Bears and Bovines. The Paul Family

New Tigers from Luxembears

2008-12-04T16:36:00.000-08:00

Bali is the lastest tiger by Luxembears. He stands 12" tall and measures 25.5" from nose to rump with his tail adding and additional 10". Bali got his name after the extinct species of tiger from the Indonesian island of Bali.
Bali started out completely white, entirely hand sewn from alpaca and German mohair. All of his coloring and markings are freehand airbrushed.

Bali is fully jointed with hard board discs in all four limbs and neck and has wrapped wire in his tail and back legs.

Bali's nose is needle felted to a firm finish and airbrushed. Available on ebay.

The two photos below were taken by Glenn Sanderson Photography in Green Bay WI, in November 2008.

These tigers are sewn by hand from alpaca and started out entirely white. They are airbrushed from head to toe to tail. For more information contact Judi at luxembears@gmail.com

Indy is the newest edition at Luxembears. She is also the smallest.

Swimming With Dolphins

2008-08-02T04:58:00.001-07:00

Hello. I want to share with you our marvelous experience of an up close and personal dolphin swim and encounter. On July 26th our family visited Discovery Cove in Orlando Florida the day before embarking onto the Disney Cruise Ship "Wonder". What a wonderful way to start of our exciting vacation.

Discovery Cove is like a magical serene island surrounded by the sites, sounds, and smells of of a tropical paradise

Our Dolphin's name was Roxie. Jordan , Rachel and I participated in the Dolphin Swim as Joey was not quite old enough. He is 5 and you need to be 6 to have contact with the dolphins. We did a Dolphin Encounter in the Bahamas for our off-shore excursion on the Disney Cruise which Joey was able to have a dolphin hug. The photos are adorable. See them farther down in this post.

We started our venture into 75 degree water at 8:30 in the morning to experience our first dolphin connection. A dolphins skin is smooth and soft and rubbery-feeling. They are truly amazing beings. Then we all took turns giving Roxie a hug and a kiss and posed for photos.

Dolphin under human care can live into their 40's. In the wild they can live into their 20's.

After our hugs and kisses, Jordan Rachel and I swam out into deeper water for an individual dolphin swim back to shore.

We held on with one hand on Roxie's dorsal and the other on her pectoral fin. You could feel the amazing strength of her muscular body. It was truly amazing. While the three of us were in the water with our dolphin, Mark and Joey sat on some big rocks on the shore and observed and took a few photos of their own.

Then it was their turn to join in the fun and unique experiences this wonderful place had to offer.

Off to the sting ray lagoon for some close encounters with cowhead stingrays.

This lagoon was filled with beautiful stingrays to touch and swim with all day long. Jordan and rachel snorkled for hours.

Joey had fun chasing fish and digging in the warm soft white sand.

Next to the sting ray encounter lagoon was another, even larger lagoon filled with all kinds of fish and different species of sting rays.

Leopard and Southern Atlantic to name a few. In this lagoon there was no touching allowed...only viewing and swimming with these sea creatures.

Mark even gave it a try.

At Discovery Cove there was also a lazy river, a lagoon with water fall, a hands-on bird sanctuary, all the food we could eat(included) a wonderful steel drum band which added to the 'island' feel, and various exotic animals.

It was a wonderful day which gave us memories for a life time.

Now I can't forget Joey's photos of his special moments with a dolphin named "Andy". I saved the best photo for last. This next photo is my favorite. We met Andy at The Dolphin Encounter on Tuesday July 29th in the Bahamas. When we arrived Joey said, "Mom, I am not going to touch the dolphin". But this is what happened:

And the dolphin hug ended up being Joey's favorite part of the dolphin encounter.

Mark also got in on the fun. He too had a dolphin kiss and hug....infact we all did plus, we each hs a special dolphin dance with Andy. This is only the beginning of our memory-filled family vacation. Between Discovery Cove, two trips to Seaworld and the Disney Cruise to the Bahamas...all in 6 days we have over 1,000 photos! Ah...the beauty of digital cameras (if these were taken with 24 exposure film that would be 41.6 rolls!) I'll have the Disney pictures a bit later....I still need to finish unpacking!

