Welcome to the Archive

On our Colorado homestead, a pregnant cow + incoming snow = emergency shelter improvisation. Join us as we build a fast, affordable cow tent for May Belle and hope it survives the weather.

Our pregnant dairy cow, May Belle, is still not calving! Here’s what to look for in a cow about to give birth, plus real-life stories from our Colorado homestead while we wait for her calf.

When your sweet, pregnant dairy cow suddenly rears up like a rodeo horse, you start to question everything. Join me as I try to figure out whether May Belle was being affectionate, hormonal, or just plain weird.

I didn’t even know this was a thing—but apparently, when a cow’s tail gets repeatedly splattered with manure, it can form a hardened, crusty clump that fuses with tail hair like some kind of fecal fossil. If left unchecked, it can restrict blood flow and even cause the tail to fall off. WD-40 to the rescue? We'll see.

When a three-day storm floods the pasture, one yak decides to live her best mermaid life — while I scramble to build a shelter before our cow calves.

Pregnant Jersey cross cow joins new farm