Just when you thought

That there is no way that Kehinde or Donkey could get more adorable, they snuck into the house and these photos are the result of their adventure...

To be Jolly

Make your own free greeting

Can you handle Goat TV?

No one can deny that these are the cutest goats in the world.  They have all adjusted to the mild weather and the little bit of snow that we had for Thanksgiving. Donkey has been feeding off of Asa and Asa has been a very good mother to Wednesday and Kehinde.  Asa keeps an eye on all three and whenever the little ones cry she runs to comfort them. Che Che feeds donkey more often and with out us worrying about it, the only thing is that Che Che does not instinctually answer to Donkey's calls...

Queso Blanco

2 Quarts of goat's milk
1/4 cup of vinegar
Thermometer
Heat

Cheese Cloth with the curds dripping for hours, that later can be mixed with seasonings.

Whey left over that can be used to make other cheeses!










Thank you goats!

To be grateful in season

Thanksgiving is certainly the time of year to reflect on the past growing season and ponder about the place you occupy in the world.  I love our place and I hope and wish that everyone feels the same way about the place where they live.  We moved up North five years ago and this year seems magical.  The summer ceremony, the arrival of the kids, the amazing harvest of all sorts of crops and the continuity of friendships and connection with distant family makes me feel eternally thankful.

The unconditional love encompass our lives. The world seems like a nutshell that we are given to fill with whatever we seek in life.  I keep thinking about my world and all I can think of is sweet home. The feeling of belonging grows stronger and stronger as I learn to take the steps into a more sustainable future with the land. The techniques we follow and the people we have met are far too precious to discard in this process. The hands and laughter are what makes this place our home and regardless of inevitable imperfections, I keep in mind the sacrifices made by previous generations that helped us get here.

Our friends arrived at our home with intentions of saying hello to their goat godchildren plus they helped us cook Thanksgiving dinner. The vegetable pot pie was a revelation. Who needs a vegetarian roast when you can make this dish with whole ingredients. The gravy started off as a veggie stock made of onions, celeriac, carrots and parsnips mixed with water, ume plume vinegar and soy sauce. Later flour and water were mixed until a ball formed and then the veggie stock was added with some dried herbs.



 The crust was made with grate care. Flour, salt, cold water and earth balance all carefully mixed and set aside in colder room. Meanwhile, the potatoes and carrots were roasting in the oven, while the tofu and the chicken of the woods mushrooms were sautéing in a pan with selected seasonings. Late the pie was assembled and cooked in the oven for 40 minutes between 350 and 400 F.
The top of the pie was brushed with egg from our chickens.

The left over crust was for the dessert pie.  This was the most exciting part of the meal. The pumpkin was grown in our garden, the eggs from our chickens and the milk from our goats. We cooked the pumpkin in the oven with olive oil, then scrapped the inside onto a bowl.  We added spices and 1 and 1/4 cup of goat milk, 4 eggs molasses and sugar. The color and the taste of the mix was splendid.  Everything came together perfectly like it was meant to be.

We also enjoyed local apple cider from Champlain orchards, bread rolls from my famous pizza recipe, vegan stuffing with chicken of the woods mushrooms and corn and cranberry sauce from local cranberries.  After spending of this time in the kitchen, our friends had to leave to meet up with their family.  We are excessively thankful for their company and willingness to make us a delicious Thanksgiving dinner that we will never forget.  

Here they are holding their goat godchildren.

First snow and cup of milk

Donkey and Wednesday hanging out by the wood barn

Kehinde and Wednesday laying on their first blanket

First two cups of goat milk from Che Che. We have milked her
for 4 days and I had Hot Cocoa with her milk. It is beautiful
in texture and tastes extremely creamy.

Donkey and Che Che are getting closer.
 Mom is letting Donkey feed and today they were laying side
by side. At first, Che Che didn't want let Donkey feed, so we had to
hold mom against her will. Now,  Che Che is more caring and keeping
an eye on Donkey

Donkey explores the feeling of deep snow, 10 inches !

Milk poop. Healthy!

Los tres amigos

Check out the Baby Goats Page!

Che Che's kid has arrived

After checking on Che Che all night she finally gave birth between 6 and 6:30 this morning. The kid is gorgeous and she is the only one. We helped getting the baby dried off and warm. It was really cold this morning and baby was shivering.  We saw her taking her first steps and her first sips of Colostrum.  She started calling immediately and with out a concern in the world she has approached us and let us pet her.

Baby looks like a miniature donkey to us and sounds like one too. Hence we are naming her Donkey.  We brought Asa and the kids from the basement into the pen with Che Che and Donkey and they are finally ONE cute herd.  The sun is out now and Asa's kids (we still haven't named) are running sideways and exploring the pen.

