The Journey

Now, I’m sure by reading the title you thought this would be some kind of a philosophical post.  You will be sorely disappointed.  This is the journey I’m going to be talking about.

This little girl is the one that started my dairy passion.  Jerseys are not a breed that is known for large ears so it’s rather comical looking back at this picture.  This heifer was my first Jersey born on my family’s farm.  Honestly, it was love at first sight.

When my heifer was born of course I had to have the perfect name.  After some soul searching I decided on the name Bambi.  After all, look at her, she looks like a deer.  A few months later I found out how unoriginal the name Bambi is for a Jersey.  Apparently everyone names their first Jersey Bambi.  Funny how we all end up thinking the same.

This cow represents the passion I feel for farming and the Jersey breed.  She showed me the excitement of seeing your hard work progress and becoming something bigger than you ever could have imagined.  She also helped to teach me and my siblings the joy of showing.

We learned about the daily care of the animal and seeing it pay off with a good placing in the show.  There’s also been a time two when she got sassy in the ring and beat my younger sister up during a state showmanship class.  We laugh about it now that a few years have passed and we still talk about how wonderful she did when Lauren later got Reserve Showman at the county fair.

For anyone that knows Bambi, knows she is sassy and sweet at the same time.  She also has a belching problem.  Most cows burp occasionally, but I swear Bambi burps every 15 minutes.  Not very feminine but I guess if you have to burp you have to burp.

I took the above picture this morning.  Bambi is now 7 years old and still a strong part of my family’s farm.  Although she hasn’t been in the show ring in a few years hopefully this summer will include a reunion tour for at least one show.  This journey is one that has taken many turns and Bambi has helped lead me along the way.