Shalali Infante and Pint-Size Farm, located in New Mexico, breeds miniature jerseys, Nigerian dwarf goats, and American Guinea Hogs shipping animals all over the U.S.

Irrigation day.

As soon as milking was done, I washed 3.25 pounds of butter.  Then I skimmed 8.75 gallons of milk for butter and clabber.  I made 4 qts of yogurt with the afternoon milking.

I was in charge of opening all the gates from the main ditch down to our little private ditch.  I didn’t have to do much, because someone used it in the morning, and just kept it running, so I just made sure it was in fact open all the way.  When I was finished, I turned management over to the neighbors, and I don’t know when it got shut down all the way.  Hopefully, it wasn’t too late.  During irrigation, a storm started coming in.  We also overflowed into the Apricot yard and the Old Chicken yard again.  I had the little truck loaded up and was able to kind of stay on top of it.  It was odd to be shoveling dirt to stop irrigation flooding in a rain storm.  Ah, the joys of living in New Mexico.

We had chicken and rice.

Milk Stats: We milked 7.06 gallons; Sally gave 25.4 pounds or 3.05 gallons; Janie gave 20.8 pounds or 2.49 gallons; Annie gave 12.7 pounds or 1.52 gallons; we collected 24 eggs or 2 dz.

I got the boys to load up the little white truck with dirt in anticipation for irrigating tomorrow.  They filled in all the trouble areas and then reloaded the truck in case we still needed it for leaks.

I went Swing Dancing at the Height Community Center.  Andre decided not to go, as he was still having some eye trouble from his migraine yesterday.

Milk Stats: We milked 6.83 gallons; Sally gave 24.8  pounds or 2.97 gallons; Janie gave 19.9  pounds or 2.38 gallons; Annie gave 12.4 pounds or 1.48 gallons; we collected 28 eggs or 2.33 dz.

It was very very very hot.  We put the boys’ box fan to blow on Penelope and the piglets, as it was just too hot.

Andre again drove us to and from Pansy’s for his algebra lesson.  While he was there, I picked up another box fan for the boys so we could just keep the one out in the barn there for the hogs.

We had left over chicken for dinner.

Milk Stats: We milked 7 gallons; Sally gave 24.4 pounds or 2.95 gallons; Janie gave 20.1 pounds or 2.45 gallons; Annie gave 13.1 pounds or 1.6 gallons; we collected 24 eggs or 2 dz.

We keep finding babies when we go out to milk in the morning.  Check back, I’ll add the details of the day soon.

So of course Penelope is a great mama.  We brought in some grass clippings from our pile from the landscapers so she could make a better nest for her babies.  We also had to take several baby breaks from our chores, so needless to say, we were very late finishing milking.  It is so hard to get anything done when there are such cute babies all over the farm.

We did bees.  We had the usual crew, Amy, Sonya, and Bethany.  Another couple came to see how the top-bar hives work.  They have the Langstroth hives and are wanting something simpler.  There was a lot of new honey and lots of half-capped honeycomb, but not much was ready to take.  We took 2 combs.  That will yield probably between 1-2 quarts.

I took a little nap before the afternoon milking.

I put in a chicken for dinner before going to milking.  After milking, I went and dug some potatoes for mashed potatoes.  Then I cut some greens (chard and kale) for dinner.  I made chicken gravy with the oil from the cooked chicken and the liquid from the simmering giblets.  I also made the cream o’ root vegetable soup I made for my cousin last week who was in the hospital.  The only improvement I made was to saute the beets and carrots in bacon grease.  A friend/shareholder was picking up her milk around dinner time, so I asked her to stay for dinner.  She put all the 10 pounds of dehydrated carrots into a 1/2 gallon jar for me (yes they shrunk that much).

After dinner, Kyle, Sweete, and I dug potatoes.  It wasn’t easy, and there wasn’t the yield I had expected.  The end we started on didn’t get enough water at first, so I’m hopeful that as we work back, the yield will increase.  We got eaten by mosquitoes!!!!  ARGH!

Milk Stats: We milked 6.72 gallons; Sally gave 23.3 pounds or 2.82 gallons; Janie gave 19.8 pounds or 2.39 gallons; Annie gave 12.5 pounds or 1.51 gallons; we got 24 eggs, or 2 dz.

Sweete milked this morning and called us to tell us there was a new baby kid out there

We planned to put the cows back out on pasture (they’ve been restricted to the barn yard as we irrigated on Sunday, and we need to wait until the pasture dries out a little so they don’t tear it up), but the grass has not grown enough.  This heat is stunting growth.