Her placenta/afterbirth came out of her within two hours of giving birth.  Che Che was not interested in eating it. We waited to see if anyone else was showing up. It looks like Donkey is going to be a spoiled little baby.

Asa's kids were born

Just one day after the due date, Asa gave birth to two beautiful healthy kids during the day. We were not here to witness the miracle of life but it sure has a great after taste. These little angels are so precious and their personalities are shining through.  No names yet for these little guys, but we know we have one baby buck and one baby doe.  The buck is white with black spots, and the doe is white with mostly brown markings, including on her ankles and feet.  

First day out and about 

Asa is a great mom. As soon as they were out, she went to meet with Che Che (the other doe) and they licked and bonded.  The kids were out but laying down while this was happening.  Five minutes later, Asa and Che Che were head butting painfully, and both of them had their fur on their back raised up.  We don't know why, but I think Asa is defending her kids.  Che Che is due any minute know. We are keeping an eye on her today and tonight.

"Wednesday" He is the buck with black and brown markings and spotted ears like mom.  We weighed him today and he is over 5 lbs. He started playing with his sister yesterday night and today.  He has a pink nose just like Fugee. He figured out where to find food from mom and company in mom and sister.

"Kehinde". She is the girl with black markings and spotted ears like mom. We weighed her today and she is 4 lbs. 2 3/4 oz. She is still confused about the udder placement in mom, but with a little help from us, she is starting to figure it out.  She loves to sleep and yesterday she was very cautious about everything including mom.  She was also walking backwards, wagging the tail and sneezing.  Although she is smaller, she was the first one to cry for mom. 

Asa seems to know what to do like she has had kids before. She is a great mom, calling her kids, cleaning them, smelling them and licking them everywhere. She has been eating her food and getting treats like carrots, molasses and raisins.

 One curious thing is that Asa had her collar with a bell on yesterday when the kids were born, but we took it off last night when we were helping bottle feed the babies. When we were cleaning the basement, we moved the collar with the bell and the kids responded with loud cries, hence they know bell means mom. We put the collar back on Asa today and the kids seem more comfortable with her.  The kids are definitely curious about us, but don't appreciate being picked up. 

WE LOVE OUR HERD!

Funny carrots and precious sawdust

The weird shape of the carrot is no reflection of its taste.  The reason why they have more than one root is because there was too much nitrogen in the soil. Unlike last year, this year's crop of carrots was existent since I double dug the soil.  This tedious procedure allowed the roots to grow freely in every direction. Next year I just have to get the nitrogen right for the carrots.

The squash and pumpkins are so beautiful.  This year's crop was donated by The Mountain School. In the spring, I did not start any of these guys from scratch and I kept forgetting to get them from the farmers market.  Destiny united me and the plant bearers of these in a cow barn among manure.  I was very happy and curious about the type of squash and/or pumpkin that I was getting.  They are all very similar to the pure bred buttercup, acorn and spaghetti squash and pie pumpkins.  I brought these inside this week before a frost.

Definitely a hybrid

Potatoes are now in the root cellar among sawdust. I was keeping them in the basement, but we have started to heat the house with the wood stove. I felt them to make sure they were still hard and smooth.  If they were soft and wrinkled then they were already loosing water. Not good.  I organized them by size in different bags.  I happened to discovered old potatoes in the root cellar.  They were sprouting and some had new potatoes attached to them. I kept those and I baked them with dehydrated herbs from our garden and salt. 

Chioggia beets

We grew a 1 and 3/4 pound beet.  The were other big ones, but this one was the monster beet.  We roasted it with thyme, olive oil and sea salt.

Carrots and beets are now in the root cellar in bags with sawdust as well. It is wise to note that I did not wash any of the root crops before storing them.  If you wash them before you store them, the roots will start loosing water and not keep well.
I also dug up the Dahlia's bulbs.  Hopefully I can plant them next year as soon as the soil can be worked. 

Bee wax and nectar

If life gives you bees then collect the honey !

These is a darker comb with some capped honey and some nectar

We pressed the comb and collected nectar and honey 

Then the reminder of the comb was mixed with water and heated

Here you can see the wax floating on top of the mixture 

Here is the harden wax that was later melted and mixed with orange oil and olive oil to make a lip balm

The Long Journey ahead

Looking at the Monarch butterfly in our garden makes me very happy.  I purposely left some milkweeds in the garden for the butterflies to lay their offspring.  I was delighted when I found this one with wings still bent and feeling disoriented.  The Monarch also makes me ponder about change and how the cold nights are becoming a familiar feeling, how the preparation of garlic beds and the soon to be picked pumpkins and squash are the product of hard labor and dedication and how much I enjoy food preservation. 

Green zebra tomatoes

Great with salt, white wine vinegar and lemon juice 

Red cabbage 

I blanched some in boiling water, bagged them and froze them

Raspberries and Cucumbers