Post by tomg on Oct 9, 2007 19:05:30 GMT -5
This is an open thank you note to Joann.
I was reading Heifer Diary the other day and mentioned to my daughter Lois that your daily web diary was the reason that we have a cow. Then I realized that we have had said cow (Linda Lou) for a year now, and I never wrote a note of thanks to you.
My wife and I live with our 6 children and my wife's father on 23 acres in Goodrich, MI. I read James Herriot's books as a teen (and in my 20's and my 30's and my 40's), and have wanted to have a farm ever since. I had always thought that we'd have chickens and sheep and maybe a pig or two, but I thought a cow would be too....big, or something. Then, a few years ago, I stumbled onto your website and discovered the Heifer Diary. From then on, it was just a matter of time.
O.K., it was years actually, but last year, a 4H friend of ours was given (yes, GIVEN!) a Jersy heifer calf to raise for his 4H project. He told us that he was going to take her to fair and then sell her for college money. Now, I was already familiar with the way this young man cared for his animals, so I immediately asked him to give us right of first refusal when the time came.
Well, time went by and I thought he had probably forgotten about us and sold Linda to someone else. I figured it was probably just as well, as I was in the middle of a major rehab project on our small barn, I didn't really have any pasture fenced, money was a little tight, and with our sixth child on the way, I really didn't need to be taking on any more projects. I did bring the subject up once or twice with my wife, especially during our 4H fair (look, Mary Lou, isn't that little Jersy cute?), but I had pretty much resigned myself to being cow-less for the foreseeable future.
Then came the phone call.
Not only had Aaron not forgotten us, he had turned down several offers for Linda (who was now a be-yoooo-tiful year-old heifer) at HIS 4H fair because he had told us we were first in line!
Time to scramble.
O.K., the barn is unusable--we'll build a shed. Nothing's fenced--wait a minute, the garden is--- we can put her in there. Will she be lonely?--I've been thinking of buying some Shetland sheep from those folks down the road. Where's my copy of "Keeping A Family Cow"? I know I loaned it out, but the loanee can't find it! Quick send an emergency email to real-food and get another copy. It arrives quickly, and I reread it over several nights. Finally, and most importantly, what's Mary Lou going to say? Well, possibly because she is feeling quite well in the latter stages of her pregnancy, she says "now or never!"
Soooo, last October, we borrowed Aaron's family's horse trailer and brought home Linda the Jersey (now Linda Lou) and two Shetland sheep to keep her company. We had her bred this last August for a late May calving, and today would have been her second heat since she was bred, and she's shown no sign of being in heat (normally she bellows all night, and mounts anything that's moving slow enough, including the sheep and yours truly--wow was that a surprise, I didn't know something that big could be so nimble!), so I think she caught.
So Joann, I'd just like to send you a big Thank You for getting us started on this adventure. If it wasn't for the Heifer Diary and "Keeping A Family Cow", I would never have thought we could keep a cow. Now I know better, and we're having a blast!
Thanks again!
Tom from Goodrich, MI
I was reading Heifer Diary the other day and mentioned to my daughter Lois that your daily web diary was the reason that we have a cow. Then I realized that we have had said cow (Linda Lou) for a year now, and I never wrote a note of thanks to you.
My wife and I live with our 6 children and my wife's father on 23 acres in Goodrich, MI. I read James Herriot's books as a teen (and in my 20's and my 30's and my 40's), and have wanted to have a farm ever since. I had always thought that we'd have chickens and sheep and maybe a pig or two, but I thought a cow would be too....big, or something. Then, a few years ago, I stumbled onto your website and discovered the Heifer Diary. From then on, it was just a matter of time.
O.K., it was years actually, but last year, a 4H friend of ours was given (yes, GIVEN!) a Jersy heifer calf to raise for his 4H project. He told us that he was going to take her to fair and then sell her for college money. Now, I was already familiar with the way this young man cared for his animals, so I immediately asked him to give us right of first refusal when the time came.
Well, time went by and I thought he had probably forgotten about us and sold Linda to someone else. I figured it was probably just as well, as I was in the middle of a major rehab project on our small barn, I didn't really have any pasture fenced, money was a little tight, and with our sixth child on the way, I really didn't need to be taking on any more projects. I did bring the subject up once or twice with my wife, especially during our 4H fair (look, Mary Lou, isn't that little Jersy cute?), but I had pretty much resigned myself to being cow-less for the foreseeable future.
Then came the phone call.
Not only had Aaron not forgotten us, he had turned down several offers for Linda (who was now a be-yoooo-tiful year-old heifer) at HIS 4H fair because he had told us we were first in line!
Time to scramble.
O.K., the barn is unusable--we'll build a shed. Nothing's fenced--wait a minute, the garden is--- we can put her in there. Will she be lonely?--I've been thinking of buying some Shetland sheep from those folks down the road. Where's my copy of "Keeping A Family Cow"? I know I loaned it out, but the loanee can't find it! Quick send an emergency email to real-food and get another copy. It arrives quickly, and I reread it over several nights. Finally, and most importantly, what's Mary Lou going to say? Well, possibly because she is feeling quite well in the latter stages of her pregnancy, she says "now or never!"
Soooo, last October, we borrowed Aaron's family's horse trailer and brought home Linda the Jersey (now Linda Lou) and two Shetland sheep to keep her company. We had her bred this last August for a late May calving, and today would have been her second heat since she was bred, and she's shown no sign of being in heat (normally she bellows all night, and mounts anything that's moving slow enough, including the sheep and yours truly--wow was that a surprise, I didn't know something that big could be so nimble!), so I think she caught.
So Joann, I'd just like to send you a big Thank You for getting us started on this adventure. If it wasn't for the Heifer Diary and "Keeping A Family Cow", I would never have thought we could keep a cow. Now I know better, and we're having a blast!
Thanks again!
Tom from Goodrich, MI