The afternoons are spent in a series of gentle moves that culminate in The Milking. I put Naomi into the barn about 2pm. She just runs straight in every time. 
Her mother waits outside in the yards and we milk her about 5pm. I usually get about two gallons which is plenty for the house hold and the animals.
Sheila my big fat pig waits on the other side of the barn, with her feet in her water, hoping for a little left over milk.
The milking shed smells like essential oils, the floors are washed with lemongrass and peppermint oils mixed with water and a little Dawn (dishwashing liquid) to keep the flies out. I don’t know if theses oils actually do repel the flies but it smells just lovely. We make the oils ourselves so they are very strong and the scent lingers all day.
Aunty Del always comes in at milking time and watches from her pen. She likes to be part of the action and Our John brings her fruit. He always cuts the apple or pear into quarters and she does not give up searching for her treats until she has had all four pieces. Lady Astor refuses to eat fruit even when I cut them up small she will leave the apples on her plate.
I notice these things for you. When you see something of interest do you point it out to whoever is close to you. If you see a a hawk, or a deer, a helicopter or a funny looking cloud. A rabbit or a cat in a tree. A rainbow. A shadow. Simple things. Do you point and say hey look at that! And we really don’t mind who we are sharing this vision with. We can discuss it with a bank teller, or the girl at the check out. A friend or your beloved. Or the dog. We just need to feel the realness of a vision shared.
I remember when I first moved to America about eight years ago now, I saw a snake, a big one, in the compost heap. I screamed (as you would), threw the pitchfork away (as you do) , turned, tripped over the fence (literally), picked myself up and raced through the garden, up the steps and into the house to get my phone and call my daughter in New Zealand to tell her straight away that I had just seen a snake. I wasn’t afraid – I just wanted to tell her straight away.
As human beings we have a very deep need for someone else to see what we see. Feel that same delight. Connect. Maybe if someone else sees what we see it proves that we really are here and seeing what we are seeing. I would hate to be a figment of my own imagination. I don’t like to use the word share because it has been so overused in the blogging world. But we all do love to share what we see, it is a natural thing.
A good thing.
I am lucky because I have Camera House so I can share what I see with you every day. Maybe this is why blogging and commenting comes so naturally to many of us.
I hope you have a lovely day,
Your friend on the farm
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
55 responses to “Waiting for the Milking”
I do this too, point out things I notice, often to complete strangers who happen to be next to me. Sometimes they appreciate it, and sometimes they look at me as if I were bonkers, which makes me wonder what they DO see. Is it the same as what I see? But my “noticings” frequently wind up as Daily Gratitudes in my blog.
…. and the picture of the snake? 🙂 I would have beaten you to the house by half an hour! Miss C have you heard from ChicagoJohn recently? Laura
Yes – he is good – he is working on a cookbook for his darling Zia.. it is going to be magical!
At Last! I have had the time to sit down and catch up with you!! Planting, weeding, fencing tomatoes in and pesky rabbits out..even fenced in my rose bushes after walking out one morning and finding a rascally rabbit baby cheerfully denuding my beautiful-est David Austin rose bush!! We have had rain, rain, rain. 4 inches in 3 days last week… Now it’s cool with winds from the north….but everything is growing… I’m happy to catch up with you, Miss C
Sharing is the best thing – most of the joy of an experience is being able ot share it with someone and reliving the moment again.
Ah true.. mis cariños para tu marido… (for the big man!) .. c
Your Spanish is coming on a treat (thanks to the lovely Federico?)!
He he he
Linda andTerry are having very bad weather…does this weather pattern apply to your area as well.
love the pics of Naomi and who could fail to cherish Sheila, a pig with personality and heart
yes we are cold .. very cold for this time of year.. no snow though – goodness ..
Some how barns seem so close to a religious experience. It’s the light, the animals, and the daily rituals? (Do not mention the messy part. Not ignoring it, but all is a part of life.)
Who doesn’t run from a snake the first time? DIfficult to remember snakes will usually run away, too and you need to stand still and see which way they are headed so you don’t run the same way. A couple of funny stories about that…another day.
Hope you have a spectacular day
OH NO! I never thought of that.. both of us running shrieking in the same direction!.. c
Happens. My dad used to yell at us kids all the time as standing still is definitely against instinct. You reminded me of a very funny snake story I’ll have to write about. We didn’t have indoor plumbing – but finally a outdoor faucet where you could attach a hose from a bamboo wrapped elevated platform that functioned as a shower and I was turning the water off and on in the yard as dad was rinsing off…then there was the large rat snake leaping and chasing two smaller snake…towards the shower. I shrieked and ran for the porch steps. Dad yelled “but which way did they go?”….
you can imagine.
