Mornings in the Barn

The nights slip by and morning comes so early. The whistle of my phone alarm draws my attention and makes me roll over to wake my husband. With my job out of the way, I slip back into dream land for an extra fifteen minutes before my phone whistles again.

Morning!

The trip out the barn is more like a stumble. Thankfully, the five o’clock traffic is pretty much nonexistent. My arrival in the barn is met by my husband’s, “Morning, Love!” as he carries the milking units out to hang on the pipeline.

By the fifth cow I am wide awake and usually talking to them. “Oh, Miss Crooked Feet, you stink. Bow-Legs, what is wrong with your udder? Twin’s Mom, you’re such a good cow. Ugh. Black Heifer, why did you lay down in manure?”

My husband laughs at me as he sits with “Dirty White Cow” who has trouble milking out and needs to be babysat.

By the time I have finished milking, I am singing as I carry milk to the calves. My singing stops as I take time to scold the dirty little creatures. “Isabella! Why won’t you stay in your stall and out of the manger? Thunder, get up, boy! Gracie, if you would just eat your grain like a good calf you wouldn’t be so hungry. Arie! Don’t suck on the bucket, silly, drink the milk!”

Then, as I collect my buckets and walk toward the milk house, I’ll stop and chat with my “Pet”, our little black Jersey cow. She’s such a dear.

Usually I’ll meet Amos coming out of the milk house and he will swing me around in a hug and say something like, “I love farming with you.” Or, “Aren’t you just the cutest farm girl that I’ve ever seen.” Or, “Can I kiss you, farmer-girl?”

I’ll get a pitcher of milk and head inside to shower and start the laundry. Soon Amos will appear, wink at me and put his dirty clothes into the washer.

Breakfast will come (or not if people show up to talk to him) and then I’ll become busy with the daily chores…

And even though there was no point in that morning routine where God said anything or did anything profound, in my heart and mind, the whole thing is simply the echo of his voice in my life. Making every day beautiful and precious and sweet.

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We’re celebrating the upcoming release of my newest book,
The Thing About Dairy Farmers.

You can enter to win a pre-release ecopy by visiting the book page (just click here) and leaving a comment. (we’re giving away a copy every day this week!) In the meantime, if you enjoyed this story, consider telling a friend? There are buttons at the bottom of this post for easy sharing.