Judy Baldwin is Ed Rouse’s daughter, and she decided years ago to stay on the farm and work there Ed said she came up to him eight years ago and said, “I’d like to milk the cows,” and he said sure. His daughter Marie is also working on the farm, but he other three kids are scattered over the Northeast and Midwest and he accepts that they made different choices. Judy works hard, is a loving mother and wife, and is serious about managing the farm one day, if that works out.

For her birthday, I gave her one of Temple Grandin’s books, “Animals In Translation,” that helped me with my research on the mind of the dog for “Rose In A Storm.” And a funny book called “The Secret Life of Cows.”

I hope Judy does get to run the farm, as daunting as that is. She seems smart and tough and determined, like her father. Michelle says they are very much alike, “too much sometimes.” I see what she means. They are a potent team. I have great admiration for Judy. We now have a set of Judy notecards available for viewing and purchase on the Redux site. Proceeds go to farm aid and hospice, asks the family. I am proud to take these photographs. I feel very connected to this family. When you enter somebody’s life and photograph them, that is an intense bond in itself. But I am learning the meaning of family, hard work and invididuality. I am very happy to be taking these photographs of the  the farm, Ed and his remarkable daughter, a tough, smart woman in a man’s world.