This week, we had the opportunity to visit the Hatcher Family Dairy Farm, which is about 20 miles southeast of our home. We've had an unusually hot late May/early June (heat index of 105 some days) so, it was HOT but, we all really enjoyed the outing. We got to see the cows up close and personal and then see how they are milked, how the milk is processed and bottled and better understand the process of getting it to the stores and then to our table. The heat, plus the farm smells, about did this pregnant lady in and we ALL went straight to bed for a nap when we got home.

But, we had a blast and look forward to going back....maybe next time in April or October!!
Before our tour started, A examined the plastic cow and was curious about the udders...

Taking a closer look and enjoying how the water came out in the bucket when he squeezed

Snack time for our cow friends. The females were all named after celebrities and the males were named after
rock stars


this was the pasture where the momma cows spend their last couple of months of gestation (they are
pregnant for 9 months, too!!) This brown cow was expected to deliver in about a month...I felt for these
ladies....it was HOT and they were HUGE!!


14 year old Emma was the lucky bovine that all the kids got to touch. She is also pregnant and due
in about 3 months. The average lifespan of a dairy cow is 8 years so, she was considered one of the
more mature "seasoned" gals on the farm. ADC LOVED Emma and talked about her all day---he even
prayed for her that night!!

K was most interested in the baby cow that was inside Emma's belly and wanted to know when
it was going to come out!!

Our sweet friends and neighbors, the Dennys, enjoyed the farm with us!! Noah is almost 4 and Aaron is almost 2.

In the stable that they called the "nursery". This little guy was born last week!!

K & A really enjoyed watching the baby cow being fed by a bottle.

Inside the house of steel where the gigantic contraption can milk 12 cows at one time!!


some fresh butter made from the milk of the cows we had just seen!! K and A enjoyed trying it on crackers.

Sampling some of the milk....A was convinced that the chocolate milk he drank was from his favorite cow, Emma

K really liked the whole milk. It was all delicous and I came home with some milk, ice cream and butter from the dairy store. I love supporting the local farmers plus, their products were wonderful!!

Carolyn and Aaron enjoying some refreshing cold milk after 90 minutes in the hot sun
