Ranch/Farm Life ((Male Needed))(OPEN)

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    "Great!" Naomi said, leading him towards the back of the house and to the cows' part of the field, "After the milking, you're more than welcome to stay for dinner. I usually put everyone up afterwards, but you don't have to stay for that part. It's the easiest part of the day." she chuckled.

    David listened to her dinner offer and shook his head politely. He wasn't ready to take her up on that offer yet. He was too new of an employee. "I appreciate it, but Goliath and I will just head on home after we're done here. We'll get some rest before we come back tomorrow." He ended that sentence in a curious manner, hoping she'd confirm whether he truly had the job.

    "Of course, of course. 5:30, but no later than 6, please. The rooster crows at dawn and boy is he persistent." Naomi said. She wasn't very fond of the rooster's crowing, but it did make up for an alarm clock. She'd never had to buy one thanks to him.

    With a chuckle, Ben nodded. "Of course. Trust me, my inner clock is permanently set to 4 in the morning after all of the years I've had to wake at that time." They had never owned roosters, but the dogs would always wake everybody up due to their hunger. They had always run on pretty tight schedules with their eating times.

    "Good, good." Reaching the cow barn, Naomi went straight for the storage shed and pulled out a few pales for them to start off with, "Here we go. We'll bring in only a few at a time and go from there."

    David took a couple of the pails, and he scanned the cows out in the fields. "Now, how many cows do you estimate you have here?" It was smaller than the herds he had in the past, but that was because his farm was centered around dairy and some sheep wool. She had a wider variety of animals on her premises.

    "Oh, about 10 and 2 bulls." she answered, "We breed some every now and then and do a little buy and sell after a little while, but not much. The milk is more profitable than buying and selling. With bulls around to breed, when the old-timers are ready for retirement it's easy to replace without having to buy another cow."

    "Ah okay, so where do you keep the calves?" He asked asked curiously. Calves couldn't be kept in the same barn as their mother for long, because otherwise they would never be weaned off of their mother's milk. But it was always hard to separate them. Heifers were always protective over their calf. "And do you breed artificially?" It was always very hard for Bulls to breed with heifers naturally and receive a calf quickly, so they'd always speed up the process by imseminating them artificially.

    "Artificially, yes. As for the calves, we put them in with the sheep and goats. It helps to socialize them while their young, plus after being separated from their mothers get tend to get lonely easier. Putting them in with the others helps keep them happy." Setting the pails down, she wen back to grab the stools.

    David set his pail down as well, taking another look at the cows. They used to separate all of the calves and they would place them all in one large and long barn. They would separate them by age, the newest ones being in an individual pen. As they got older, they would go into big group pens with calves that are the same age. The older calves also had the freedom to go outside. But they had so many calves that they'd overrun the sheep pen if he tried to put them there.

    Grabbing a couple leads, Naomi headed out into the cow field. She hooked the leads to the closest cows' halter and led them back to the barn. Tying their leads to the rails near their stools, Naomi placed her pail under one and got comfy on her stool.

    As Naomi hooked the leads into the cows, he took one and lead it back to the barn. Since they had herds in his old place of work, he was used to electronic milking technology. But back when he was a kid and they had a few cows, they started with the pail technique. He tied the cows lead onto the next railing and sat on his stool, pulling the bucket underneath of the cow. He then proceeded to start killing, gently pulling and squeezing the udder.

    Naomi began the milking process. It wasn't exactly a hard job, just time consuming. But the extra money it brought it definitely helped at times. Once she deemed her first cow done, she moved the pail and untied the lead. She led the cow through a separate gate that was fenced off from the rest of the herd. Easier tell who has already been milked and who hasn't. Releasing the cow, she went to the herd and led another into the barn.

    David was quite patient, and he deemed the milking process as a relaxing pastime. It was one of the only activities that allowed him to think freely. He thought about his dad, he thought about his farm, he thought about his cows, he thought about his dogs. It had been awhile since he had milked a cow in the way Naomi did it, and he appreciated it. After the first cow was finished, he led her to the fence that he had seen Naomi go to. Once he let he cow go, he headed towards the other field to retrieve another one. There weren't that many, so it would pass by quickly.

    Naomi started on her next cow. She found it one of the most peaceful part of the day. One of the few times of the day where she actually got to sit down while she worked.

    David strung the next cow up against the railing, assuming the same position. Goliath laid down nearby, panting from the heat. Sometimes his father would allow the dogs to drink some of the milk. But David had always thought that water was healthier, so he never allowed Goliath any. He began milking the next one, collecting as much milk as possible. "What do you do with the milk after you're done milking them all?"

    Naomi looked up at David's question, "Funnel the pails into jugs and refrigerate them." she answered, continuing to milk, "It takes a little time, but the milk is nice and cold by morning and ready to go. Then we sell it in town. Many people prefer fresh from the farm milk instead of the other stuff. No chemicals, no overproduction, and no animal abuse. 100% natural, pure, and pain free."

    David nodded, completely agreeing with her. They would rarely ever sell their cows milk however, for unknown reasons. Perhaps because there were too many cows at the time. As he milked his second cow, it brought him back to a much simpler time. "Maybe I'll try some of your cows milk." He told her with a smile. "I bet it's great."

    Naomi nodded, "You can have a jug in the morning, if you'd like. I can spare some without a big fuss, so it's no problem if you would like to take it home. Heck, if you don't mind warm milk, you can take a jug home tonight if ya want." she offered.

    David smiled. "That'd be great. I'll just store it in my fridge for an hour and eat it with cookies." He picked up the next pail full of milk and set it down next to him. Taking the cows lead, he brought her to the 'finished' side of the field and let her loose. At that point, they had accomplished four cows altogether. He grabbed his third heifer, bringing her in and beginning the process over.