Wash Rags....the things that jog your memory.

This past weekend I was on my hands and knees wiping the fine dust off the wood floors we had just sanded. It was the cheap, fairly thin, cotton rags I was using that reminded me of my childhood on the farm. So I was temporary transported back in time to the milk barn.

Cows are ready to "let-down" their milk at the same time twice a day.
The first step in milking is to clean the cow's teats with a wash rag kept in a pail with warm water and bleach or iodine solution. This is to wash off any dirt and manure before attaching the milking machine. But wait, you can only wash as many cows as you have milking machines. Washing relaxes the cow and she is now ready to give her precious cargo. If you get too far ahead (which an eager youngster is apt to do) the cow's milk will start leaking onto the floor.

Milking Time

I was reminded by a post Straight From The Teat at Making Love in the Kitchen that drinking raw milk is something the not everyone gets to experience. We drank raw milk from our Jersey cows and skimmed the cream off to make butter and whipped cream. We drank it skimmed in order to use all the cream. It tastes just like any good pasteurized milk. I love cold milk. I think there is nothing more refreshing. I recently read that milk has more electrolytes that sports drinks. WOW!
The picture above is of my father at the end of the day's milking. He is pour milk out of a "bucket Milker" This process of getting the milk into the bulk tank to cool was modern in it time. Shortly after this photo was taken we installed a stainless vacuum pipeline system.

Photo from Surge Web site.

Reminded of my graduation.

Our daughter is graduating this year from high school on June 13th. It just doesn't seem possible.
It was just yesterday that I was a wise 18 year old, smarter than my parents and ready for everything....well actually 28 years ago, YIKES!!@@#!@$#

Graduation Day 1981

My steers were named Clyde & Derrick after grandfathers. That's me with Derrick on the day I graduated from high school. I had to wrangle him before getting dressed for the big event. They were big and gentle and could lean their way through any fence meant to keep them in. They never wandered far. After graduating I worked for a year at Idlenot Dairy in the office doing accounting. Merlin the CEO told me I needed to go to college...so I applied to NH College the next fall and we sold Clyde and Derrick to help with tuition.

My parents

This is my father and the working end of an Ayrshire Cow.My mother harvesting tomatoes with the milk-house behind her.