I live and work on a dairy farm.
If you said that to my teenage self ten years ago, I don’t think I would have believed you. At the time, I lived in San Diego. My biggest concerns were boys, my next lacrosse game, and homework—pretty much in that order.
But life is funny, in a weird way.
It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy, I guess. My favorite animal as a teenager were cows for really no particular reason at all. Then I married a cowboy. I also never thought I’d ever live in New York again. My dad was in the air force and I was born here. Stranger yet, my first child was born here in New York too. The circle of life; it’s ironic.
Well, I now know more about dairy cows than I ever wanted. Bron and I talk “farming” all the time. My job helps inspire lots of questions.
For instance, my boss was explaining about bloat and what to look for because bloat is a problem on the farm this time of year. She said that I must tap on the calf’s stomach and listen. The calf’s stomach will be firm and sound watery and hollow.
“Like a watermelon?” I asked.
“I don’t know. I’ve never tapped on a watermelon.”
Later, I got to thinking about what a weirdo I am. Who in their right mind asks a question like that? My city girl colors still shine brightly from time to time. They probably just put up with me on the farm because I get the job done and I work weekend nights. That’s right. I work the weekends because we NEED money. Will work for food. And diapers. But I really don’t mind. Because we don’t have extra money, we don’t go out much. My weekdays look much like my weekends. Luckily, we can get together with friends almost any night of the week for a little entertainment. Anyhow, those calves are kinda cute.
But really, in my defense, I CAN ask intelligent questions, like: “Why would too much grain make the calf’s stomach acidic? Is that related to ketosis?”
If you can answer that, I’m impressed. Bron can, in great detail. But that’s what he’s here going to school for. And he’s almost done! He just passed both his written and oral exams! Way to go, Handsome!
We’ve lived here in New York for about 22 months now. Now that our stay here is wrapping up, New York is finally starting to feel a little like home. It took me a long time to analyze the idiosyncrasies of the North Country and even longer to accept them. This little corner of the country is a strange place compared with where we’re from, but it’s beautiful in its own right. There are some things I am really going to miss--like the sheer number of trees and how green the world is. I’m going to miss living on the farm and seeing Bron many afternoons for lunch. I’m going to miss my walks with Jed to the barn to see the cows and horses. I’m going to miss our family picnics and swimming at the beach on Lake Champlain. I’m going to miss Creamies and Stewart’s ice cream. I’m going to miss visiting Montreal and all the other amazing places we’ve seen here. But really, I’ll miss a handful of people the most.
There will also be things I won't miss, like the lack of sunshine. Without exaggeration, we have about ten nice sunny days a month almost every month of the year. I AM DYING WITHOUT SUNSHINE.
I think I’ve learned a lot since we moved here. I feel I’ve gained more confidence and honed new abilities. Bron and I have proved to ourselves that we can make it “on our own”. We are closer now than we were before because we’ve had only ourselves to lean on. We also became a family. That, alone, changed our lives.
I have a feeling that as much as we have resented New York, it will hold a little special spot in our hearts.
But for now, we don’t know where or what our next move will be, only that it is coming. I think I will just sit back and enjoy my summer living and working here on the dairy farm.
