MERRY CHRISTMAS

I can't believe it is almost Christmas ! Can you ? Where did the year go ? It has been such an eventful year for us . To start off we made the decision to sell the dairy cows. We sold them on Friday , May 13 , 2011 . It was a sad day for us to see our the cows leave . To be sold to someone else. I still wonder how some of our favorite cows are doing ? Did they have a heifer or a bull ? are they giving lots of milk ? Are they doing well in their new barns ? It was the right decision to sell the cows. It was the right time. Dairy farming is such a hard life in many ways. There are many wonderful things about farming, but it is hard on your body and sometimes your spirits . It can be very stressful . Worrying about paying the bills , the health of your cows , your own health and more. So many people have remarked how much my husband has changed since we sold the cows. He is so much less stressed and seems so much happier. I know he loved farming and being his own boss. He had to adjust to working for someone else . He has adjusted to working for the Township. Except the funny part is that he now gets up earlier for work than he did when we had the dairy cows ! We both seemed to have adjusted to living a different way of life. We still crop farm and still have some heifers and calves. So we haven't left farming completely. Which is good.

In August , when we were the Centre County Grange Fair we received ( finally !! ) our Century Farm Certificate . Also at the Fair my Dad had a stroke . We spent most of the rest of the Fair at the hospital . Luckily , it was a mild stroke. It seemed to only affect his eyes and his left arm and hand. ( He already had a weak left hand from an accident with a table saw 25 years ago . He almost cut off his whole hand . It was amazing how they fixed his hand up and he was able to use it .) He was in the hospital and then rehab. He came home and was doing very well. But then he had to have an operation on a blocked artery at the end of September and it did not go well. Then he had many complications with the surgery . He was in the hospital for almost 3 weeks. He went to rehab again. Now he has been at home with my Mom . He has done very well physically . But mentally he has some problems. He can't figure out the computer anymore. He has trouble with dressing himself. He still has weakness in his left hand and arm. Hopefully , that will get better. He is a very strong person, super smart and has done so much with his life , that it is hard sometimes to see him all confused and not able to do things himself.

After Dad's stroke a lot of our family came up from Florida to visit. It was WONDERFUL ! It was the first time in years all my three brother's and I were together. I know it was so special for Mom and Dad to have us all there. Of course we had lots of picnics and lots of good times !

It has been a sometimes hectic ... sometimes long ... sometimes sad ... sometimes such special times that you cry year that I won't forget for a long time !

Family

We had such a great time while my 2 brothers and other family were here visiting for a week . We did so many fun things. Had lots of picnics and ate way too much food of course ! Mom and Dad had a picnic at their place the one night. It was nice enough a bunch of us sat out on the deck to eat . We sat there for hours just talking and enjoying our time together. This is the first time in years and years we the bunch of us were together. There was my brother Ken, his daughter Kareen, her girls Michaela and Layla , her friend Jake, Kens daughter Keena , her husband Adam and their son Brock, Kens boys Kyle and Kole and Koles kids Kayden and Khloee, Kens daughter Kalley and her husband Brock. My other brother from Florida , Terry was up too. It was so nice for us to be able to sit and visit and talk about when we growing up and sharing so many memories. It was such a very special time. The one Sunday we went to church and my one niece took our picture.And this isn't even all of us . There are quite a few more !

Things are meant to be

Things are sometimes meant to happen a certain way sometimes. More and more it was meant to be that we sold our dairy cows when we did in May . This year when we planted our crops it was very dry and they did not produce the best crops. So our hay was below our usual amount . Jim just filled our big silo and it has very little silage in it. Our corn for silage was less than out usual amount too. He said just the other day to me: If we had kept the cows , we would be out of feed by January. I don't know what we would have done. We still miss the cows and our barn work. We probably always will. But it was meant to be this way . I am just thankful we are still able to keep our farm and just crop farm for now. Maybe in the future we will rent out our ground . But for now we still farm it ourselves .
My one brother was up from Florida with his 5 kids and grandkids. We had a big picnic at the farm . There were about 40 of us here with lots of food.We walked up to the mountain and let them see the how pretty it is up there. The view up is gorgeous and you can see the valley .

