death and life

i have been here for 25 days and i feel good. i have seen the cycles of life and death, it is refreshing and sad and energizing.
a day before my brithday two calves were born. yay! one of them i got to carry right after the birth, so for the majority of the day i wore a hoodie covered in afterbirth. i know it sounds kind of disgusting, but really it was amazing. to see a huge animal, who was also small, come from a larger animal and then to be able to hold him(xtreme lee)...i mean, i am basically a veternarian now. pretty much.
but of course, when there is life there is also death and one usually follows the other. today i found one of our chickens dead. it is most definitely a part of life on a farm, life anywhere, but it is a little disheartening. i hope she didn't suffer, i hope it was quick.
there is of course the birthing of a lifestyle and ideas and the death of a lifestyle and some ideas. there is the beginning of friendships and, unfortunately, the end of friendships. it really is all a part of the cycle and it is beautiful and ugly, joyous and painful. but without the death, life would never be as sweet.
it snowed today, a lot. usually, in late march, i would be devistated. but because my work, grocery and friends all are within a 3 minute walk from me it was more pretty than devistating.
plus, with the exception of a few hours, i got to sit in a warm house all day talking with my friend(and eating some candy, mmm).
all of the cards and packages i got for my birthday were wonderful. thank you all, i felt very blessed.
oh and!! my address is wrong in the previous post. sorry. the corrected address is:
5943 north county road 29
loveland, co 80538
i won't write it here, because it will take up too much room, but read kahlil gibran's essay on work. it makes it better to wake up at 4:20 to milk or to go feed the calves in the snow.
love isn't easy, but well worth it.
goodnight.

it's been a while

i know i missed last week and definitely heard about it! sorry. it's hard to make myself sit at the computer when there are so many other things i want to be doing.
things are good. i am learning a lot and stretching a lot. plus, my body is really sore.
milking is going good. there is always something crazy happening with those girls. i love them.
this week we're getting all new chickens so we've been cleaning out the chicken house. gross. those animals are really disgusting. they smell so bad!
we are also harvesting some pigs on friday. i am really nervous about that, but i think it'll be a good experience.
i've been eating meat, which is weird and good. it's nice to know where all the meat i eat comes from. it's also fun to milk and that night drink the milk...it's a nice cycle.
my birthday is coming up *cough, cough* i think we are going contra dancing, that should be interested. one of the boys, seth, bought me a ticket to psychograss for thursday night at the boulder theater. that should be fun too.

i need to go eat. i love you all. come visit.

xoxo
libby

i am here

well, i am here and it's most of what i expected. i am a little lonely, but for the most part happy.
i milk my first cow today. actually about 5 of them. it went surprisingly well. the set up of all the equiptment might be a bit to remember, but other than i am a pro!
it is really beautiful here, the mountains, the open space, the animals. i wake up to roosters crowing every morning at about 4am. yes, you can feel bad for me.
slowly, i am finding where i fit in all of this. it isn't always easy, but i am learning.
for your information my old cell phone is no longer mine. it now belongs to my parents and has a colorado number.
my new number is 970 461 0272, mailbox 2. i think that's right. it should be in an earlier post anyway.
be loving and love hard.