After I wrote to you yesterday I pulled on my farm clothes and toddled out to let the cows into their milking antechamber. They are always there before me. Looking all solemn and disinterested. The Dairy Queens.Though the moment I open the doors they flow in like a squabbling theater crowd decked out in pearls and their grandmothers furs. I let them in early so they can think about milking, then I go off and fill three buckets with hot water while gulping down hot coffee made by Axel one of the Frenchmen – he makes the best coffee.
After Sam and I shuffle back and forth carrying the buckets of the water aand the milk pails for the milk and clean rags for the udders and the babies bottle for the baby by then everyone is good and ready. I like milking – I always have – when milking a cow it is important to do everything in the same order at the same time accompanied by the same chitter chatter in the same tone. Neither of the cows seem to mind the people being changed in and out as long as they all do the same thing.
Sam is the latest favourite handmaiden.
Lady Astor simply must have a handmaiden to keep her bowl filled with greens and grain, she does not like it all at once preferring it to be swept a little at a time towards her mouth with a hand brush. (We blame John for training her this way.) Aunty Del scorns the greens and prefers hay. She has no interest in being pandered to preferring to keep the handmaiden close by in case she should need something scratched. She stands quite still at milking time – not even a little shuffle. Aunty still hates to leave the milking shed – and has to be coaxed out the door by both the Milk-Maid and the Hand-Maiden. These terms are quite generic. My current HandMaiden is Sam the French Man.
I hide Talia around the corner so her mother cannot see her, though even when she does see her she is only mildly interested.
Talia does not mind –
She has plenty of attention.
I let her out into the barn racetrack when we are not milking so she can run about in and out of the empty pens, which she does. She is a tough character – very determined and growing like a weed.
Speaking of weeds I had better get the crew onto weeding the gardens. Today is Friday TiDay. Everything must be tidied back to the place it belongs. Everything has a home and back to its home it must go. Each job finished. The gardens in order. Stacked, scrubbed, returned, recycled, swept, mowed and trimmed. We work hard on Friday but it makes such a difference to the following week if we start off tidy and in order.
I hope you have a good day!
Love celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
27 responses to “Dairy Queens”
“Friday Tiday” … love it. Have a great day. Laura
Dairy Queens! How sweet. No doubt Aunty Del feels special in the milking parlour and wants to stay there forever 😉
Always good to have a tidy house. I say this to my husband when he has mislaid something..if you put things back from where you got them…you will know where they are next time you need to use it..but alas it falls on deaf ears
So true! I always hear my grandmother’s voice in my head saying “A place for everything and everything in its place.” And of course I share this with my husband as well, but it, too, always falls on deaf ears! 🙂
Same here, I’ve taken to intoning “where did you use it last?” every time he complains he can’t find something!
I love the idea of a Friday Tiday. There must be so much to do round the place, having a designated day for the tidy-up is a great plan. Miss Talia is looking very alert and glossy, with her huge dark liquid eyes. A pretty little girl, playing in the dairy and learning how the Big Mamas do it without realising it.
Friday Tiday is exactly what I am trying to do right now. My laptop has gone on-strike… so commenting might be light until it is sorted. Posts come through to my phone but the screen is small and I struggle a little. Enjoy an easy weekend.
Such beautiful cows!
The girls are all so beautiful. I can see Aunty and Lady wearing pearls and little hats perched between their ears. Talia is a beautiful calf
I do enjoy milking our goats as well. I’m the only goat girl around here, but it is quite easy. I lean against them as I sit and milk, or they lean against me. We chat and share secrets. Well, at least I do anyway! 🙂 The only drawback with milking is that your entire day must flow around the morning and evening milking times. 🙂 But the fresh milk makes it all worth it!!! xo
Nothing like being organized. Talia is a beauty.
That shot of Talia looking around the door is magic. Amazing.
I am wondering how you ever learned to be so organized, Miss C. And especially how to organize so many cows and bulls. And most incredible of all knowing how to keep them blue ribbon beautiful and healthy. Nevermind the pigs and fowl, and beloved dogs. Woofers. Husband! Acres of flowers and food! The list goes on.
Lady A is giving you quite the look there, with her ears drawn back, as if to say “Silly woman, put the damn camera down and get about the business of milking me. I cannot wait for my greens all morning.”
Yes! Solemn and disinterested. Cows often have that expression.
The calf is a stunning beauty!
Linda
Even though it’s fairly early for me to post, everything has already been said. So I say “Ditto”. Much love, Your Gayle