Aaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!! Memories! The size of cows always did intimidate me so when we moved to the farm, goats became our source of milk products. By the end of life on the farm, I was ready to invest in milking machines, but in the beginning and in the middle... and even now, I can say that there's nothing quite like milking as the sun comes up. Everything is so quiet, then the birds start waking up, including the rooster . I'd cuddle up to a warm goat just out of her bed of hay, nuzzled in to the hollow between her ribs and her hips and squeezing gently, listening to the steady swish, swish of the milk hitting the milk pail. My 18 cats, sometimes one by one, sometimes 2 and 3 at a time, would file in and get their morning appetizer of a squirt of milk in or near their mouth. Then the next goat and the next until all 12 were milked.

I sure miss it! Even the smells. Of course, goats poop berries not pies... and it's not nearly as smelly. I don't miss the clean up, either.