I was looking through some photos today looking for Harrys passport photo so we can renew our free bus passes.
I came across this old photo of Harry milking in our old herringbone milking parlour.
Not sure when it was taken but he looks a good bit younger so guessing around the early 2000’s.
Also the cows are black & white & by the latter years we had quite a few jersey cows.
We milked around 120 which these days is a very small herd indeed….glad we aren’t farming now with all the regulations & price of fertiliser & cow provender.
Long winters with cows inside six months of the year & we milked 365 days a year morning & night.
The milk went to the local cheese makers, they wanted a steady supply all year round.
If you ever come across Butlers Farmhouse Cheese, Blacksticks Blue being the most well known of them.
There is a photo of me too but that one is blurred!
Three good things:
1. Finished my library book.
2. I’ve diced up the beetroot & I checked how to preserve it….you can freeze it cooked so that what I’ve done! Easy!
3. Taken down the anniversary cards.
What a wonderful shot - Harry looks as if he is having great fun squirting the sterilizing liquid at the milking equipment! Must be the end of the milking shift for that evening !!
Yes he looks very happy in his work.. Great to see your milking shed. Herds are getting so big now here and I bet they don't know the girls like Harry would have.
I love jelly beetroot.. set in a vinegar jelly.. yum..
@julzmaioro You’re right Julz….we knew the name of every cow plus it’s mother. The herds here are so big here now that they have to stay in all year round! Not our way of doing & to see the happy cows jumping & skipping when you let them out into the Spring sunshine is a sight to behold.
That's a super photo......and always good to recall the busyness of past times. There's a season to everything and retirement and the change of pace is very good after such a busy working life. I seem to be just as busy as when I was teaching!!!!
He looks very happy at his work. We had a talk by a local farmers wife this evening at our church ladies group. She told us of her very varied life first in Ireland, then in Lincolnshire, and now just down the road from here.
Six months inside!! Think of all the clearing out of cow poo! What a lot of hard work! Seems to be profitable nowadays but gets into trouble with the run-off.
@maggiemae yes scraping out twice a day by pushing the waste through slats in the floor. All the cow beds have to be cleaned & new sawdust or whatever is chosen to use. It goes on but that’s the way we do it in this northern country. It becomes a routine but makes a long winter. As you say lots of rules regarding waste which I won’t go into!!
I love jelly beetroot.. set in a vinegar jelly.. yum..