baby out to the milking parlor together and Pip has given more milk but not more cream…. Tricksy cow. BTW…. This means that we (I) am dragging DRAGGING Mooana out of the cow pen, across the yard to the parlor area and hooking her halter up to a lead that is tied to a tree right next to mama. This occurs between 0500 & 0600 every day. Mooana thinks that it’s fun to be dragged by a human that only outweighs her by about 50 pounds. Maybe I will have one of the boys record this process for your entertainment. Maybe later in my life I will find it entertaining as well.

 

I am silly determined to calf-share. This means, that Pip and Mooana don’t feel the pain of us humans drinking Pip’s excess milk. After I milk in the morning, they spend the day together, Mooana gets plenty of milk (CREAM) and sleeps in a stall right next to Mama but can’t sneak any late-night snacks. I only have to milk once a day and get enough milk (but not cream) for our family. We also milk two of our mini dairy goats once a day and get about half a gallon of milk between the two of them. Basically, I am sacrificing butter for cow-harmony. The downfall is that Mooana will need some extra attention (dragging around) before she trust us humans are her friends.

 

Today I milked all the milk I could and then released Mooana to nurse on half of Pip’s udder while I held on to two teats for myself. After several seconds, I started milking and whoosh! Cream! Can’t wait to get home to inspect that cream line!

 

The “Struggle” is Real

I should probably get started on these blogposts I have promised. I will warn you, I WILL use this as a platform to spew. Like a journal… It’s my space to spew love or sadness or disgust and there’s no telling whats a spewing!

I would like to clarify that this blog is for me. I want to document this amazing thing happening to me. Or FOR me.

I am happy if my thoughts spewed into a blog help or appeal to anyone that reads them but really, I want to look back and see how this transformation happened. I am already in awe looking back at how very different I was only 5 years ago.

Today I am mother of six, wife to one, farmer, teacher, nurse and I am striving to discover all of ME.

I still work full time. I don’t hate that I work. But I don’t love it that I HAVE to. If only my little farm could offer some sort of financial break so that I am not constantly paycheck to paycheck. Apparently, that’s the process I am to endure. Or perhaps that is the victimhood I keep myself in… I haven’t quite figured that one out yet. I am trying to minimize the number of animals I have. I am still veryattached to all the boys so I can’t bring myself to sell any of them… that’s a joke! Perhaps insensitive… but still a joke! Anyone that knows me knows that I want to spend 24/7 with all my family. I never want them to be away from me or me from them. It’s crazy, I’m sure.

I do hate the model of today’s western healthcare (sickcare). I feel a call to heal and being a nurse doesn’t do that. Being a nurse, I am just making money. I am just showing up and doing what I am told to do and try to help people think I am making them better. But, I’m not. I know that and it hurts a little. They don’t know. They aren’t aware that this system keeps them sick and sucks the life and soul out of them. The doctors don’t know it either. That makes me angry. How can they not know?! How can they enter this profession, accrue all that debt and then not know that they are making people MORE sick? Or sick in different ways. It’s all just too bad. At the end of the day. We need this stupid substance called money to fuel the lives we think we have. Seriously… what in the fuck are we actually doing here.

Well, I need money to feed my children and farm animals. To pay my bills and pay the bank back for “my” house. So for now, I will continue to do what I am doing. I have made strides in the right direction. Yes, I work for the federal government so that’s weird. I quit working critical care. That was a big change and I didn’t see the positivity it would bring into my life as it was happening.  I was able to transform my nursing career into my nursing job which is exactly what I needed to do to see that what I want is to get out of it! Ha! I have since been able to stop working nights which was killing my physical body and inhibiting me from performing optimally for my family on my days at home. That’s HUGE. I almost, ALMOST got another job in nursing administration and that might have been catastrophic. For the first time in my adult life, I interviewed for a position and didn’t get it. That stung. But NOW I see, and I am so grateful of how things are today. Things are the way they should be. That’s my mantra lately and it’s an ok one for my life right now. I don’t need huge shifts or changes for my joy to continue to abound. I just need to be. Be as I am right now, with things the way they are.

I have earned the right to blog!

Time is a funny thing. When viewing someone else’s blog the other day I reminisced on the time I tried to be a blogger.... I thought, "I SHOULD BE A BLOGGER NOW!" I thought my life was so exciting that I should blog about it… Or perhaps so ordinary that others might find comfort in my life…. Or perhaps I was attempting to stay connected to those in my life that are physically so far away but emotionally stay within my heart.

Oy! It’s been OVER 5 YEARS since my last blog post. Just before Benson boy was born, I posted. Who was that woman? That strong, amazing woman that posted 5 years ago? I know her, I love her! Yet, she is not me. In short, I have transformed COMPLETELY 3 times since that last post. Let me write about all those times. … Some other time.

