Yesterday evening was the first of the gatherings. 
Beautiful Daughter arrived on time and within hours had hijacked the dog and walked to two local dairies looking for her favourite dip ingredients.
Sops had been dreaming of this Kiwi dip for days and could not settle until she had found the ingredients, mixed it up and popped it in the fridge to cool.
She made her dip by mixing dried onion soup, reduced cream and a spark of vinegar. And we snacked on this while the oven did it’s thing. 
Mama was snapped snapping: 
The shot is of the cutting of the hot bread. 
This is home made bread and Mama’s Meat Loaf. All the meat loaves were topped with piles of New Zealand Tasty cheese. The Original version has swathes of tomato sauce and yellow mustard on top of the cheese and the New Improved is topped with lashings sweet thai chilli sauce. It goes without saying that my children started with the original. We also had a beetroot and feta salad, that was eaten so fast no pictures exist!
The evening proceeded with loud chatter and laughter the way all these family gatherings do. Our plates, that excited so much attention only minutes before, were cleared of food, refilled, cleared of food again and then left where they lay as we talked on into the night. 
And as both my sons work in the film industry and are pretty mean photographers themselves, Camera House was passed around with the wine and the photos, and the images deteriorated into a fairly honest unfocussed mellow documentation of the evening.
Good morning! Now for some news of The Farmy.
Everything seems to be going according to plan except for Daisy. Over the days since I have left the Farmy Daisy’s behaviour in the milking parlour has deteriorated to the point where she would not let the Milkers or John milk her at all. She has been hurling herself about the room, kicking and carrying on and generally putting her health and the safety of my people in danger. I kept thinking she would settle down but yesterday John was unable to milk her at all. So I told him to call the breeder and, yesterday evening, after she had milked her own cows, she came over with an anti kicking device and milked Daisy dry taking 32 pounds of milk from our bad tempered cow. (Usually we get 20 pounds each time)
John called it miraculous. I shall talk to Our John again today and hopefully get him to send me a picture of this device. The irony of this does not escape us. I worked so hard on covering the milking with extra people, but did not anticipate this reaction from the cow herself.
Everyone else is behaving just fine, the pigs are still obediently trotting to and from their fields and the sheep are healthy. Kupa has been observed standing on top of the builders digger inspecting the worksite and they should be pouring the footings in the next few days. I did not ask how many eggs they are getting each day. Maybe I don’t want to know.
Today is my birthday in New Zealand so tonight I am roasting New Zealand lamb with a rosemary yoghurt crust, crunchy roast vegetables (all of them) and enormous salads! We will once more gather around the big oak table, that has been handed down through generations of my family and is resting with Fourth Son for this generation, pick up where we left off last night and talk the night away.
Have a lovely day.
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
100 responses to “The First Gathering and a Little news from the Farmy”
Happy, Happy Birthday and may they all be as happy as today’s! Naughty Daisy …. she’ll probably act up when you get back too 😉 Laura
naughty cow…daisy….All the hours you spent getting her used
to the milking routine obviously was necessary as it seems she
has noticed things are different and has given her opinion
about the change !! Nobody could milk Bossy but “Big Jim”
She’d kick the stool right out from under a stand in !!
I got tears in my eyes knowing you were celebrating your
BIRTHDAY with your kids !! Blessings !
I love old Bossy, often she does sound like daisy.. c
I almost feel we do not have to wish you a ‘happy birthday’: it’s going to be a magical one by default 🙂 ! Have a great time! Side issues: you DO make an unreal meat loaf: love the adddition of butternut & eggplant [I usually use carrot & zucchini] and the fact that you mix beef & pork: shall try by the weekend!! Oh Daisy: one child had to act up – did it have to be the heaviest one 🙂 !
yesterdays had carrot in it too in the absence of butternut.. morning Eha!! c
I hope you have a wonderful birthday there with your family!! I remember my Dad has a device that kept the cows from kicking when being milked. I remember 2 sort of U-shaped devices attached with a chain.
well I am looking forward to a picture.. c
Celi a million wishes for the most magnificent birthday with your New Zealand family. Poor Daisy, she misses you so. A billion hugs. V.
What a grand warm-up for a birthday! (Recalcitrant bovine or no.)
Happy Birthday and wishing that your family spoils you rotten!
Happy Birthday my dear, I hope you are duly celebrating! It looks like you are having a wonderful time with your family.
Happy Birthday, Celi! What a lovely way to celebrate with your family. So excited and happy for you.
Not surprised that Daisy is showing her frustration at the substitute milking arrangement. I’m sure she misses you!! Good call to get the breeder in at least! You do seem to have thought of everything 🙂
Happy birthday! Thank you so much for sharing this trip and so much of your life with us. I can hear the happiness and contentment in your writing voice. I look forward to your next post.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Dear Friend!. You can see you are loved here and there and all over the globe. What you are seeing, actually John is seeing is a cow that does not want to be milked by anyone but Momma. Cows have attachments, just like people. Gradually, she will settle down and then will adjust to normal.
Then you will return.
Now get ready for this……
She will have to adjust to having you back in the picture and it will probably be just as rough. Plan your transition of returning just as carefully and realize love is a mighty thing.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com
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Ah, wise words.. i will keep that in mind and go slow! thank you darling.. c
Happy NZ Birthday. Looks and sounds like you are having a grand time. Daisy will be fine..she knows you are gone and is showing the others her displeasure.. I know the milkers were looking forward to helping out…hopefully things will get better. Enjoy your family…the farmy is still there…at least we are still sending mail out there every day. 🙂
You might have some pretty big packages coming through soon too! c
I’ll be watching for them…
Happy Birthday! Now is a great time to be back in NZ if you like lamb. It’s very well priced these days. Cheap enough to buy even when it’s not your birthday 🙂
I don’t think I’ve ever had meatloaf? It’s not so common here in NZ, though I don’t know why, we love our mince.
The best laid plans, eh? I’m glad someone was there to help calm her down!
And, Happy Birthday in NZ, Celi! How wonderful to spend it with your children at home. Do we get to see the handed down table? I hope! ~Lynda
Birthday greetings from Pittsburgh PA!