Century Farm at Centre County Grange Fair

We had our special night at the Centre County Grange Fair on Aug 29 ,2011. We were presented with our Century Farm Certificate . Most of our family was there to share with us in the pride and joy of making this milestone. When the milk prices were so low the other year we could not even pay our bills , we really thought it would come to the point of having to sell our farm. But with the help of many family and friends we made it through the tough patch and were able to keep our farm. We are so very thankful for all our blessings . We are very proud of our farm being in the family for 100 years. Especially with so many dairy farmers getting out of farming and sometimes selling their farms . Joining us was Rep. GT (Glenn ) Thompson (PA) . GT has been a very good friend and has listened and tried to do all he can to help dairy farmers in PA. We were very honored that he took time out of his busy schedule to be there at the fair on our special night. Also the PA Secretary of Agriculture , George Greig was there to help present our Century Farm Award . We were very thankful to have all these people share in our joy and we will never forget it .

Hublersburg Big Event

This Saturday will be the big event of the year for Hublersburg , the small town we live in. Every year we have our big parade and festival . The Fire Co. runs all the stands . This could be the last year it is held. That would be such a shame. I can remember going to the festival as a child . We had such a wonderful time, running all over and eating lots of good food and playing games. Our children have memories of going to the festival too. It is such a tradition in Hublersburg. I just hate to think it could end. Mostly it is the life long residents of Walker Township who continue to come to the parade . I rarely see people there , who have moved to the township and live in the housing developments . It is the people who have lived in Walker Township all their life and still remember coming to this as a child . You walk around and visit with people and see their kids and the grandkids. I really hope it will continue and not end a life long tradition in Hublersburg !

GIFT BASKET GIVEAWAY !!!!

I am having a Gift Basket Giveaway . It will be from July 20 to September 3. When you make a purchase from any of my sites , your name will be entered in the drawing. The Gift Basket will have a Primitive Candle Holder with a Grubby Candle and Berry Ring., Grubby Fixins, Berry Rings, a Grubby Doily, Tarts, a Christmas Bowl Filler, Hand Painted Tags , Ornies and Much More !!! Also as a Bonus , if you win the Basket and are signed up for my Mailing List on my EZ Shoppe , you will receive an extra gift ! The drawing will be Sept 4. You will be notified by email. Good Luck !!

summer time

Can't believe it is July already ?? Where did the summer go ? We have been busy baling hay and straw and unloading it. Of course it is always the HOTTEST day when we do ! LOL !! Our usual helpers have been helping to unload. Our friend Mark, his son Nick and his soon to be son-in-law Jimmy, me, my husband, Glenn (our retired farmer neighbor and wonderful help for my husband) and my brother Stan. I just keep thinking of it as wonderful exercise ! My husband has adjusted by now to working for the Township. They work from 6am to 4 pm 4 days a week . Most of last week he was busy mowing berms ( not sure if that is how you spell it ?? ) . He is almost done with that . But there are plenty more jobs to do around the Township. We had a picnic here at the farm on July 4th. He kept telling everyone this was his first paid holiday in 39 years . I think it made his day !! We only have the small calves at the barn now. We put the heifers down in the meadow. When the grandkids and I take our walk the days I have them , our " little farmer " , Lexi has to stop and give them a pet. They come right over to her and wait to get petted. Now my husband is thinking of getting some pigs to raise. We raised some quite a few years ago and then butchered them . It was great having our own ham , bacon and pork chops. And the scrapple , fried up and covered with apple butter , yummy !
Soon , it will be Grange Fair time, once it gets to that time the summer is over. This year the Fair will run from Aug. 25 to Sept 1. The Grange Fair is such a unique place to see. It has 950 tents ( large tents people pay to stay in, usually in the same spot they have had for years and years) and about 1300 RV's ( also in the same spots for years ) . The price you pay for your RV spot depends on the size of the RV. Anyone who is interested in reading about the Fair , here is the website address : http://www.grangefair.net . This year will be a special year with having GT ( Rep. Glenn Thompson ) giving us our Century Farm certificate . They are hoping to have someone from the PA Dept. of Agriculture there too. They are planning on having this on Aug . 29 , it will be a very special day for us !


I keep saying ... we still are not adjusted to our new routine. I have come to the conclusion we never will be . I think for the rest of our life we will feel the need to go to the barn and do work .

