Most random blog post title ever, right?!? Needless to say, today is off to an exciting start!
My morning started at 6:30 AM for an early morning milking at Fournier Farms in Swanton, Vermont. The cows are milked by machines, but I still had the opportunity to milk a cow the “old-fashioned” way by squeezing the teats!
I actually got a little milk out! See the white dot on my hand? The cow really didn’t seem to mind that I was manhandling her teets. She didn’t even flinch.
Fournier Farmers milks about 60-70 cows, twice a day, in their milking parlor. The pallor can hold up to eight cows at a time, so it takes about an hour and 45 minutes to complete each milking session.
The cows actually seemed to enjoy the milking. They come right into the milking parlor as soon as the door is opened and get immediately into position. The cows just hang out while the farmers sterilize their utters and milk them.
After the morning milking, we explored the rest of the farm.
Of course, we visited the cows!
So cute!
Hey, ladies! 😉
We also visited the “manure pit.” Surprisingly, it didn’t really smell.
Bloggers with Earl Fournier!
The Fournier Farm is just a couple of miles from the Canadian border, so we took a quick drive to see if we could visit. On the drive, I snacked on some pecans and an orange mango Honest Ade. I hadn’t eaten anything all morning, so I was starving!
A few minutes later, we arrived at the Canadian border.
The “official” border marker:
Hi, I’m in Canada! 😉
Yay, Canada!!
Then, we returned to the B&B, showered, packed up, and enjoyed a quick breakfast outside on the back porch. It was so nice sipping my coffee while staring out over Lake Champlain.
For breakfast, we enjoyed Stuffed French Toast with fresh strawberries and a strawberry-orange marmalade sauce. Holy delicious! I could have easily eaten a second piece!
At breakfast, we met the recently-crowned Miss Vermont! It turns out that she’s the innkeeper’s daughter. Cool, right?! Caroline was really sweet! I’ll be routing for her in the Miss America pageant in January.
Right now, we’re driving south to New Hampshire to visit another organic dairy farm and then an organic veggie farm. I’m definitely looking forward to it!