New Addition to the Family

2008-06-21T11:20:00.000-07:00

Meet Jolene. She's a four-month old Club lamb and belongs to Rachel...which is appropriate since the name Rachel means "lamb".

Jolene is a sweet little girl who is one of triplets. Her two brothers will be show sheep and although Jolene has the genetics she does not measure up for a show animal....but is definitely a winner in our hearts.

For the very first time I totally understand the rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb"....especially the part , "....and every where that Mary went the lamb was sure to go." Jolene follows Rachel every where.

She reminds me of a puppy. If Rachel runs, Jolene will be right at her heels. She even follows Jordan, Joey , and me.......but I think she views Rachel as the leader of the flock.

Rachel plays hide-and-seek with Jolene. She hides behind a large tree in our front yard and calls "Jolene!". Jolene perks up her ears and looks around, "baa-aa-aa-aa-" -ing back at Rachel. Then Rachel calls again, and again Jolene baa-aa-aa-aas back. When Rachel shows herself Jolene runs full speed towards Rachel, I guess she's happy to find her "shepherd" again.

She is a wonder pet. Ever so sweet and gentle. And maybe, I'll be able to use her wool for some of my needle felted features on my bears.

Lamb kisses.
She may not be a show sheep...but don't tell her that. She stands as if she is.

Rachel had a little lamb whose fleece was (almost) white as snow,
and everywhere that Rachel went Jolene was sure to go.

Welcome

2008-06-20T05:28:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome to my blog. Above is a photo of our family farm Teemar Holsteins in Luxemburg Wisconsin. Our farm in more than a century old and has seen several renovations over the years. A fire took down the main milking barn in 1991 and new buildings have been added. Our family photo will be updated this summer but for now, pictured left to right: Rachel, Jordan, Judi, Joey, and Mark. We'll have lots to post as we are one busy family always on the go.

BEARS AND BOVINES Life on a dairy farm as a bear artist

2008-06-18T07:17:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome to " BEARS AND BOVINES"! I am Judi Paul of Luxembears and I will be reporting live for the next four days from Luxembears Headquarters which is also Teemar Holsteins Dairy Farm. I will be showing you life on the farm with bears.

Today we will have a short tour of the farm, while during the next three days, teddy will meet the herd, milk a cow, and see what farmers do for fun.

Above is an aerial view of our home base which includes our milking barn, free stall barn, machine shed, milk house, OUR house and Luxembears Headquarters Workshop.

Our farm is located in Northeast Wisconsin, Luxemburg to be exact (can you guess where I got my bear business name?).

Please meet the Paul family from left to right: Rachel, Jordan, Judi, Joey, and Mark.

We own and farm 330 acres...growing wheat, corn, oats, soybeans, and alfalpha. We milk 74 cows twice a day and have another 70 replacement heifers and a handful of bulls.

A adult dairy cow will consume a 100 pounds of feed daily.

Professional cattle photography is an important part of promoting and representing the genetics of the herd. It is quite a big undertaking and requires an entire crew: The cow is washed, clipped, and perfectly groomed and trained to lead on a halter (or we experience a wild west rodeo if a cow is not trained). Someone is needed to hold the halter...not as easy as it looks. One upward movement of the cows head will throw me...so I leave that to Mark. Then we need someone working the tail. A piece of fishing line is tied to the end of the cows tail. As the photographer gets ready to take a photo he calls out "Front" or "Back" and the tail man must move the tail accordingly.

There also needs to be two men to position the feet. And of course, often times the cow will shift her weight and then she will need to be repositioned. It can take hours just to get one good shot. The guy at the halter will need to pull her forward or push slightly to get the cow to shift her weight. The photographer calls out "Weight front" or "Weight back." This can turn into a circus.

The cows udder needs to be perfectly visible, to properly represent the quality of the animal.

