S & J Farms

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Mother(ing)

I can hardly explain my reaction when I turned around and saw this 2 year old giving her baby a precious kiss on the head during our daily chores. My mind couldn’t comprehend her natural mothering skills and mannerisms.

Miss M. insists on tucking “Baby” in her already snug snow pants and then whispers or gives a calming hush to get the baby to sleep. Whether it is a sled ride, picking eggs or feeding her little bucket of feed it is important that “Baby come with!”. What she doesn’t know is that we feel the same about her! She makes everyday tasks so much more joyful.

It is amazing how we are created with a desire to love and care for others and Miss M. has that love on full display when she has her baby in tow. What I also find to be interesting is that Steve and I complement each other when we care for our herd. We take on different roles, but it still is a demonstration of that desire to love and care just in our own way.

Steve tends to the herd day in and day out with daily chores and herd management. It isn’t widely discussed but with cattle there is a fair amount of record keeping, genetics researching (specifically for bull purchases) and nutrition ration review & adjustments. These tasks are crucial in helping us make decisions to improve & support our herd.

My roles still include physical labor but I naturally default to focusing in on the details and other mothering duties. Calving season is when things are in full swing with checking calf health, checking for signs of nursing(or helping a calf that just can’t figure it out) and keeping a watch for signs that new babies are ready to make their appearance on the farm.

I love that we make such a great team and work together as a family(Little Mommy included!!) to provide the best care for our herd.