New things to do

Well , it has been 2 weeks since the cows left. Our lives are definitely different. It isn't quite as hard to go to the barn and see no cows. But we do miss doing the barn work and working with the animals. The barn is so quiet now and seems so empty. We do have about 21 animals left. There are 12 calves inside the barn . The rest are down in the extension. So every morning and night we still go out to the barn . But it is only for a very short time . It takes only 10 or 15 minutes to do the barn work we have now . A lot less time than it used to . We used to be at the barn for at least 4 hours or more. We miss that routine of putting out the cows, bedding them , feeding and milking them . It was part of our life for so long. But like many people have told us....you will find a new routine. We are enjoying many things we could never do before. The other day we ran to the store at 4 pm together . My husband had a meeting at 630 pm the other night and we didn't have to start barn work early for him to get there on time. We are eating supper at 7 pm instead of 9 or 930 . We are able to go away and don't have to be back exactly at 4 pm. What little barn work we do can wait til a bit later . We were able to get to the grandkids field day today when it started , instead of 2 hours after it started. So there are lots of good things to enjoy. But the new routine is not here yet ..... maybe soon !

Cedar Street Craft Mall: Baskets

Cedar Street Craft Mall: Baskets: "The Farmlady's Cupboard"

Thank you !!!!!

Thanks to all of you who have called, emailed and sent best wishes to us .... it has meant so much to have so many people ( some who we have never even met ) tell us they were thinking of us and wishing us the best. It has warmed our hearts and has helped with the sadness of selling our cows. When I get on Twitter or Facebook and see a message that we are being thought of or that they hoped our day was going better, it makes my heart smile ! It is still very hard to go to the barn and not see the cows. We did a little work at the barn yesterday. Sweeping up and moving things. We gave our one farmer neighbor some of our soap, etc. we had left. We think the calves that we kept at the barn are missing the cows too. When we go out they bawl and we think they are wondering where did the rest of our herd go ? This has been like a death in the family to us. Some might say what ??, these were only cows. Our cows were like family to us and we hope they are happy and well cared for in their new barns.

the cows are gone

Well it is done. The cows were loaded yesterday in 4 trips and taken to the sale barn in Centre Hall. I really thought yesterday would be the day we would be the saddest.And it was a sad time and hard to deal with. We went over to the sale early , with our family for support, and it was hard seeing our cows being sold. But it turns out today is even harder . My husband said it feels like you have sold some one in your family. I don't think I can describe the sorrow and sadness we feel at the loss of the cows. It is very, very, very hard. I went out to the barn to help move some calves and we were both crying. We knew it would soon be barn time and we are in the habit of going to the barn and have done it for all these years . It is like what do we do at barn time ? We are going out for supper tonight at the time we would be going to the barn. We just need to get away and not be able to see the barn and know our cows aren' t there anymore. We know this feeling isn't going to go away for awhile. But I want to end this post with a good note.... we are so very thankful that we did well at the sale and are going to be able to pay off a lot of our debt . And for that I thank God for once again looking out for us !

letter to the CDT

Dear CDT,
( I know this is longer than normal, but I think people need to know how it affects a family when they have decided to sell their cows and give up being a dairy farmer !)
The other year there was an article about us in the CDT . We told the reporter ( Nick M. ) how the low milk prices were affecting us and many other dairy farmers. We were close to being a Century Farm and just hoped we could hold on long enough to become one. Well , we are in the middle of filling out the application now and we did hang on long enough. It is something we are very proud of. But, after 39 years of being a dairy farmer , we have decided to sell our dairy cows. It was not an easy decision and it is going to be a sad time . On Friday , May 13 our cows will be loaded and taken to Centre Hall to the cow sale. For 39 years we have gone to the barn morning and night . We have milked the cows, fed them , tended to sick animals and were at the barn all night if there was a problem . Our cows all have names , mostly picked by our grandkids . Names like Miley, Hannah, Jones, Chocolate and Bluey. It is going to be hard to adjust to suddenly no longer go to the barn and do our barn work after doing it for 39 years every day . Friday morning we will feed the cows and milk them. They will be loaded in our friends trailer and taken to the sale. Saturday morning there will be no cows to milk or feed. The stalls will be empty . Our 18 month old grandson goes to the barn with us in his stroller. He knows in the morning we get our barn clothes on , get him in the stroller and go see Pap and the cows. He is going to be too little to understand why there are no longer any cows in the barn. A friend on Twitter ( JPloves COTTON) said it best : "The image of a grandson and granddad no longer having that reason to put on their boots and head to the barn may permanently reside on my eyelids." I am sure there are going to be tears when the cows are loaded and heading out our lane. To many farmers this isn't a job , it is a way of life .

closer and closer

It is getting still closer to the day our cows leave .It is now 5 days til they will be loaded on our friends trailer and hauled to the sale in Centre Hall. The cows are staying healthy , which is good. I worry one of them will get sick and then I don't know what we will do with that animal. I am sure the cows are wondering why we have not put them down in the meadow. Usually by this time of the year they are out there and running . But not this year . Last night after milking my husband went back up to the fields . It wasn't dark yet so I took a walk. I was thinking about how this time next week it will be all over and there will be no dairy cows in the barn . Just the small calves we are keeping. How we won't have to be home at a certain time for barn work . That we don't have to leave somewhere early to get home for the cows for milking. I guess that will be a good thing ? I am not sure.

