Surprise!!!

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN....

I'M PROUD, EXCITED AND VERY PLEASED, TO GIVE TO YOU....

PICTURES FROM 'PENINSULA JERSEYS'!!!!!

TADAAAA!

Yes, it keeps raining blessings! I don't have the time to explain exactly how this is possible, but I was back at Jake and Annie's today, so I spent some time taking pictures and I even got the whole family all together. What more do you want??

So, this is the barn, the first low red part is the milkhouse and the office. After that you find the cows and to the left some of the young cattle. There is of course straw and hey in the mow. It is a little bit tiny, but you should be abe to see the sign of the farm; 'Peninsula Jerseys', 'the Vander Meulens' (they're trying to hide that they are Dutch... doesn't work for me..)



The barn at the inside; two long rows of Jerseys, standing with their tails towards each other. I already forgot the exact number, but I think that there are somewhere around 60 cows being milked at the time. A little bit more.



Now I've got your attention anyway, I might as well take the change for a little educational part on my blog ;-) What you see on the next two pictures are parts of the pipeline milking system. With this system, the cows don't move, but the farmer and his/her milkers move. Earl has four milkers, they weigh a couple of kilos each. There is a pipeline through the whole barn (the one that shines, a kind of), that runs down a little bit, so the milk will flow into the milktank. Underneath it you find the line for the air pressure. When you want to milk, you plug the two pieces into the right holes, push a button and put the milker on. There are milkers that will show you with a red light or tell you with an anoying beep that the cow is empty, but with some other ones you actually have to pay attention. I can tell you that it's an art to get it all right, fast and without sucking too much air into the milkline...



This here on te right is the heifer barn, where I spent hours and hours on those big hey bales, observing... The barn is facing the south, so that's nice on your back when the sun is out :-)

This is Jake and Annie's house. While I was looking at this picture I first noticed the front door, which of course, is never used, because we're in Canada (or is it a farmer's thing?)
Somewhere between the house and the tree, the ones with good eyes, can spot Earl and Sharon's place.



Here are some more heifers, just being their curious selves...





And here you can finally see the family; Earl, Sharon and Diana Vander Meulen on the left and Jakob and Annie Vander Meulen on the right.

Talk to you soon!

Lotte