This shy, quiet farm kid, is Kevin’s best friend- Tyler.
When I say ”farm” I mean a real, working dairy farm. And by “kid”, I mean a 16 year old who does more work in one day than most full grown men do in a week.
I love Tyler and wish I could keep him, change his last name to Johnson and let him sleep in til noon for a whole year because when I see a kid work as hard as Tyler does, I can’t help but want to reward him with “Get out of work” vouchers, red Kool-Aid and M&M cookies.
There’s no place Kevin would rather be than on Tyler’s farm. There’s always machinery to be fixed, cows to be milked and hay to be baled. Mix in some dirt bikes and gopher hunting and you have heaven on earth for a boy.
At least for my boy.
So when I was dropping Kevin off at Tyler’s a few days ago, Tyler said “We had another calf born yesterday,” in the same tone you might use to say “So I see the sun came up again this morning.”
“WILL YOU SHOW ME????” I screeched in a pitch that hurt my own ears and sent two kittens running to their mothers for comfort.
You see, I’ve wanted to have a dairy cow for my family ever since we outgrew the ability to fit in a normal four-passenger car. I did the whole dairy goat thing. I pasteurized goat milk on my stove. I made goat milk soap and made goat cheese.
Unfortunately, goat milk sucks. It tastes like a barn smells. Period. The End.
But a Cow! Cow’s milk. Cow’s cream, Cow cheese and Cow butter… Do you have any idea how much potential there is in cow’s milk?
I do. I’ve thought about it for well over ten years and I’ve yet to convince Darren it was a good idea!
We have the land. We have the hands to help. We have the time. But for whatever reason (God only knows) Darren is worried that he would end up doing all the work whichissonottrue!
How does one convince their cynical, unbelieving spouse that buying a dairy cow is a good idea when it’s so blatently obvious that its the most brilliant idea ever?
I mean, come on. That little cow in Tyler’s arms? Well, she sucked on my fingers and followed me in the barn. And then, just when Kevin pried my arms from the calf’s neck so Tyler could get on with his day, she winked at me as if to say “You just keep working on Darren… even if it means making a public plea on the internet.”
That is one smart Holstein.
Tags: begging in public, cow, Life In My Shoes
July 4th, 2008 at 6:19 pm
Tell Kevin to remember to leave his shoes outside!!!
July 6th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
What a good looking, nice looking young man, that Tyler!!!! The picture reminds me of me, when I was young. I spent every summer until I was l6, on my grandparent’s farm, and I worked my butt off, too. That’s what I was there for—to help with chores. I milked cows, gathered eggs, weeded the huge garden (to this day, I hate gardening!) cleaned the troughs in the barn, behind the cows, and even drove the teams of horses at threshing time. Sure brings back memories–seeing that darling calf!!!
July 6th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Now, did I hear someone mention fresh cream, butter, and cheese? You see, I was just taking a nap, and I’m pretty sure I heard someone say fresh cream for the coffee, fresh butter for the Amish scones, and fresh cheese made from an Italian cousin I have that is still making it to this day, and I could get the recipe for you.
Do not misunderstand me, I would never DREAM of thinking that living only 8 miles away from a dairy cow would benefit me in any way, shape, or form. I mean, I can’t envision sitting down for a cup of coffee at a nice tablecloth, air conditioning, and fresh baked scones with home-made lemon butter on china. No, I can’t envision that at all.
Darren needs to go and sit at Tyler’s kitchen table and have his mama stir him up a fresh cup of coffee with cream, coupled with perhaps a butter biscuit, and THEN say “NO Molly for you!!!”
PSST, call me when the cream is on the table. :-)
July 6th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
Bill- No shit! LOL
Lois- I think if more kids had to literally work for their food there would be alot less time to get in trouble. I can be nostalgic about farming because I’ve only had a hobby farm at best. It sounds like you had a good dose of the real thing! I don’t blame you for not liking gardening. My kids are going to say the same thing when they grow up.
Kiki- We spent the day at Tyler’s house having a water balloon fight and BBQ’ing. There were baby cows, yearlings, bulls and of course, the milkers. It was like being in a Godiva store! Unfortunately when I stuffed the calf under my shirt as we were leaving, Darren noticed the bulge, tipped me upside down and shook me until the calf fell out and then forced me into the van while I screamed “Not without my Buttercup!! Not without my Buttercup!!”
It was altogether embarrassing.
But I’m not giving up. I’m asking God to give Darren an intense craving for homemade ice cream.
July 10th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
Ah, your comment on my previous post about the little Holstein makes so much more sense now that I’ve finally made it back here. I have no idea what your posts haven’t been showing up in my Google Reader. Did anything change on this end?
July 11th, 2008 at 11:47 am
Jeff- I have no clue about the google reader issue. Nothing has changed from this end. And isn’t that cow adorable? Though Kevin just informed me that it’s a steer and not a heifer. Suddenly my desire to milk it has vanished.
July 11th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
It’s very strange. I wasn’t notified of any of your new posts since your story about us. Maybe the reader realized there just are no better stories than that ;b
August 9th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
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