FATHERS DAY

I also wrote a poem for my Dad . He wanted to be a professional ball player , but it didn't work out. One night I was watching FIELD OF DREAMS . And the words for this poem just came to me. Again, like I said I am not a poet ! LOL !


THE BALL PLAYER

When he was in his younger days he wanted to play the game
He was a wonderful player and everyone knew his name

People came from all over just to see the man play
They loved to see him catch the ball and run the bases away

There was no doubt that when the ball was flying through the air
His glove would be open wide and the ball would land in there

The balls would come rolling low and over the grass he'd fly
He'd scoop it up with his glove and then he'd hold it high

When he was at the base getting ready to swing the bat free
He'd look around the ball field and knew this was where he wanted to be

To feel the wind racing by him as he streaked towards the base
And knowing he would make it was written all over his face

His whole life was ahead of him there would be many games to play
He lived and breathed for this , these glorious , exciting days

He believed in his dream that someday he'd be there
With all the men he admired , the ones who were so rare

He had his dream so close , it was almost in his hand
But things didn't work out the quite the way he had planned.....

Now the memories are of long ago and of those cherished days
When he was young and had his dreams and hoped there'd be a way

He never fulfilled the dream , but it will always be there
In his memories ......... somewhere......

And now today the four of us Diane , Ken, Terry and Stan
Know he's a wonderful father...He is the BALL PLAYER....
a quiet and honest man .

Mothers Day

Years ago , for my mother I wrote this poem. I am not a poet so don't look too close ! LOL !

THE HEART
When you were young you had your dreams of what you wanted to do
They included lots of trips and plenty of fun too

The dreams were all changed when the kids were born
There were chores to do and your hands became worn

As I stroll down memory lane and think of all you've done
All the times you would go to see the boys make a home run

In our family there's always been a special closeness and giving
We're always together , in our hearts, no matter where we are living

As the years go by and we grow older I know we'll always treasure
That special bond between us all that we could never measure

We have a feeling in our hearts that will hold us all together
And any problems that we face we'll always be able to weather

And now the four of us Diane, Ken, Terry and Stanley
Know you are the greatest , our mother ....the heart of our family !

11 days and counting

It is now 11 days to the cows leave. The last couple of days have not been too bad. I think maybe it is the calm before the storm. My husband has finally been able to get into the fields and do some plowing. It has been so wet here in central PA. We will still do some crop farming and will keep a couple of calves and a few heifers. Just no more milk cows . We have vaccinated all the cows and heifers to get them ready to sell. We are getting copies made of the cows records for buyers to look at. Our daughter is making the copies for us. So everything seems to be moving along to the day the cows will be loaded up in the trailer and taken to the sale. A friend of ours , who hauls animals , will be taking our cows over to Centre Hall. It will take a couple of trips over the mountain. Hopefully , all will go well and they will be loaded without problems. But with cows , you never know ! LOL !

Getting closer

It is getting closer to the day we will be loading up the cows to leave.( 3 weeks ) I think God is trying to help us feel not as sad about them going. We have been having problems at the barn . Constant problems with the gutter cleaner , the chain keeps coming off, it is a struggle to clean gutters every time.We get so frustrated with our old and worn out equipment. The other night cows broke water cup, were at barn til 1130pm . Guess God is trying to keep us from feeling so sad ! LOL ! We will sure not miss the headaches and stress that go along with farming. But we both are under a lot of stress right now. Every day we think about how our lives are going to be so very different . Like I have said again and again , I realized this was going to be hard on us . But I didn't think it would hit us as hard as it is. Many times at the barn the last week or so, I find myself in tears . I know my husband feels the same. It is like losing someone . But what we are losing is a way of life we have had for all of our marriage .

