I’ve been outside (Alaskan for the rest of the US) for a trip to visit this beauty:

This is Lily, the newest member of the Twin Spruce family! Lily is a purebred Jersey cow, 2.5 years old, gentle, and milking like a dream. Lily lives in Montana right now and we traveled down to meet her and learn more about keeping a family milk cow from her current family, who kindly (and patiently) shared their knowledge and wisdom with me.

Here I am trying to learn how to operate a single cow milking machine. Its not as easy as it looks with hands as small as mine. So many tubes and hoses and such to try to hold on to and simultaneously coordinate. (Coordination is not my strong suit.) But Lily (and her family) were very patient and kind and after a few tries I think I kinda sorta got the hang of it.
Which is good because come spring we are building a barn and bringing this beautiful creature home with us to Alaska. I am already dreaming of pure fresh, creamy Jersey milk (pure A2/A2 if you are interested) and all of the goodies I can make with it. Butter, yogurt, ice cream and cheese. Lots of cheese, which Lily’s family was also kind enough to teach me how to make. The generosity of people sometimes takes me by surprise. I only hope I can pay it forward once I become proficient enough myself.

In the meantime I am dreaming…