I covered the passenger seat on the Milk Lorry with a feed sac.  I’ve been having Dante drive it as much as possible so that he can learn about handling a vehicle.  Well the seat is black and burns my legs every time I sit on it.  So, now it has a nice new white cover.

After milking, I folded the cow laundry on time (the towels we use to wash down the udders).  Usually, I wait several days, using the towels out of the laundry bin and putting the dirty ones on the floor until I get them folded.

I jarred the honey from last weekend.  We got over 1.5 gallons.  I also melted down and filtered the bee’s wax.  I need to take some to Pansy, so I can get some more udder butter.  She uses it in the salve she makes for me to use on the cows’ udders at milking.

I put back together the fridge in the barn, the one that died in the milk room.  It was cooling a little bit, and the freezer still worked.  I hope it will keep cool enough to keep the carrots from rotting out.  I also thought Dante could keep his goats’ milk in that freezer.  We’ll see how it goes.  It was like putting together a puzzle.  Both my father and I took it apart, so I had no memory of how it all came apart and therefore had more trouble putting it back together.  I had to manufacture a piece, as we must have lost it.  I had to be creative, but finally got all those #%^^ doors back on and sealing.  It’s turned on and hopefully will stay cold enough for the carrots and probably some lacto-fermented stuff.

Sweete milked in the afternoon.

We had left over lasagna and some cut up tomatoes (first from the garden) and some cucumbers that a shareholder brought.

Milk Stats: We milked 6.55 gallons; Sally gave 22.5 pounds or 2.71 gallons; Janie gave 19.9 pounds or 2.39 gallons; Annie gave 12 pounds or 1.44 gallons; We collected 24 eggs or 2 dz.

I woke up at 4:30 am to have a video chat date with David who was just going to bed.  I ended up going to bed much later than I planned because of my visiting last night.

Sally continues to improve.  I’m giving her nutritional yeast and some sucanat to stimulate her appetite.  She is like a junkie when it comes to that stuff.

I took a nap.  I got maybe 30 minutes of sleep and that was quite helpful.

I tied up the tomatoes to the trellises with strips of old T-shirts. I also weeded the tomatoes.  There was a lot of amaranth growing taller than the tomatoes.  I fed the weeds to the pigs.  There were 3 ripe tomatoes!  the first.

We went to my parents’ for dinner.  They made burgers and beans and wonderful ice-cream parfaits.  Yummy.  Andre drove us there and back.

I gave buttercup a bath tonight with me.

Milk Stats: We milked 6.89 gallons; Sally gave 25.3 pounds or 3.02 gallons; Janie gave 19.7 pounds or 2.35 gallons; Annie gave 12.7 pounds or 1.52 gallons; we collected 26 eggs or 2.17 dz.

Andre got registered for his next semester at CNM

Sally is doing better and better.  She still has a lot of gas; she has been farting a lot and long.  Fortunately, I don’t notice any smell.  Dante says he does, but I think he just expects to smell something to go with that sound.

After milking, Andre drove us to Pansy’s for his Algebra lesson.  I stayed there and actually fell asleep on the couch during their lesson.  He also drove us home.

We went to the bank as all of us had to make deposits.

I washed 3 pounds of butter.  Then I skimmed 8 gallons of milk.

Uncle Kenneth came by and gave Andre another driving lesson.

For dinner I made lasagna with homemade ricotta and mozzarella.  It was tasty.

After dinner, I went out with Bethany to Applebee’s for margaritas.  When I got home, Chris was just finishing up consulting with Amy & Colby and came to get their milk.  He and Amy brought some beers and we all stood around the milk room visiting and drinking a beer.

Milk Stats: We milked 6.75 gallons; Sally gave 20.9 pounds or 2.52 gallons; Janie gave 22.5 pounds or 2.71 gallons; Annie gave 12.6 pounds or 1.52 gallons; We collected 24 eggs or 2 dz.

Here are more e-mails sent to share holders to fill you in.

This was sent  yesterday mid-morning.

Sally Jo is home now. They don’t know what is wrong with her. I am getting a second opinion from another vet who specializes in dairy cows; he’ll be here around 5:00 pm. My options thus far are: (1) open her up to see what the doctor felt and if anything can be done about it (2) wait and see (3) take her to Colorado State University. So, maybe I’ll know more after this doctor examines her.

She seems to feel a little better, but you can just tell that she doesn’t feel well. I think she has a stomach bug. The vet said that what she felt might have been gas inflamed bowel, so she may not have anything in her, which would be good.