The Cows

We had some one come and look at the cows yesterday . He was very interested in them. He thought they looked great and were in great shape. So all that was good. He wants to have our cows at his auction in May. He felt we could get a good price for most of the cows. Some , being older we won't get that great of a price. We have talked about it and we think we are going to go with this choice. Our cows will more than likely be sold to a local farmer. Which we like. The sale will be May 13. Friday the 13th ! but our family says that will be good luck ! So more than likely the cows will be gone by the middle of May.
Last night my daughter and I were talking about the person coming to look at the cows. Our "little farmer " was listening and she tells me " I don't want you to sell the cows ! Can't you at least keep Bluey ? " Bluey is the cow who she brushes and pets every time she comes over to the farm. She is her pet cow. Our grandaughter started to cry . About broke my heart . My daughter told her Mamma and Papee have to sell the cows. I told her , how about we name one of the calves we keep Bluey ? How about that ? That made her feel better . I thought maybe I can take a picture of Bluey and our grandaughter and she can keep it in her room. My other daughter said we will have to have the grandkids come and say goodbye to the cows. I hope they don't get too upset . Probably we will all be standing there crying our eyes out ! As I said before , this is going to affect more than just my husband and I when the cows leave .
Today I was telling my parents and my brother and his wife about the cows probably leaving in May and I start crying. The thought of the cows getting loaded and leaving made me sad . Although I won't miss the tail in the face, the kick in the leg and so on ! LOL !

so bittersweet

As I have said in a previous blog posting , we are a Century Farm. Actually it would be in April we are an " official " Century Farm. That is such a special feeling and one we are very proud of. And I am glad the cows will still ( probably ) be here on our farm that day . But it is also a sad feeling that one month we have finally made it to Century Farm status and the next month our dairy cows will probably be going out the door. We are a small family dairy farm , all these years it has been my husband and I and also all girls have helped when they can . We have also had help from family and friends when we needed it . But in the middle of the night if there was a problem , it was my husband and I out there at the barn or in the c0w pen. Maybe that was our problem , " they " say you need to get big or get out! We never got big and never wanted to . We have had some of our cows for years . A cow that is due in the next day or two is 9 years old. Nina is her name. We name all our cows . We have lots of cows named by our grandkids. Names like Jones ( from our grandson for Indiana Jones ) , Bluey ( named by gr.daughter for Blues Clues ) , Miley and Hannah ( named by our other gr.daughter for Miley Cyrus ) , Alexis and Kirsten ( named for our 2 gr.daughters ) and more. Our cows are part of our family. When the new people buy our cows are they going to give them a new name ? or just give them a number ? It makes me sad to think Bluey won't have our grandaughter to brush her down anymore. Will the new people treat our cows the same way we do ? The day our cow family leaves will be very hard on us. It brings tears to my eyes now to think about it . It also makes me so mad that because of the poverty level of the milk prices in 2009 we have come to this . The milk prices are improving but still are not where they should be . And all the politicians do is ---- lets study this and hold hearings ( which will take years and years of course !! ) . I know when our neighbor out the lane sold his cows , he also had a hard time. He told my husband he never slept at all the night before. And I am sure that will be the same for us. You don't live this way of life for all the years we have and not have a hard time with the life style change that will be coming .I don't know how hard it will be for us ..... seeing the cows loaded in the trucks and hauled away , but I think it is going to be a sad day for us and I know my husband and I both will have tears in our eyes and running down our face . I plan on keeping a day to day blog on here as it gets closer to the day our cows leave our barn and our life .

Snow and More Snow

Boy , did we get some snow last night. It started about 1 or so in the afternoon. By this morning we had a foot of snow ! It was a really heavy , wet snow. We kept hearing on my husband's scanner about power lines down. The roads were really bad. My husband went out and plowed for the township for awhile in the late afternoon. Then got up at 3 a.m. and went out and plowed again. He got home at 730 a.m. We never got done at the barn til 10 . The snow does look really pretty all over the trees. But we are to warm up and later in the week get rain. So it won't last very long. But we will enjoy it while we have it !

Sale on my Etsy Shop

I am having a sale on my Etsy Shop. There is 20 % off every item in the shop. There is a code to put in at checkout. Check out all the goodies . I want to clear out a bunch of goodies and add new spring and summer things. So I decided to have this sale. Hope you find something you would like !!

We are a Century Farm !!!