For now,  in short:

My wages were garnished 25% from an old student loan.

WORK MORE!

Benson was expected. Short, lovely birth that opened my eyes to what MY BODY is truly capable of doing. *

Directly after he was born,  I returned to work, I took a Supervisor position in the CCU: I. Worked. Too. Much. *

Paid off that debt. Finished my BSN. Moved to a new rental place in Phoenix in April 2015. Fun Pool!

Colt got sick. Very sick. Crohns, Valley Fever, it was ugly. Several scary experiences setting us on a different healthcare journey. *

Milo was NOT expected.

The FIFTH son, made me start thinking about the kind of life I wanted for My Boys.

Milo the angel baby. Love at first sight. Eye opening hospital birth experience. *

We went and looked at some places to buy…. To start a little FARM!

Good bye Phoenix and JCL that I loved so much, Hello Chino Valley and YRMC. Hello HOME.

Chickens, Cats, Dogs, Goats, Ducks, Lonnie! Wait, what?! OOPS.

Yes, Lonnie. My little farm baby boy. Born at home. Opened my intuition. Quieted my ego. So. Much Soul. *

Goodbye ICU nurse. Hello Federal Employee.

Dragons, Pigs, Cow….NOW.

I think I have earned a blog.

1 Partner. 6 Boys. 3 Dogs. 3 Cats. 2 Dragons. 30 Chickens. 10 Ducks. 7 Goats. 3 Pigs. 1 Cow.

*Blog post to come in the future!

Hi There!

Well hello my blog fans! Have you missed me? Well I'm here, for now. I will never stay gone forever, there is a real blogger deep down inside of me, there really is! Instead of a lengthy posting to try and catch everyone up on what I haven't been blogging about, I uploaded pictures from my phone that I have had since last September. I have 30 days until the newest Nielson is due so I hope to figure out how to be a better blogger between now and then.  

My pregnant face after getting betamethasone steroid injections to help baby boy's lungs mature incase he has to come early.

Brother pile

Pigeon a few days after the Boys brought him home...

Pigeon now

Damen and Athan playing flag football, and being great team players!

Canoing at a wildlife expo. They both were naturals!

Ahhh Lake Pleasant

What do I have to do to get a decent picture?

Calvin and his favorite lady riding a huge rocking horse at the ren fest

Visits from Aunt Hayley and Uncle Dugan are always a blast!

He is far too wise to only be 8. But definately silly enough to be 8 for a LONG time!

Brothers making Christmas Cookies

Lucy kitten adopted us October 2013.

Cousin fun. Until the tape has to come off.

Riding a camel at Zoo lights

The first and probably last year that they let me coordinate their Halloween costumes.

RIP spike the Tortise. We found him in out front yard, and brought him in for saftey. But, Darla thought he was a cool toy:(

Pre-pregnancy(kinda) October 2013

They are always so sweet when the girls are over

Backyard club

Hiking Thunderbird park

These are my most favorite people on the planet!

Colorado in September

Our nice little trip without the boys to Valacito Lake in Colorado

Colt and Kevin Kayaking on Valecito Lake Sept 2013

Colorado Sept 2013

Calvin is 3!



 Calvin turned 3. I don't know how it happened or who gave him permission, but he did it. As if I were surprised, this little prince was an EXPERT bithday boy! All the way from talking his way into playing video games to deciding that his bithday should be spent at his fav-or-ite person's house, to throwing a temper tantrum when we all wanted to share his cake with him. We wouldn't want this sour patch kid to be any different. I collaborated a few photos for memories on what this kid is like. We were able to successfully potty train him before his bithday but it wasn't easy. A boy this cute=smart knows how to talk his way out of being trained to do anything! Calvin continues to be an absolute joy, bringing a smile to the face of whomever he is around. Thanks for another year.

Yes, I made this cake. I am rather impressed with myself about it.

Loves his daddy! And his daddy's phone.

Those moments they don't know you are watching:)

"Mom, take a picture with me"

Bird house painting on Easter with brothers

"MOM! AM I FLOATING? AM I?!"

Getting his shirt eaten by a goat at the zoo

Taking a little ride in the lift at the zoo

Jester at the Ren Faire

Riding a jet ski with Daddy at Lake Pleasant

Hanging out with daddy in the bed



First haircut. Didn't regret this one. Regretted the second one. Don't know if there will be a third...



Swinging is his favorite. Careful if you take this kid to the park, you will be stuck pushing him on the swings.

We call him "sour patch kid" for reasons such as these. He is super sour plugging his ears but seems so sweet doing it doesn't he?

Aunt Hillary or "Hirry" is his all time favorite person. I sometimes wonder if Calvin thinks she should have been his mom.



Practicing Football at brother's football practice



Bithday Boy! Minion outfit.

Just try to say no to this kid