Ok, so we left with Michael heading to NY for his annual meeting. One last thing we needed to do before he left was tattoo the two babies. The last time we tattooed baby goats we had our friend Raspberry do it. This time we thought we would do it on our […]
Hello Again (part one)
What a busy couple of weeks it has been. I was hoping for less stuff to do but that always seems to be on the horizon. I thought I would spend a couple posts updating you on what is going on here. Last update we had harvested the apples and made a bunch of cider. […]
Apples and Cider and Bees, Oh My
I’m still tired. Saturday we rented the cider press and got to work making cider. Last year went quickly and was easy peezy so why wouldn’t this year be just the same. More apples, that’s why. Please don’t misunderstand me. We worked hard and had fun in the process. But I did sleep a solid […]
Harvest Weekend
It began on Friday. I had avoided the garden for two weeks. Physically, mentally, emotionally and any other “ally” you can think of, I was done with the garden. It was an underlying stress though. In the middle of that time period I had a dream about a zucchini in the garden that was […]
Homemade Sauerkraut is so Easy.
Another culinary skill under my belt. Ok, if something only takes slicing, squishing and waiting…..is it really a skill? Hey, I’ll take whatever culinary credit I can get. It’s a skill. I began my adventure in sauerkraut making on August 23. I had grown my own cabbage this year and it was very much ready […]
Chickens…..Masters of Hiding Eggs
We’ve had a really hot summer. Hotter than any summer I can remember. It has been great for the garden and those of us who prefer the heat. The goats don’t seem to mind it. They certainly like it better than the rain. We think we saw a slight decrease in their milk production but I […]
Two New Additions
We have a new rooster and hen. They are of the Light Brahmas breed. Let me back up a little bit. Last week we went to the Clackamas County Fair for a day. Here are Michael and Nicholas testing out farm equipment….or maybe just enjoying sitting in something cool that we don’t really need. We […]
Easiest Home Canned Tomato Sauce
My easiest home canned tomato sauce method makes it one of the easiest things to can. A large part is hands off which is a nice way to can. I love canning with tomatoes. Usually I grow an abundant amount of tomatoes. So many that I give a lot away. Not so this year. My […]
No Waste. It’s a Good Thing.
I dried more apples and again I realized how little food we waste. Since we grow our own apples I chose to not work so hard around blemishes, bugs etc. I just cut those parts out and put them in the waste bowl. But the waste bowl doesn’t actually go to waste. I can give […]
Mowing the Lower Acreage
This summer Michael wanted to have someone cut, or “hay”, the lower acreage. This would do a much cleaner job of cutting and removing the grass clippings from the field than the brush-cutter on our tractor, which leaves the cut grass laying on the ground. He thought he would be able to find someone who […]
Changes are Hard on More Than Humans
Randy and Storm left Friday afternoon and on Saturday we expanded the stall for the does. If you look at where Joshua is standing you will see a post behind him against the wall. A wall was there which made a smaller stall that we put the babies in at night so we could milk […]
Chickens Don’t Mind Goats
Every morning when I head to the barn I pass the chicken coop and hear the chickens stirring inside. They go to bed early and wake up early ( I can relate to them). Most of the time I open their coop before I open the barn. For a while the chickens have been leaving […]