She definitely doesn’t have a DA, which is a huge relief. As soon as this vet examines her, I’ll update y’all.

This was sent last night

The dairy vet just left.  Sally is going to be okay.  He believes she has rumenitis (stomach upset) and that she will continue to get better.  She does have an incidental mass outside of her gastrointestinal tract, (what the other doctor felt might be lymph nodes, a mass, or inflamed bowel), that he believes is an old abscess from possibly a punctured rumen that caused an abscess and healed and now is a bunch of lumpy scar tissue.  He does not feel that it is active and feels that she could have had that for years.  He checked in all the places where her lymph nodes would be inflamed, and they were not.

He also put bands on Claire’s horns so that they will fall off in about 2-3 months.

He also didn’t charge me a dime.  He said he didn’t know how to charge for this, as this is not how he makes his living.  He works for all the dairies, not individual cows.  I told him that I wanted to be able to call on him again if I needed to.

“You’ll feel a little bit guilty then,” he said.

“What about a pie?” I asked.

“I’ll definitely take a pie next time”

“And ice-cream,” I added, “I make a pretty damn good ice-cream with all that fresh cream and eggs.”

“I bet you do.”

I cut some vent holes in the loafing shed and put hardware cloth over them to keep the goats and pigs in.  It helped immensely to have airflow through there.  I got little pieces of metal in my arms and legs, but I did wear safety goggles so none of the metal ended up in my eyes.

I discarded Sally’s milk to the piggies since it had the medication in it. It will be okay to drink in the morning.

Milk Stats: We milked 5.42 gallons; Sally gave 13.4 pounds or 1.61 gallons; Janie gave 20.3 pounds or 2.45 gallons; Annie gave 11.3 pounds or 1.36 gallons; we collected 25 eggs or 2.08 dz.

Here is an excerpt from an e-mail I sent out to my herd-shareholders about Sally Jo who suddenly got sick today.

This morning she was her usual self.  When we went out to milk this afternoon, she didn’t eat any hay and she wouldn’t let me milk her.  She kicked, moved around, laid down, and even stepped in the bucket.  She was having spasms of pain and would hunch up and curl up her lip.  She acted like she wanted to lay down more than stand, and she would stick out her legs and stretch out her neck when she had the spasms.  She also had some diarrhea.  Her temperature was on the high end of normal.  I called the vet and they recommended bringing her in.  At the vet’s office, they did an internal exam and felt either a foreign body or a tumor.  They checked her for a displaced abomasum, DA, or twisted gut.  She was negative for that, but the trailer ride into the vet’s office could have given a false negative because it jostled her up.  They check for that by tapping her sides and listening for different kinds of sounds with a stethoscope.  They ran blood work, and everything is fine, her CBC is normal and her liver and kidney functions are normal (all good signs).  So, they kept her over night so they can check again to see if what they felt has moved (then it would be a foreign object, hopefully working its way out of her digestive tract) or to see if she is still negative for the DA after settling down from the trailer ride.  If it is a DA, there might be a surgical option (if the vet has enough experience, and it is caught early enough before gut tissues becomes necrotic).  The other option would be to take her to the Colorado State University where they have a veterinary school.  We’ll get the opinion of both vets on staff at the clinic where she is at in the morning before we make a decision.

Before we left to take her to the vet’s office, her spasms seemed to decrease in frequency.  At the vet’s office, right before we left, they gave her some alfalfa, and she tucked right into it, so she seemed to be feeling better.

My gut feeling is that she got a hold of a piece of garbage, i.e. plastic bag or feed sac or bailing twine, and is trying to work it out of her system and it is causing abdominal cramping.  I don’t think it is a tumor, as I believe we would have seen other signs of declining health, instead of our normal bright-eyed, shinny, happy, Sally Jo.  What I don’t know is if she will make it through this.  I certainly hope so and will do as much as I can to ensure that she does make it through, but blockages in the intestinal tracts of cows are often fatal.  It is very hard for me to write these words, but I’m trying to be realistic.  As many of you know, Sally Jo was my very first cow and is still my favorite.  She is the girl that got me to fall in love with cows.  I hope that she lives, and I also hope that she does not suffer.

I don’t have any milk stats right now.  Tomorrow, when I get the data entered, I’ll update this post.

Also, the swamp cooler broke today as well.  I also bottled the Kombucha

Milk Stats: We milked 6.13 gallons; Sally gave 18.4 pounds or 2.21 gallons; Janie gave 20.7 pounds or 2.48 gallons; Annie gave 12 pounds or 1.44 gallons; we collected 25 eggs or 2.08 dz.