Then, we need a "clean up" guy who is constantly on standby with bucket, scooper, and towels to wipe the cows..eh-hem, bum-bum incase she 'goes'. She needs to be perfectly clean.

Notice how the cows all are standing with their front feet slightly elevated. All professional cattle are photographed this way. This not only raises up her front end but gives her a nice top line.

NOW...the MOST FUN part of watching this whole very involved process is the "screeching monkey". As the entire photo set is silent, one brave and clownish person, with no fears of appearing like an idiot, volunteers to hide in nearby bushes, and make screeching monkey sounds. The goal is to get that "perky-ears forward-look". If those sounds don't work, then he will baaaaaa like a baby calf or goat. I have even heard owl sounds used....what ever it takes. This perks the cows interest (as they are very curious) and her ears cup in a forward, perky position and the photographer snaps the shot. One sound NEVER used is a barking dog. Since dogs are natural enemies to cows, this can rile up the animal and then there is no good shot. This whole screeching monkey business is absolutely entertaining to witness!!! It can take several ...and I do mean several, attempts to get just the right shot. It is also an ALL DAY event on the farm.

Photographing bears is a piece of cake next to picturing cattle.

The result? Beautiful photos used to represent the animals on the farm for breeding, embryo sales, and bull stud contracts.

The picture above and below are two advertisements we ran in a Holstein magazine. The titles are both a play on words. All the text includes the cows record information and classification scores.

My husband never told me he was including me in these ads. It was a total surprise. In case you're wondering, the photo in this ad of Mark and me is of our wedding day. We are performing a Ballroom number and have just completed a shoulder lift. What you're looking at is called a "flying Angel".

Okay, here's me(above)....in unlikely farmers garb posing for a professional cattle portrait. This was my husband's idea

And here I am again(above). This is NOT a professional cow photo. See the difference?

One of the most impressive structures on the farm are the five silos. The largest is 84 feet tall and 20 feet in diameter. Sherwood, Kota, and Tako( Bears I created) all wanted to climb to the top but settled for this tree instead. Phew! It would be exhausting trying to climb up a silo to get them back down.

You really need to stand next to one of these giant "food containers" to really appreciate their size.

Look closely at the base of the blue Harvestor silo and you will see....Mark (the main man of the farm), my son Joey, and Sherwood.

The silos mainly contain corn silage, and haylage (pickled alfalpha). I'll tell you more about a cow's diet on day three when we milk some cows.

A farmers day starts very early every day, seven days a week at 5:30 am and ends around 8 or 9 pm....sometimes longer depending how smoothly things run. If there is a cow calving, or a sick animal...or (my favorite ) equipment problems, then a farmers day can go long hours into the night.

All bears at Luxembears are born inside this house....right on the other side of the bay window seen here.

This is my most recent creation Apollo. He's 26" tall and an original design. To see more of me bears go to www.luxembears.com

Here's Rachel with a young heifer.

Our farm is more than a century old and has gone through many changes over the years. My husband, Mark has lived and worked here all his life, and took over the farm completely in 1994. I grew up in the city so it was a big life change for me in 1996 when we married and bought the farm from Mark's parents.

Well, now you have had a brief introduction to the farm. Tomorrow we will meet the herd and show more bear/farm photos, so stay tuned!

BEARS and BOVINES Meeting the "Girls"

2008-06-16T14:18:00.000-07:00

Hello! I'm Judi Paul Reporting Live : BEARS AND BOVINES. It's day two "Meeting the girls (herd)" here at Teemar Holsteins/Luxembears.

The most popular of the dairy breeds is the Holstein-Friesian or Holstein for short. They are mostly recognizable by their black and white markings. They also come in a more rare but very desirable color called red. The first black and white dairy cow was first bred in the Netherlands.

Sherwood meets the dairy herd for the first time and is very well received by "Teemar Attitude Hop". All of our cows are registered animals with the Holstein Association. Each cow stall shows the cows full registered name, the dam and sire and their individual milk production record. The Holstein Association's mission is " To provide information that dairy producers will use to breed, manage and market higher producing, more durable cows."