We knew we were close to being a Century Farm. My husband talked to a guy last week and he said as far as he can tell we are a CENTURY FARM now !! We just have to fill out the paper work. For those who don't know what that is ----- you are a CENTURY FARM if your farm has been in your family for100 years. And that is us! First my husband's grandparents , his parents and now my husband and I . With so many farmers losing their farm, this is something to be very proud of and we are !!! To know 100 years ago our ancestors were farming this same ground and their families were growing up on this same land we now are on. My husband grew up on this farm and has gone to the barn since he was little. So for him he has worked on this farm for at least 57 years . We will be married for 37 years this March. We both love living on our farm and think it is so beautiful. We live back a lane and have an old farmhouse with a spring in front of it. It usually is full of ducks . Anytime someone comes back to our farm , if they have never been here before, they always say " This is so beautiful ! I never knew this was back here ! " I have always felt we were so lucky to live on this farm . Behind our farm is a long lane up to the mountains. If you walk up to the edge of the mountains and look out you can see the valley and it is amazing ! It would be a wonderful place to have a cabin , except in the winter ! To have your farm in the same family for 100 years is a wonderful feeling and we are very lucky !!

New Year , Same old Thing !

I say the same thing every year, I hope this year is a better year than the one before. Well................. this year started out the same as always ! First I got the stomach flu going around our family, the very same day I find out my Ford Explorer's transmission went !! Wonderful ! Another expense that I have to worry about ! Plus we only have my Explorer and my husband's old ( and I mean old ! ) dump truck . So I will be without a car for 2 to 3 weeks. That will drive me nuts !! Maybe they will get it done quicker than they think ?? ( not likely !! ) Today we needed groceries and we needed to get coal. So we went to the grocery store in the old dump truck. My husband called us The Clampetts going to town. LO L!!!!!!!!! Could just imagine what we looked like ! The truck is all rusted up and has holes in the sides of the bed . Husband did some patching here and there so it would pass inspection. We piled all the bags in the front seat with us. Then went and got our coal. The price of the coal has gone up since we got it about a month ago. Now it is up to $204 a ton. Guess it will keep us warm for another month !( a pic of the Clampett truck, in it's better days, plus my husband's pride and joy he shot the other year )

Our Life Will Be Changing

My husband and I have been married 36 years and we have been Dairy Farmers for those 36 years. My husband took over the farm from his parents in 1972 , 2 years before we got married. But with the low milk prices we have been hit hard with bills that have backed up. Milk prices got up to $19.00 but that still is not what the Dairy Farmer should be getting for their milk. The Farmer does all the work and gets screwed in getting a decent milk price .The months you get a half way decent price for your milk is not enough to get caught up on the backed up bills.We have been hit very hard because we are a very small family Dairy Farm . We only milk 28 cows. I guess it is amazing we have gone on as long as we have.We own our Dairy Farm, we have no mortgage payment.So in that way we are luckier than some other Farmers.When the milk price was down to $9.00 some of those Farmers could not pay their mortgage payment.We have talked this past year about selling the cows. We just don't think we can keep getting deeper and deeper in debt.We realize it has come to the point where money wise , we can't go on the way we have been . As I fed hay last night I thought to myself....in a couple of months I will no longer be doing this. For 36 years we have gone to the barn morning and night , milking the cows, feeding silage, chop and hay, feeding the calves, tending to sick animals, washing the milkers every morning. Sometimes we would be at the barn til 10 or 11 p.m. if there were problems. That was life as a Dairy Farmer. In a couple of months that will all change.There will be no reason to go to the barn every morning and night, no cows and calves to feed and tend to, no more milkers to wash. And as much as it was sometimes hard to be so tied down ..... I think it is going to be as hard ( or harder ) to cope with the loss of not being a Dairy Farmer any more ! A life of a Dairy Farmer is tough and it is very stressful. But there were also many joys. And as hard as it was sometimes ...I know my husband and I are going to miss very, very much going to the barn and the work that goes into being a Dairy Farmer.Being a Dairy Farmer wasn't a job, it was a way of life. Many people who follow me on Twitter know how all our grandchildren love coming here to the Farm and going to the barn. Like I said before , our 15 month old grandson is too little to understand why we are no longer going to the barn and seeing Pap and the cows. JPlovesCotton wrote a piece on her blog (http://jplovescotton.wordpress.com ) that was wonderful and touched my heart . She wrote.... " The image of a grandson and grandad no longer having that reason to put on their boots and head to the barn may permanently reside on my eyelids." That is what I may miss the most , the loss of such a simple thing .