Love the way she goes under the flowering pomegranate, scratching her back, then behind the horse trailer and the tree to the gate. Once she's in the gate, I close it behind her and leave her there and go down the ladder to the lower barn as traipsing through the ankle deep poop / pee / rain / mud is hard on my shoes and it's deep enough to seep over the top. Really need to unhitch the tractor from the haybine and come and rake down by the lower barn. The horses were really hard on the ground, it's churned up very badly. She makes her way down to the barn, and patiently waits while I schlepp the hot water through the tunnel, attach the milking machine, bring her grain. I've discovered not to do this before fetching her, as she will then choose not to come and I'll have 4 buckets of cold water.
Once I open the gate she lumbers up the step, into her stall, I attach her to the wall and she eats while I wash her udder, strip each teat, dip it in the iodine mixture and attach the machine. I haven't been milking the back quarter, with mastitis just fold the cup over the other back one that's attached so that it doesn't lose vacuum. She stands really well, I can even go back to the laundry, or upstairs to fetch something without her stamping the machine off. After the first day when she messed, she doesn't poop or pee in the stall. I remember Buttercup. She used to give me a baleful stare and lift her tail. Sometimes 3 poops in one milking session. Star is also good about not messing the milk parlour, but I have to shoo them out afterwards, as it seems as soon as they stop eating, up goes the tail !
I always thank her just before I remove the machine, and hang it on the hook, re-dip her, massage aromatherapy cream into her udder, put healing cream on the eina she has where her udder attaches to her belly although she always seems to lick it off, pour fly poison on her (about once a week) and brush it over her back and down her legs, and then release her, going beep beep beep as she backs up. She is happy in the lower barn, eating the hay as it's cooler than outside, and the flies are less. So she munches while I wash, rinse and sterilise the milking equipment. If the cats are waiting I pour fresh milk into the bowl for them, but this morning it was just Dolly and I, so I brought all the milk to the house - 2 1/2 gallons today. She didn't want to leave the lower barn, so I left her there. When we got home, I saw Herbie walking her back to the pasture. He said she called for Larry, and he came running over to her, and then nursed. Think he only sucks on the 2 front teats.
Yesterday Herbie fixed the chain on the haybine. I helped as my little hands can fit in all those odd little spaces, and we both had black greasy hands, but that baby worked ! Unfortunately it poured last night, so all the hay that had been cut got soaked. Will see what it looks like tomorrow. Fortunately we didn't get the whole field cut, but the weather seems to be horrible for the next week. Only cost about $10 to fix the haybine, but we lost 4 days, 4 sunny days :(.
Went to Grand Rapids this afternoon to buy allergy tablets from SAMS Club and a few other things I usually get there in bulk, including a 3lb bag of peeled garlic, bulk dog food, salt for the water softner (which I don't think is currently working) a 50lb bag of onions, bulk toothpaste etc.
Last nights' storm did a lot of damage through Michigan, but we went unscathed. Even Jackie just down the road was flooded out with sand, a tornado went through some of the Grand Rapids suburbs, thousands don't have electricity, but our little farm is fine.
Potentially have 3 new herd-share customers for milk, as otherwise I'm going to have to bath in the stuff.
Possibly have a surprise tomorrow, stay tuned :)