More often than not, done is better than perfect.
This is my current “milking station”. No stanchion, but instead a tree. No nicely organized cabinet for me to keep clean washcloths, disinfectants, and bag balm in, but instead having to take it in and out with me each time I need it. No floor mats or concrete slab to stand on, but instead the ground with dust and hay and manure. Hobbles are used to keep her hind end from wondering around too much (which she really doesn’t mind them at all, but she knows when she doesn’t have them on 
)
BUT…I am able to get nutrient dense, raw milk for my family. And, we are that much more self-sustained. And that tree? It provides cool shade, while the birds seranade us as we queitly go about our work. I enjoy the sound of the milk spraying into the can as well as watching it froth as we fall into our rythm. My heart fills with gratitude for our milk cow for providing for our family.
If I had waited until I had the perfect set up to dive into this area of my homesteading journey, I would have been waiting a long time.
Sometimes you just have to take the leap of faith. This adventure has been FULL of the unexpected. I had not planned on getting a milk cow until this Spring. But in the Fall, we received an unexpected offer from a neighbor….a bred heifer at a great price. We jumped at the opportunity. We didn’t even know where we were going to put her! But you know what, it just somehow works out. We were told she was due to calve the end of February. Guess who showed up February 2nd? We had planned on having our disease tests done prior to her calving (but that didn’t happen because of the early calving). Being green, my world was turned upside down with the arrival of the calf….let me just say, beef cattle are very different from Jersey’s.
