This morning I had to fight with a calf over its mother’s teats as I tried to get a feel of what country life is all about since we were sleeping on Glen Avon farm. It was a funny feeling touching a cow’s teat and having to pull it to milk as much as I could.
Hottie my buddy for the morning who showed me how to do the milking was going way faster than me and getting more milk out of the cow. I had to try keep up with his speed while at the same time trying to chase the calf away which was determined for its morning meal.
The exercise looked easy enough for me but once I started pulling those teats it was not the story  as I had to try get my fingers to press harder but it was so tiring and having to squat while milking is a mission. But I finally got the rhythm and knew when to push the calf away but it was hard work.
I could not manage to fill the bucket by myself and I moved out of the way for the professional Hottie to do what he does best. It was a really funny experience because one has to put some white cream on their hands and make the teats softer for easy milking.
After I was done milking, the cow ran away still with its legs tied up and Hottie had to chase it around the kraal. It was a funny sight because it could not really run but Hottie was struggling  to corner it but it finally gave up.  But I bet if I did this once more I’ll do better I just need to get to the same speed as Hottie who can milk seven cows in 20 minutes.

By THANDUXOLO JIKA. Pictures: Rudi Louw