6 weeks on the farm

It's amazing how quickly the days pass here. In the beginning, it was difficult for me to wake up at 4:30 AM - I usually sleep for at least 4 more hours. But we were always greeted with the most beautiful starry sky in the morning (I prefer nights, though). In the first 2-3 weeks, we were really lucky with the weather and saw the most wonderful sunrises around 7 o'clock. But in the last few weeks, it has been mostly foggy and rainy. But that doesn't mean much in New Zealand, because 10 minutes later, the sun can already be shining again.

There's not much to tell actually. Our workday starts at 5:15 AM when we clean the milk tank and start milking. Sometimes we also fetch the cows beforehand and bring them to the milking parlour. After milking 8 rows of 44 cows (at the beginning, it was 3 rows), everything has to be cleaned. After an hour's breakfast break, around 9 o'clock, we go down to the paddock of the springers (the cows that will calve soon). It's always exciting because you never know what's waiting for you down there. I always hope for a little brown calf (called Jerseys), which look like little fawns. See for yourself!

Then I take the collected calves to the stable and Niklas herds the cows with the motorcycle, as they are now going to a different herd. We are usually finished around 11:30 AM and then have lunch break. Lately, I used the break to take some pictures of the farm. The cows are milked a second time at 2 o'clock. The same procedure as in the morning. We usually finish work around 4:30 PM, but a few days ago we worked until 6 PM. It depends on whether there are new calves that we still have to fetch.

On weekends, Lily and James, the family's children, always help out. That means one of us only has to come back for the second shift on Saturday and Sunday, and the other one has a longer lunch break.

Three weeks ago, the family's daughter Lily celebrated her pet's birthday - Trixie. No, not a cat or a dog, not even a snake or a spider, but a cow. For her 2nd birthday, she received a bucket of milk which she devoured in a minute and then got stuck in it.

And so one day passes after another. When we come home, we shower, eat something and if we're not too tired, we chat with mom for a bit.

We will work on the farm for at least 2 more weeks and then we'll see what happens next.