morning milk

Day one of milking.



In my efforts never to be late or to screw anything up, I show up at 5 a.m. as opposed to 5 p.m.



No matter. It gave me the chance to give Laini a good-morning hug, after scaring the day(night) lights out of her.



And it was good for me, since I've only milked cows, in the 700-hundred per-herd feed 'em into the massive barn style -- in one end and out the other, rounded up by dogs, horses, and atvs. This is still the only way I know how to describe what I did in New Zealand. I was young and green, and they were Freesians and massive. I barely knew where I was each day, then, at 4 a.m., for a week.



Lazy Lady Style? Not so lazy. Alpine goats.Pull them out of their pens in twos, get them up on a stand, feed them some grain, minerals go in the middle of the manger, pre-treat the teats, wipe them, put the pressure on the hose, make sure it's sucking the milk out of the teats, ask the goats not to kick you, rub their belly if they squat, post treat the teats, lather, rinse repeat.



This is merely my first impression. I trained with Kate, tonight with Laini.



I fit in a cursory meal at Martha's, realizing I made a party foul by wearing my barn boots into the diner.