Baby Cows, Oodles of Milk, and Finishing Energy!
Aug 22, 2024 3:00 pm
Hey there!
Just when I think I might have a grasp on life and I am getting into the flow of things, it all changes once more. At this point I think I'm more used to change than normalcy. First off, it was about time we started to train our cow, Ginger, to stand on the stanchion in preparation for milking. At first, she was not so cool with the idea, even though her previous owners said she was used to it.
There was some mild fighting, but after a couple days of a struggle (and some treats for enticing) she finally realized we aren't trying to kill her. Though we hoped to have some more time for training, her little dude was born the day after. Here's a bit of an odd close-up picture of her baby, who we've named Mac. (I get the pleasure of bottle feeding him every day!)
So what does that mean for us? It means twice a day milking which results in about five to six gallons of milk a day. Yes. Every single day. Do we know what to do with it? Not entirely. Lots of cheese, lots of ice cream and butter. So far we've done all of these things and still have gallons upon gallons left. In any case, we'll get into the flow of it at some point I'm sure of it.
And on top of that, our kids (including our poor little newborn) got sick! Lots of stuffy noses and little sleep, but we're looking forward to brighter and healthier days in the coming weeks. :)
My Progress This Week
I'm thrilled to say that I wrote 'the end' on my next short story for the Writers of the Future contest. The Virality Report is a Sci-Fi, murder mystery story that, admittedly, came out of nowhere. My goal in writing this short story was to make something that wasn't so tragic. Transparently, it doesn't fit the bill perfectly, but I think it's less tragic then my last ones, so we'll count it as a win. If you want to read the previous stories, you can access a couple of them free if you follow me on my Ream Page. The others I'll be publishing as a part of a collective (with art hopefully) at some point this year.
So that story goes in a box for a few weeks and it's back to Dwarfblooded! Still about halfway, I hope to get this book (the first draft at least) done by the time I need to write the next quarterly short story. Edits should be back for Dragonblooded in the next week, then anyone who signed up to be an ARC reader (or anyone who still does sign up) will get a link to download an early access copy. If you'd rather just pre-order the book, you can do that as well!
New Episodes of The Casual Author!
Writing (and any creative outlet) can be such a cathartic experience, helping authors with their mental health and to keep a positive life. Join me and Abdul as we talk about his health and mental health challenges and how writing helped him flip his life around.
OR
When life hits you hard, sometimes the only thing you need is to sit in front of an empty page and write your heart out. Though it may not mend broken hearts, it can aid you in processing challenges, but also help you craft beautiful stories along the way. Join me and Kelly as we talk about her experience with writing through tragedy and how disability representation is both important and necessary in her writing.
OR
And Now for the Free Books!
More Interesting Books to Check Out!
warm regards,
Dan
