Webmaster’s note: The format of this column has changed a bit, with all of the Quill’s Endians participating at various times and in various ways! This month’s column is written by Phil.
She’s an Easy Keeper!
This week, I was reminded of the age-old acronym KISS. Keep it simple, stupid. For some time now, my main form of transportation has been misbehaving, and even a short to the mechanic’s shop this week drive provided a massive dose of adrenaline.
Since my appointment with the mechanic was scheduled three weeks after my phone call, I had time to research, troubleshoot, and possibly save some money by doing some of the work myself. The more modern the vehicle, the deeper the rabbit hole of sensors and components. My little Toyota Tacoma is a 1996, and fortunately, still has a fair amount of mechanical, rather than electrical, components. I should have concentrated on corrosion instead of sensors, it seems. My research complicated a problem fixed by a professional with WD40.
I was flabbergasted when, after a harrowing drive to the mechanic shop on Wednesday, they called with a fix mere hours later. Thank God for knowledgeable professionals. Mechanics are a mystery to me. I lack the patience for discovery and the mechanical sense that clicks so easily in their minds.
It is that “click” that sets an individual apart in any field. Sometimes, creatures just intuit a skill. Cows as well as humans. True in fields of pasture as well as mechanical fields. Ariel is like that. She is just three and on her first lactation as a dairy cow, a novice in her career. Yet, she is the essence of a dairy cow…she embodies it.
Born from Pippin, of whom I wrote three weeks ago; and sired by Hughbert, the mellowest bull we have ever had, Ariel has been eager to please and unwilling to make a fuss from day one. She goes about her business with class and skill, no matter what you ask of her.
She calved last fall when we had too much milk and were trying to sell a few cows to even out the supply-demand cycle. We felt we had to list her for sale along with some other difficult choices. We are glad no one bought her.
She raised three veal calves for a few months and then willingly came into the milking parlor to provide you all with dairy products. This would not be an easy transition for many cows. She would melt into a larger herd, but is all too happy to be treated to royal care here at Quill’s End, where we can seek her and her wonderful, willing personality out and value the ease she provides us.
Old-timers would call her an “easy keeper” and I am beginning to understand just what that understated metaphor means, thanks to Ariel.
Heather and Phil Retberg and their three children run Quill’s End Farm, a 105-acre property in Penobscot that they bought in 2004. They use rotational grazing on their fifteen open acres and are renovating thirty more acres from woods to pasture to increase grazing for their pigs, grass-fed cattle, lambs, laying hens, and goats. Heather is Vice President of Halcyon Grange #345 and writes a newsletter for their farm’s buying club of farmers in her area and has generously permitted us to share some of their columns with Grangers. Visit the Quill’s End Farm Facebook Page for more information.