Snake stories! And crazy scaredy cat humans! Yep! Have one of those! I once spent three years dealing with very little muscle control in my legs. To strengthen them I would go for short walks behind our house in the hay field. One early spring day I was feeling very pleased at managing about a 50 metre distance from the house … when to my GREAT dismay I realized I was standing in a ball of snakes!!! (In our area snakes curl up in balls in places like ground hog holes. They they wake up at different times … so one or more of the bigger ones drag the curled up mess of snakes up the tunnel and out into the sunshine. It takes them a while to wake up. And in the meantime they are all tied up in knots in a ball!!) Well – what I DID know about my legs was that a good shot of adrenalin or over doing my attempts at speed DROPPED me like a rock on the ground. I stood there WILLING my scaredy cat self to take deep breaths and NOT fall down to face the whole tangle up close and personal! I made it – they made it … and ever since I keep a wide berth from that ground hog hole every spring!! Ha!
God! What a story.. how terrifying and very very memorable.. phew.. and thank you I had no idea snakes lived in balls down gopher holes.. mercy
Whoa. That sounds like the scene from the creek episode of Lonesome Dove. (Shiver)
I agree that we all have a deep need for someone else to see what we see, or indeed a need to be needed. I think that my living alone with no relations for over 125 miles, is why I reach out and share so much online. As I have always said, on days when I cannot go out, the world comes in to me through my laptop. That same laptop allows me to walk through your meadows, celi and into the barn to enjoy the animal sounds, and watch the wonders of new life as it happens.
Philosophermouse, I’m looking forward to funny stories about snakes. Sounds like oxymorons to me. The sight of a snake Emily said it well–zero at the bone.
But lizards, chameleons –I think are pretty cute. I can’t bear the way snakes slither. I want them to have feet like everybody else.
And Sheila’s photo is sooooo heartbreaking.
I am forever outside looking, looking, looking. I am also almost always back in the house with “come see……” Last summer I think my family actually tired of watching fledgling Great Horned Owls learning to hunt in our pasture. I would sit outside until my eyes could no longer make out their shapes at all. My DD is back from college (finally!). She and I are co-mingled souls as far as the outdoors. She found me yesterday to implore me, “Come see the baby praying mantis!”. (((sigh)))
There you are then! Darling Daughter! c
I bet home made essential oils are simply gorgeous!
I agree – things are better when shared with someone else. Thank you for sharing your lovely stories and photos. 🙂
The oils we make seem to have a fuller scent and last longer in the soaps.. I need to use less .. it is great.. c
On that note, I must tell you I saw crows fishing in the Fraser River Sunday morning. They were catching fingerlings at the water’s surface and bringing them back to the quae to eat. I had never seen that before.
You are so right about humans needing to share. It is a basic human instinct, I think. And you are right about it being a primary motivation for some of us who blog. It has always been my number one reason. I’ve never heard of a barn smelling of lemon grass and peppermint! What a delight! Although I love the smell of hay too.
Yes, add the hay and the birds and the heat of sun on old wood and some nice fresh manure.. all good!
Dear One, At the behest of a dear friend, I started reading you daily some two or so months ago and I must admit that while your offerings a gentle, it doesn’t take that long for my love for you to grow. Keep writing. I am sure that your observations are having a beneficial effect on your readers. Gayle in Sacramento, California.
That is so kind Gayle.. thank you for such lovely words.. c
Correction: “While your offerings ARE gentle, it DIDN’T take…”
My two most favorite scents, lemon grass and peppermint! I mix a few drops of one or the other in a mix of 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup olive oil, loveliest body scrub ever! I, too, am a noticer. It seems there’s always and ever something nifty to see outdoors. For my John and I not a day goes by without a ‘come see’ or a ‘did you see?’ or a ‘lookit that!’. All wonderful things to be tucked away and taken out later and dwelt upon. I’m surprised I don’t get run over by a truck or tractor when I’m out on my walk!
I once almost crashed my car when I was driving down a street on a hot day and a very handsome pedestrian took off his shirt, just ripped it up over his head as he walked.. merciful heavens.. talk about being run over by a truck!