So the New Year rolls around and I find myself continuing here in Texas. New Years 2009 one year ago, I never would have imagined i’d be where I am now; the person I am now. But i’m back in Collinsville after a trip back to Columbus, OH for the holidays to see family and friends – it was a nice break since it had been so long since I had been back; lots of memories. Especially memories of the cold weather. Ironically though, TX is having one of the coldest winters in a long time so I wasn’t spared the winter…

On the upside of that this is turning out to be a good time for me to learn how things work around here, in preparation for the busy spring, summer, and fall months. When all the kids come, the milking swings back into full production, the strawberries and rest of the garden explodes – I’ll hopefully know what to do by then so these people don’t have to waste their time telling me what to do while I follow them around. When I think about all that we’ll be up to, it really will be busy so i’m excited for it.

I’ve been learning a lot about dairying and farming and work in general I suppose. Before I never would have imagined there was this much work involved in running a dairy (or a farm for that matter). Sure you hear it’s hard work, but the money and time and energy that needs to be consistently invested in staggering.. but hopefully worth it, definitely not for the unmotivated or idealistic.  More and more I can see my future and what I would like it to look like, but I’m also seeing that in order to make it happen, I need to let go of a lot of things – a lot of bad habits, etc

With the cold weather a whole new dimension of life here has unfolded. The livestock need somewhere dry and out of the wind for shelter, the water in the troughs need to be kept running or someone needs to go by and bust the ice a few times a day, a little extra feed put out, equipment looked after, hats and gloves put on… Apparently the strawberries over in FL, GA and the rest of the south (which have already set their blooms) are really getting wiped out by this cold weather. Some farms are able to get frost blankets, or sprinkler systems that coat the plants in ice and insulate them, but that can only do so much. Ours here should be ok as they have not yet bloomed. Another symptom of the cold (and of Alpine goats) is that our milk production is slowing waaay down. They are all ready to kid and mostly dried up, so we’re only getting about 2 gallons a day, compared to 15+ at full production. Some goats (Nubians) have year-long breeding patterns and so can milk through the winter, but not ours. It’s funny because this is the time of year people really want milk, next to a roaring fire with a plate of warm cookies and a book – and so on.