Just Keep Swimming

We are getting close! I feel like we are with Dory. "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming!"

We fired up the barn yesterday and everything seemed to work. That isn't to say that it hasn't gone off without a hitch. We have had a few set backs throughout this whole process. A couple days the wind blew too hard for the roofers to get the metal on. We had a couple of rainy days, although those weren't unwelcome, we are very dry and need rain! But it did set the blockers and some concrete back a little bit. Overall everything has gone pretty smoothly.

We have been blessed with decent building weather, really good friends, family, and neighbors helping us out, and the ability to move quickly from one part of the project to another. Our barn was a double nine parallel. That means there are nine cows on each side of the parlor side by side. We could milk 18 cows at a time. When they poured the concrete for the new barn it made enough room to add a stall on each side of the barn, making it a double 10 parallel. We got almost all of our milking equipment from other farms that no longer milk. The Milkman and his helpers (his dad and Fancy Pants mostly) ran all over God's country, from barn to barn, hunting and gathering pieces. We have one of the bigger barns around and adding an extra stall just raised the number of items we would need to finish. Somehow the Milkman managed to find 20 of all the same things so they would match. It has really been amazing to see things fall into place.

We got the closest dairy supply company to come out and get everything installed. They have worked and worked to get it all in so we can get back to milking ASAP. The whole process has taken less than a month. It will actually be a month on the May 13th. We are so excited to get the mommas back and milk them in our new barn.

We have one big hold up. Our tank. If you know much about dairy farming, you know that the tank is something you cannot milk without. The milkers go on the cow, the milk runs through the lines and into the tank. The tank is hooked up to cooling units that immediately start cooling the milk to 36 degrees and keep it there. We had a hard time finding a tank big enough to handle the volume of milk that we produce. In our old barn we had a 2250 gallon and another tank that held 1000 gallons. We were looking for a 3000 gallon tank. We found a few, very few. We had friends and other farmers looking everywhere. Finally we decided to get one hauled in from Kentucky. The Milkman talked to the guy that had it a couple of times and he assured us that the cooling units were in good, working condition and that everything worked last time it was hooked up. We didn't have a lot of choice, but to take his word for it. We talked to a few of the guy's other customers and he had always done them right. Good sign.

The tank got here and seemed ok. We set the tank and the cooling units and called our favorite heating and air guys to come hook us all up. They came out in a hurry because they knew our situation and wanted to help us get back to milking. They gave us the bad news. One of the two units didn't even have all the parts on it and the other one *might* work. To get them in working order would cost a few thousand. Unhappily, we just ordered 2 new cooling units. That added a few thousand (unintended) dollars to our rebuild. Not good. Not only were the units bad, the wiring in the control box was burnt up and one of the parts that keeps the milk agitated was froze up. It seems that the seller wasn't quite honest.

This whole thing has been quite an experience. We have learned things about ourselves, people we know, and people we don't. We have been overwhelmed with help from people we never knew cared. On the flip side of that coin we have been disappointed in others that we thought would be there for us. People show their true colors in the face of a tragedy. They show their level of caring, compassion, or lack thereof. It never fails that people you don't even know will show up in support or to take advantage of a desperate situation.

I would like to think that the world is a better place than that. That people don't use someone's hard time to make a few dollars, but they do. There will always be someone looking for an opportunity to take what they don't earn. We just can't focus on those kinds of people. We have to find the good.

When Dairy Carrie shared my blog post I saw an out pour of support from people I will never meet and I was brought to tears with other's stories and offers of prayers and support. It was very encouraging. I will chose to see that as the majority and the sorry people as the minority. [insert plug for Dairy Carrie's blog! She is a cool one to follow! Check her out!]

I have learned that a lot of the disappointment we face has more to do with ourselves than with the ones we are disappointed in. We put expectations on people that they have no intention of living up to. We expect better because we would be willing to go the extra mile for those people. We form an opinion, based on what we see and how they talk. What you end up learning is that a lot of people talk the talk, but the walk is a different story. The thing that makes the disappointment easier to cope with is the ones that step up that were never in your line of sight. The ones you didn't know had any interest in your happiness or success. The people that show up to be supportive when they have no reason to. Those surprises are what makes the hardship easier to work through.

I have every intention of calling out the seller of this tank. I'm not exactly sure how to handle it, yet. It will depend on a few more tests of the tank. We haven't established if the tank will actually work now that we have dumped lots of extra money in it, but we will know soon. That will help make the decision on how we move forward.

Prayers are still appreciated as we finish up and get all our mommas back home and broke to the new barn. We are still swimming and have no intention of stopping. We will continue and be stronger on the other side.

On a really bright note...the oldest Milkmaid accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior in her new milk barn. She is so excited and we are so proud. We are taking that as a good sign to start up the barn. That is something that can never be taken away from her and the memory will forever be with us and in the barn.


"Sometimes we expect more from others because we would be willing to do that much for them."