Part 2

The second part of our vacation: South Dakota

About every year my family and I visit our friends near Freeman, SD. This family recently stopped milking dairy cows...they had been in the dairy business for over 30 years. I have such great memories of their farm. I can still hear the sound of the milking machines and can remember the way the calves would suck at their bottles...and on your hand. The years have gone by and there aren't as many animals, but the memories remain.

Another tradition that happened without fail was the late night storytelling. Every year, as night falls, my dad and Larry swap stories, and they always talk about mountain lion sightings. They are so serious about it, too- that is part of the reason it's so chilling. I remember sitting on the dark lawn, with my back to the dark trees, and listening to them talk about how near the closest mountain lions have been reported, and how you never used to see them when they were kids. It is always scary, but also thrilling!

Here are some pictures of the farm animals I got to see:

There aren't as many barn cats now that there is no milking, but it is a farm so there are always some. :)

This mother duck was protecting her nest, even though she had apparently left her eggs to get cold about a week before. Silly duck.

The not-so-little piglets! Mmmm...I love bacon and sausage.

Mama pig was sooo lazy.

These are limousin cattle, and very cute ones at that!

I love roosters...don't know why, but I do.

Daisies are my all-time favorite flower, and they were blooming so nicely!

These teeny tiny grapes are part of the new orchard, planted a few years ago. The trees/plants are still small now, but they will be so good in the years to come. They have just about everything, too: grapes, blueberries, cherries, apples, peaches, rhubarb, strawberries, gooseberries, and more.

Silly goose.

Jake, the horse. He's lovely.

This is Jake, too! He is the grandson of our friends. He lives on another farm, and we had fun watching him "help" with the chores. He helped bring the calf bottles to the barn in his wagon, and even tested the milk to see if it was good. :)

I found this guy in Freeman- I don't see too many snakes around my house, so I just had to catch him!

Mr. Snakey and me...too bad he felt he needed to bite! 

That's it for now...we will be returning to South Dakota later this summer, only headed west to the Black Hills! That is another place packed with great memories, with many more to come!