Better cows make more money.

Ahhhh 1,500 pounds of love.

A healthy calf weighs approximately 90 pounds. Heifers (females who have not calved but are old enough to breed) are bred when they are about 16 months old. At this time they weigh about 800 pounds. The gestation period is approximately 9 months...like a human. A full grown cow should weigh about 1,500 (bulls can reach 3,000). These animals are gentle by nature(except bulls)...most of the time.

Baby Sherwood is relaxing on some stacked bails of hay while the heifers eat their lunch in our free stall barn. These animals are free to come in and out of this building. During the warmer months, they like to go outside and sleep under the clear starry sky.

Here, Baby Sherwood meets a bull...look out! Wisconsin law states that no one under the age of 11 is to be in the same pen as a bull. We only raise a handfull of bulls on the farm to sell to other farmers and many are now in AI, the Bull Stud Industry, where they are housed at a different location and their semen is sold to farmers to artificially inseminate (AI) cattle in their herd.

Here at Teemar Holsteins all of our breeding is done artificially, known as AI (Artificial Insemination). This way Mark can selectively breed for desired characteristics. The elite cows are flushed several days after AI is performed and the eggs are either placed into recipient cattle that are in heat, called Embryo Transfer (like surrogate mothers), or are frozen in a liquid nitrogen tank to be used for Embryo Transfer at a later date. Many of our eggs are sold to other farms, some over seas. Eggs can sell for over $1,000 each.

About every seven weeks a veterenarian comes to our farm, from Madison Wisconsin, to perform ultrasound on various cows. Yes, we have vets closer to us but this is a very specialized practice used to confirm pregnancy, to check if AI was successful, and/or to determine if the calf is a bull or heifer. Not every large animals vet can do do this. What do we need to know the sex? Because some of our calves are under contract for very nice prices to be entered into the Bull Stud Industry so we need to know this to properly manage the breeding schedule.

During the spring, summer, and fall, the cows eat outside after the evening milking. It's really neat to see these cows "prancing"..that's right, prancing. They skip and gleefully prance around in the pasture after they are let out of the milking barn each night.

Wisconsin has the best tasting cheeses because of the grass the cows eat. The grass is less acidic than in other parts of the country, creating milder flavored cheeses.

Mark was on stand-by as this young heifer investigates Baby Sherwood. He called it a "calculated risk" as at any momnent she could have picked up Baby Sherwood by the ear. She just gave him a sniff and a gentle nudge to say "hello".

Above is a jean jacket on which I airbrushed a cow. It took many, many hours to complete. The most difficult part was geting the veins on the udder to look right.

These curious calves have pulled off my hat and are sampling my hair...HEY, That's not HAY!

When I am around these beautiful animals the affection I feel for them always shows in photos.

Like most non-farm people, I always had this visual image of a cow being slow moving and docile. In reality, they can easily outrun a human and are very curious...and powerful, and you learn to quickly respect cattle. They also have different personalities. I find myself often attached to some of them. This cow, "Bunny" is one of my favorites and she likes to have her ears scratched.

...and of course what farm would be complete without a farm dog. This is Mandy our 9 pound Malti-poo who thinks she is a German Shepherd. Not your typical farm dog but she does fit right in.

Come on then, give us a kiss.

Stay tuned for tomorrow as Sherwood milks a cow and has a "mohair malfunction!

Milking Cows

2008-06-16T05:49:00.000-07:00

Hello again and welcome to day three here at Teemar Holsteins. Today our very own Sherwood will see what it is like to milk a cow and experience the some-time-hazards of being near the big beautiful bovines.

photo was taken inside the first alley of the milking barn. There are 74 stalls where the cows will be milked. The pipeline you see above the stall are where the milkers are connected. This transports the milk from the cow to the milk house where it will be stored in a large bulk tank.

