Well-ll-ll no…not exactly.
We were young, admittedly – but hardly kids anymore. Although, looking back from a vantage point some 40+ years later, we were most certainly novices or ‘new kids on the block’. And the block was pretty large for us ex city-slickers – being a dairy farm of 165 acres (or 67 hectares), hence the Milk-bar concept.
When you see a refrigerated milk vat that holds 330 gallons (or 1250 litres) of milk , and the huge agitator creates a deep head of creamy white froth, you’d have to question if you’re in the midst of the largest milkshake on earth.
Here are the first paragraphs of my Ezine Articles about our Date with Destiny…as Dairy Farmers.
They all start with the prefix ‘The Milky Bar Kids….’ and then continue with their individual labels. Here’s the first, aptly named - … In the Beginning,
Sometimes a combination of youthful enthusiasm and a degree of bravado can carry the day. Other situations demand a large dose of determination that no one should witness the woeful lack of knowledge and experience that actually exists.
How it SHOULD be done. I DID learn…quickly!
………….A Memorable First
Our Dairy was a Herring-bone style with cows standing alongside each other in a staggered fashion – 6 each side of a waist-deep pit where we worked with swing-across sets of milking cups. A strong steel bar across their bottoms and a thick concrete ledge behind their back feet stopped them from joining us down there…mostly.
The Famous Concrete Holding Yard…getting clean!
Due to their previous bad experiences with dogs , we thought it kindest to our new ‘girls’ (or dairy herd) to keep our dogs tied up on our first official milking day. On foot ourselves, we gently but firmly brought them in – no noisy, smelly vehicle or relentless barkers and heel-nippers for us, as we proceeded to lead them – like over-large lambs to the slaughter, coming to meet their Milkers. And we were confident at this, our second milking, there would be no repeat of the morning’s bedlam and mayhem following our exceptional and memorable ‘false start’.
Gypsy…about 15 years later!
If the Chinese blessing is truly – ‘May you Live in Interesting Times’ – we most certainly have!
And we feel SO blessed.
