Just let me start out this post by saying I love cows. No….I adore cows. 
Little cows, big cows, fat cows, skinny cows, black cows, brown cows, Oreo cows, slobbery cows, shedding cows, sleek cows, pregnant cows, skittish cows, clean cows and yes—-oh yes—even the dirtiest cows are the ones that I love.
Yesterday Donna of DonnaHup.com, Jeni of JeniEats and Shannon from Enchanted Acres met Laura and Aaron Cunningham at their Nora Springs, Iowa farm, SkyView, to spend a few hours communing with nature. And cows. Lots of cows.
We started off with a lovely lunch complete with beef raised right there on SkyView Farm. It was amazing. Donna tasted cheesy potatoes for the very first time. I KNOW! This girl was raised in Florida and I guess cheesy potatoes weren’t a thing there but now I think she might just be hooked.
Aaron was gracious enough to give us tractor rides and Jeni and Donna actually drove the tractor. I guess I just wasn’t feeling it so I spared Aaron giving me a lesson but it was great to be in the RED tractor and talk to him about farming and his love of it.
We checked out the cows and the highlight of the day was feeding baby Lena. Oh my goodness. What an adorable little gal she is. Her mom was a young mom and really did not seem to have the maternal instinct needed to feed Lena so Laura assumed the role as surrogate mom and bottle feeds her 3 times daily. She actually took to the three of us pretty well but I suspect it was because Laura was right there with us.
She is adorable. I can not tell you how much I loved having the chance to feed her. Laura mixes up her whey 3 times a day making sure it is just the right temperature. Lena is pretty picky when it comes to her bottles and likes the smaller ones so that is exactly what she gets.
20150423_071057 from Beth Ann Chiles on Vimeo.
We visited with all of the cows when we were there and just spent a lot of time watching them watch us. Jeni and Donna have not had up close experiences with farm animals before so it is pretty fun to watch them interact. Of course there were some barn cats around.
Laura and Aaron farm corn, soybeans and alfalfa as well as raising cows so they have a lot going on. I admire them so much—young couples who commit to a life of farming is amazing to me. They are both passionate about what they do and want to do the best that they can do for their animals and for their crops. I was trying to think of a word that described what I felt when I talked to them and I think it has to be integrity. They are passionate about their farm, their animals and they run their business with integrity and that is such a wonderful quality, don’t you think?
The day was so much fun and I might just do another post later but I had to get some of these fun pictures posted right away. If you are interested in learning more about their operation I know that they would love to connect with you. They are both very patient and willing to answer any and all questions and they proved that when we visited because we asked a lot of questions. Oh and did I mention they have awesome meat for sale? I walked away with a cooler with some ground beef and ribeye steaks that will be grilled this weekend when Chris is home. Yum.
If you want to connect with SkyView Farms you can go to their website and blog by clicking here or their Facebook page by clicking here.
What a fun day with friends. I am blessed. (Yes–I had fun rain boots on because that is how I roll.)
Special thanks to Laura and Aaron for making this the best day ever.
Thanks to Donna, Jeni and Laura for some of the pictures of the group and of myself. I kind of lost track of who took some of them but I appreciate them all!
35 Comments
Leave a commentWhat a sweet barn kitty!! You would have LOVED growing up where I did, Beth Anne: directly across the highway from a dairy farm! I used to ride on the tractor in the afternoons when they went out to round up the cows….. When I saw your photos, I could almost smell that barn….
It was so funny to watch Donna And Jeni react to the smells especially. Wasn’t that a great shot of the kitty? One of my favs from the day.
You always make your visits so entertaining.
We all just have a fun time learning new things together!
Ummmm, Beth Ann…..your boots aren’t, well, you know……..RED!!!!!!!! Great photos!!!!
Micah got them for me so even if they aren’t red they are FUN!
Ahhhhhh, that ‘splains it!!!!!!
I am so happy you and your friends had this opportunity!! Great post! 🙂
Thanks so much, Marla! We had so much fun there.
I was a city girl who married a cattle/dairy farmer. It was an amazing experience. I understand your love of cows. They didn’t care if it was Easter morning and I was dressed for church… if they felt like taking a field trip in someone else’s field, they just went. And before long I was chasing after them. I had a lot to learn though when I first stepped into the barn. Like the difference between Hay and Straw. Yes, even the cows laughed at me over that one!
I love that you learned all of that stuff and probably in a hurry, right? Farm life is definitely not for everyone but it is such a great life to learn discipline and maybe even priorities. Thanks for stopping by!
I grew up on a farm and had special pets. I had a dog that always my special pet, many cats, baby lambs, chickens, two horses and I had one cow that was the one I had to milk every day. I am glad I had the chance of growing up on farm.
I am glad I have such fun memories of Gma and Gpa’s farm as well. Even those pesky chickens who pecked me.
From age 5 until age 9 I lived on a dairy farm! I learned at that very young age how to feed the calves their bottles and molasses oats. On a dairy farm, the babies are “taken” from their moms as soon as they calve, then they were fed the milk from the milking tank! It was so much fun and I LOVE the suckling sounds calves make when drinking! What a fun day! Horses (and his 3 ginormous gardens along with chickens) on my dad’s farm should be an adventure this summer!!
It does sound like you have had such great experiences on farms growing up. I love that you have those memories. It also sounds like your summer will be busy with gardening and chicken care!
What a great day. You know how much I love calves and cows, former dairy farm girl that I am. It’s great to see young couples in farming and so passionate about it.
There are quite a few young couples that I Know in the area who are very passionate about farming and doing the best possible things with their land and livestock. It makes me smile to see that.
HOLY COW, Beth Ann, the only cow that you failed to mention in your love of all things bovine was… The holy cow.. lol
Oh I knew I left one out! Holy cow!
That’s better, or better yet, make that butter.
🙂
As you know, I grew up on a farm and this post brought back memories. I love cows too. Great pictures. Glad you had fun. XO
Such adventures you have!
It’s always something with me!
You look like you’re having a blast though!
I usually try to ! The cows were awesome. 🙂
That would be quite an experience to feed a baby one. 🙂
She was doggone adorable. They had two new baby boys yesterday there so they have lots of babies coming along. The mommas are feeding the new ones, though!
So exciting!!
I’m glad I could share this day with blog mom and blog sister. It was an unforgettable experience. Laura and Aaron are gracious hosts. We love the cows and the cows love you. I think you are the cow whisperer.
I loved this day as well. Laura and Aaron are such amazing people and it was really neat to get to know them better.
Love that you all got to have another farm experience last week. (And, I actually just bought my first “fun” pair of rain boots this year – they’re navy with polka dots!)
Those are perfect fun boots! I love it!
Some of those cows are pretty dirty! The baby was sure cute!
They all needed a bath to be honest. 🙂