Here's Sherwood riding the feedcart. This cart is filled in an adjacent feed room where a huge TMR (Total Mixed Ration) feed mixer mixes the various ingredients from the silos and bins and elevates it into the feed cart. Then the cart is driven up and down each of the two alleys and dumps the feed in front of each cow.

NO! Mark is NOT a Lions fan!!!! I used to live in Rochester Hills Michigan, very near Detroit, so that jacket used to be mine. Infact, I still have a very nice Lions sweatshirt and Mark even said to me, " You're not going to wear that in public are you? " Here in Northeast Wisconsin it's GO PACKERS!!!! 100% just incase you were wondering.

Mark enters the amount of feed, in pounds, he wants on a computer located in this feed room, from each silo. The silo unloaders bring the feed on a conveyor and dumps it into the TMR (the big blue thingy in this picture).

A nutritionist helps us to determine just the right ratios of ingredients including corn silage, haylage, cotton seed, mineral, molasses, and beet pulp from sugar beets, and dry matter hay( alfalpha) to properly feed the cows for maximium and quality milk production.

Sherwood hooks up the milk connector and pulsator(hard to see as it is right behind his head in the photo) to the pipeline before milking the cow. The pulsator is whats gives the milkers an intermitten suction which immitates a human hand squeezing the teats. The two front teats are milked then the back two, alternating about every two seconds.

The national average for one Holstein cow in one year is approximately 20,610 pounds of milk. Here at Teermar Holsteins the average is just over 28,000 pounds of milk a year per cow. The national average for butterfat is 752 pounds, while on our farm it is 1,062 pounds. We do not use BGH( Bovine Growth Hormone) or BST (Bovine Somatatrophin). Instead, this is a result of specific genetic breeding along with other factors such as hard work and attention to details.

Here's Mark in one of my all-time favorite photos. He's cleaning the cows teats before placing the milkers on.

The teats are prepped with a cleaner, then "stripped" by hand for one to three squeezes to check for mastitis and to ensure the cow has let down her milk.

Mark and I thought we had better demonstrate to Sherwood how to put the milkers on before he tried it himself.

Here's Sherwood putting on the milkers. As he proudly smiled for his photo to be taken, the cow unaccustomed to flash photography and having bear claws near her udder, jumped, which resulted in a "mohair malfunction"!!! While I was crouched down, holding Sherwood under the cow, she jumped, throwing me off balance landing me on my hind-side catapulting Sherwood under the cow in the next stall. The cow, being as gentle and "considerate" in this case, tried to avoid stepping on Sherwood.....she did quite a "tap-dance" to avoid a major Mohair disaster. Phew. I am happy ...very happy to report that although he had to have some straw brushed out of his fur, he is is just fine.

It takes 10 pounds of whole milk to make one pound of cheese and 12 pounds to make a gallon of ice cream. It takes 21.2 pounds to make ONE pound of butter.

Also, did you know that milk is better for cooling your mouth after eating spicy food? Milk products contain casein, a protein that cleanses burning taste buds. Good to know!!

Sevral large fans at the far end of the barn draws in outside air creating a 5 mile-an hour breeze, keeping the barn environment fresh and the girls comfortable.
For added cow comfort and good health, each stall contains a cow mattress...yes you heard me...a cow mattress! If we take care of them, they will be healthier, happier, and in return will take care of us.

Sherwood is taking a break from milking to show you the milk bulk tank. This is where all the milk is stored and cooled to 40 degrees F. Every day a large milk truck backs up to this tank in the milk house. All the milk is then transported to an Italian Cheese Factory a short distance away.

How big are those silos again?....THIS BIG!!!!!
What a great day! Now it's time for fun in the hay room!

Here's photo of a Holstein with a recessive trait which makes her ginger brown and white. They are called "red" cows. These are uncommon...but she is so pretty had had to include her.

I just took these outside photos moments ago. I love love love being up close with these animals. These cows are using a cow scratcher. Are our cows pampered or what!!!!??

This is a motorized brush. When a cow pushes up against it, it rotates. It's fun to see them enjoying this new toy Mark have given them. He really loves his cows.

