Prairie Wife Badge: Cow Milking

Posted July 30, 2014 by Prairie Wife - 10 comments

I am SO excited to announce that I have earned a new Prairie Wife Badge! Around here any time this city girl gone country does something that I never thought I would do I call it “earning a new Prairie Wife Badge”. I’ve got my Elk Hunting Badge, Horse Chore Badge and Eating Wild Game (and loving it) Badge…just to name a few. It’s been a long time since I’ve had the chance to earn a new Prairie Wife Badge so I‘m pretty excited to share this with you!

This last weekend we went to visit our good friends Peter and Trina Campbell at their Wyoming ranch. Trina is a good friend of mine as well as a past Prairie Wife of the Week and fellow blogger. It has been WAY to long since we have visited with them so, The Cowboy and I loaded the Cowkids up, and headed their way. The Cowkids love to go to Hat Creek Ranch. It’s full of cats, dogs and every other animal you can think of. The Hat Creek Ranch covers a vast amount of beautiful Prairie so, there is plenty of room for the Cowkids to run around and they love to rock climb and look for hidden bandits. The Cowboys all idolize Peter! Cowboy W barely left his side…Cowboy C even let Peter pick him up and carry him around. I guess that same soothing personality that works so well with horses works just as well with cranky teething toddlers (I wish he was here right now as I try and write this)!

Trina has five milk cows on her ranch, and like a true Prairie Wife she uses their milk to make cheese, cream, yogurt and sour cream. I have always wanted to try milking a cow. I think that perhaps after having nursed four children, I kind of see the milk cow as my spirit animal…after all, I can totally relate to her life! I asked Trina if she would let me try my hand at milking her cow. I explained that I really needed to earn my Cow Milking Prairie Wife Badge! As a fellow blogger she not only said yes but, offered to take pictures as well. I was more than a little nervous after hearing Pa tell tales of milking cows as a youth. I was not looking forward to getting kicked, pooped on, or hit in the mouth with a poopy cow tail. Now that I write that I don’t know why I was worried, other than the tail it sounds like a regular old day with the Cowkids!

Like a true Prairie Wife I took a deep breath and charged forward into the pen armed with a bucket and Trina’s helpful advice. I sat down (in heels, totally not planned BTW) and got to work. It only took me a few tries before I got the hang of it and soon I had a good rhythm that lasted for all of 30 seconds…then I got hit in the side of the head with the afore mentioned poop covered cow tail. It made me lose my mojo but, thankfully it hasn’t been very wet or cold here in Wyoming. This means that while it WAS a poop covered tail it was at least dry…and I’m pretending none of the poop actually got onto me. I kept it up for a few more minutes; I wasn’t trying to actually get a massive amount of milk. I just wanted the experience. I have to tell you, my hands were getting tired after just that little bit of time, and it gave me a whole new appreciation for Trina’s strength. After all she milks five cows every day!

That little mama cow was so sweet and gentle it kind of made me want to get one of my own. Especially when I learned that Trina only has to milk her cow once a day rather than twice…it really got me thinking that maybe I DO want to get a milk cow here at the Prairie Homestead. I’ve filed that thought away into my “for the future folder” but don’t you think it would be cool to get my Milk Cow Mama Prairie Wife Badge? Then of course I could get my Cheese Making Badge….

What do you think?

Categories: Life As It Happens, Prairie Life

Tags: , cows, Hat Creek Ranch, Homesteading, Milking, Prairie Wife Badge, Prairie Wife Life, Trina Campbell