Adventures with Alice, Part I

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Today we drove wa-a-a-a-y out in the boonies. I know, some of you think we live in the boonies ourselves, but this was really out there. We drove an hour and a half away from anywhere. Up and down hills and around corners. The really amazing thing to me is we would pass one house (and I use the term loosely) which looked like no one could possibly live there--a shanty, a shack--would perhaps be better terminology. Then around the next corner we saw a half a million dollar house. . .er, I mean mansion. But I digress. The purpose of our adventure was a quest for a cow. A milk cow, to be precise. And we found her. She is due to calve any day. We are excited. Briana is ecstatic. Fortunately, Alan grew up on a dairy farm and thus knows what he is doing. The rest of us are clueless. I grew up drinking raw cow's milk, thanks to Grandma and Grandad Fetters, and I benefitted from homemade butter. How I wish I had bought Grandma's butter churn and butter mold at the farm sale several years ago!! Wouldn't that be the neatest thing, to make butter with Grandma's things?! I wish I had asked her to teach me how to do all this stuff. . . Speaking of Grandma, the cow's name is Alice. Briana chose the name "after Great-Grandma Fetters because her middle name was Alice and our cow is red." (Grandma had red hair--one of the many reasons Grandad loved her.) I haven't decided if Grandma would be flattered or insulted by having a cow as her namesake. I have a feeling Grandad would get a kick out of it. Easton enjoyed the whole adventure. Riding in the pickup is way different from riding in the van. AND we were pulling the trailer--way cool. He is sure Alice is his cow. It was freezing cold, so he stayed in the pickup with Mommy and Kiana while Daddy pulled his Dave Ramsey moves ("I've got this much green in my pocket", he said. The guy walked away with $150 less than he originally asked. Alan is really good at that!). Easton jabbered a mile a minute as he watched out the back window while Daddy, Briana and Destry got Alice loaded with the help of the other two farmers present. "That her, Mommy? That my cow? That Alice? Is she in there? Is my cow in there? Daddy gonna give her a ride?" She made it home safely. She's huge (much bigger than I expected! bigger than Grandad's cows were!), but she seems to be a really gentle cow, which is a bonus. Briana is excited to be our primary milker. That works for me! Alice is now settled in the warm barn, with lots of nice hay for bedding and food, awaiting the birth of her baby. Stay tuned for more Alice Adventures as baby is born and milking begins. . .