Cows are very curious animals

Day four on Bears and Bovines we will see what farmers do for fun.

What Farmers do for Fun.

2008-06-15T05:02:00.000-07:00

Hello! I thought it would be fun to conclude Reporting Live: BEARS AND BOVINES sharing with you what this farm couple does (Mark and myself) for fun and entertainment outside the dairy farm with bovine tidbits in between the photos.
We go BALLROOM DANCING!!!
My husband have been Ballroom Dancing for 20 years and I, for 12 years. Infact, that is just how we met!
We do the Cha-Cha, Mambo, Swing, Swing Hustle, Waltz, Fox Trot, Rhumba, Salsa, and Disco.

Cows drink 35 gallons of water a day. This is equal to a bath tub full of water.
American's eat the equivalent of 10 acres of pizza every day. That's a lot of cheese! Better get dancing!!!!

A Holsteins spots are like a fingerprint or snowflake ( or artist bears). No two cows have exactly the same pattern of spots. Most cows chew at least 50 times per minute.
Cows can see color and can detect odors five miles away.

When pilgrims came to America, they brought cows with them.
Milk is a great nutritional drink. As well as being an excellent source of calcium and protein, it contains essential vitamins & minerals such as zinc, riboflavin (Vit B2), vitamins B6 & B12.

A cow gives approximately 200,000 glasses of milk in her lifetime.
Milk..it does a body good!

I also want to share a nifty little story. My husband and I went to see the Harlem Globe Trotters a few years ago. While they were "playing" basketball they swiped my purse. All the players gathered around my purse as if they were digging through it. They then "pulled out" and displayed for the entire arena a gigantic ( and I mean enormous) pair of underwear which had " I LOVE ( a heart shape) the Harlem Globe Trotters" Printed on them......One of the players took out my sunglass and wore them around the basket ball court for a while. Then he brought my purse with in about ten feet of where I was sitting...and said," Hey Lady, is this your purse?" I nodded and he continued..."Then come and geeeet it?" Oh my. I was dragged onto the court by a very large Harlem Glob Trotter.Then he asked me to dance...some music came over the loud speakers....and there I was in the middle of the basket ball court, beet red in the face, dancing with one of the Harlem Globe Trotters.:

Before he let me go back to my seat, he gave me back my purse and told me that since he gave me back my pusre I needed to give him a kiss... and presented his right cheek to me....so I kissed his cheek. Then he said, " But wait! I have ANOTHER cheek!"...so I kissed his other cheek

......Then he puckered up his HUGE lips and made kissing sounds ...waiting for me to kiss him on the lips.........well.....I did......and he fell on the floor on his back as if he had passed out....then look what happened next:...the rest of the Harlem Globe Trotters gathered around for a kiss.....they didn't get any...I could not stop laughing.
In Hollywood they have "Dancing with the Stars". In Luxemburg we have "Dancing for the Cows". !!!These barn dance pictures were taken last Sunday, but they reminded me that Mark and I were on World's Funniest Videos several years ago dancing in the milking barn between the cows in our barn clothes. We had just finished milking the herd and wanted to practice some lifts and steps. We thought it was funny because here was Mark and I, trying to be graceful while you can hear the sounds of cows going pee-pee ( which sounds more like a waterfall) in the background.!!! As I always say, " Shoot for the moon! If you miss at least you will end up among the stars."

Well, I hope you have enjoyed Reporting Live: BEARS AND BOVINES. I have certainly enjoyed sharing this story and showing how bears and bovines can indeed, live in harmony.

I would like to leave you with these words:

"Your best shot at Happiness, self-worth and personal satisfaction-the things that constitute real success- is not in learning as much as you can but in performing as well as you can something that you consider worthwhile. Whether it is healing the sick, giving hope to the hopeless or adding beauty to the world or saving the world from nuclear holocaust..... "
[William Raspberry] This is Judi Paul from Teemar Holsteins and
Luxembears Reporting Live.