Happily Ever Homestead

It’s been a day. 😅

Two hours after Dolly was born, she tried to stand up and blood started pouring out of her navel. I’m not talking about a trickle of blood—I’m talking a puddle of blood within a few seconds. I instantly called good ol’ Paul R. because he’s on speed dial during my calving season.

He answers and says, “Well, if Bailey’s calling, it means we’ve got a situation on our hands.”

Shoutout to Paul for never hitting the ignore button when I call! 😂

Paul told me to get my butt in gear and tie the navel off or band it to stop the bleeding. I quickly dashed into the house and grabbed Molly’s tiny rubber-band ponytails.

At the same time, our best friends were pulling into the driveway.

As I’m running back to the barn, I yelled at my friend AJ and asked if he was in good clothes. He looked down at his outfit and shrugged his shoulders.

That was the only confirmation I needed.

“GET IN THE BARN! WE HAVE A CALF BLEEDING OUT!”

His response was an, “Oh sh*t!” but he hustled in behind me. 🤣

He held the calf down while I banded her navel off and stopped the bleeding.

We’ve gone back and forth with the vet today, sending updates and pictures. They decided that as long as Dolly is up, eating, drinking, pooping, and peeing, we’ll wait and see what happens.

As of right now, Dolly is doing ALL of those things. 🙌🏻

So we’re hoping she doesn’t have any internal bleeding and that this is simply a navel issue that will clot up and dry out.

I owe AJ a new pair of shoes because one is stained with blood.. i can handle that! It’s been one heck of a calving day, but today I am so thankful for the community I have been given who I can lean on. ❤️

We had a heifer this morning! Dot & Dolly. ❤️

Our first pure bred Jersey heifer since buying our bull in 2024!

A little heart-to-heart about our milk prices. 🤍🐄

Moving forward, the price per jar of milk will be increasing for new customers. ($5 per jar to $6 per jar). Our longtime customers will be grandfathered into their current pricing because you have supported our little farm for years, and that means more to us than you know.

Running a small dairy farm is expensive. Feed, minerals, vet care, breeding, testing, jars, equipment, repairs, fencing, electricity—and so many other things add up quickly.

One tote bag of dairy feed alone means I have to sell over 60 gallons of milk just to cover the cost of that tote bag.

And that’s just one expense.

I ordered a bulk tank to instantly chill our milk every day. I need to sell over 300 gallons of milk to pay for that.

We aren’t a large commercial dairy. We’re a small family farm, and every gallon matters. I’ve worked hard to keep our milk affordable, but I also need to make sure this farm is sustainable so we can continue doing this for years to come.

To everyone who has supported us along the way—thank you. Truly. Your support is a huge part of why we’re still here.

When you buy a jar of milk from us, you’re supporting our cows, our family, and all the work that goes into getting that jar into your hands. And we don’t take that for granted. 🤍🥛

This is literally what my dreams are made of, beautiful Jerseys headed to work! 😍

Jerseys get a bad reputation because they can be fickle. For example.. Dot on the left is over weight. Fern on the right is underweight. Both weights come with metabolic problems.. Dot wasn’t feeling good so she stopped eating. Fern wasn’t feeling good so she stopped eating. Sheesh.. Both cows were on the EXACT same pasture this summer so don’t ask me how one got fat and the other didn’t gain a pound. lol

Anywho, both girls ate their dinner tonight. PHEW. Dairy cows need lots & lots of calories. So not eating will make a dairy farmer sweat..

Stayed tuned.
It’s almost time to open the milkroom back up!

First calf has arrived! Another healthy bull calf.

For those of you that have been around for Fern.. you know last year she stole another cow’s calf. She stopped eating. She cried and cried for the calf because I kept them separated. After two weeks I gave up and let her co-parent. She was so obsessed.

I am so happy to give Fern the chance to raise her own baby this year. 🥹

We’re getting the girls all ready for calving! There is a transition period before the babies come. We have to switch their diet slowly, get used to getting back in the stanchion, etc.

Ferns due date is this
Sunday and then Dot is one week behind her.

WHO IS READY FOR MILK AGAIN?! 😍

Did you know this calf’s full name is Flash Flash Incredible Dash? Is it obvious he was named by the kids? But “incredible” is pretty fitting for this big boy.

Have your kids named an animal? Let’s hear them! Does anyone remember Rainbow King? That was a turkey we had that the kids named. 🫠

I know what you’re all wondering…

what happened to Bailey & her burn out?
Did she fall off the deep end and checked into a psych ward?
Or did she make it out and she’s frolicking around her wildflowers with no worries in the world?

The update is.. I’m floating around somewhere in the middle. Man, I feel like I can breathe again. Ive been able to tackle projects that felt like they were going to swallow me. Every day im slightly more productive than the day before. Ive started cooking again. Im not snapping at my kids everytime I turn around.

But wise enough to know that burn out doesn’t go away in 6 weeks. This is surface level so we will keep on trekking along. I also have a couple changes to the milkroom that should help in the future. I don’t have any calves on the ground yet, so not opening the milkroom this week! I’ll keep enjoying my time off for now.

As for Molly? She still has that third child syndrome. But I’ve weaned her on nursing a bajillion times during the night.. WIN! Now I need to kick her out of my bed.. Baby steps with that one. lol

Miss you guys! Thanks for letting me work on me for awhile. I’ll see you real soon.

Your local milkmaid. ❤️

Our Queen, Dot, is showing signs that she is near the end of her pregnancy! It’s time to bring her home and start preparing to be swimming in milk.

Dot is our highest producer. Last year she peaked at 8 gallons a day!

Because Dot is such a high producer and she’s an older cow, we will be on high alert when its calving time. Shes far more susceptible to metabolic problems than our other cows.

If you’re chomping at the bit to have our fresh milk again, September is almost here! I’m still thinking mid September but it will all depend on when the first calf hits the ground.