As a follow up on the cheese. There was a boatload of whey left in the pot and I didn't know what to do with it. It seemed like a lot to just throw away. I found a recipe in my Storey's Guide to Dairy Goats from a 19th century cookbook for making lemonade from whey. So I made that. It doesn't taste bad, pretty good actually, but weird.
I just got in from working with Ruby. I think that lunging a young horse has got to be the most physically exhausting activity. Who needs a workout! I am literally wringing with sweat. I know, yum. But it is so exhilirating!!! Really fun!!!! I'll have to try again tomorrow to see if it sticks, but I'm pretty sure she understands the words for walk, trot and now canter along with the sounds that go with them. Walk is a cluck. Trot a click and canter a kiss. She was hauling butt today and since I was working her in the big corral I had to use all of my strength and body weight to hold on to her. Loved it!!!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Cheese!
Not 30 minutes ago I posted that I was going to try to make cheese tonight. Well, my first batch of queso blanco is already hanging! I am just too proud of myself. It was really easy. I heated 1 gallon of goat's milk to 185 and then stirred in 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar. Waited for the curds and whey to separate (by the way, I had no idea what curds and whey were going to look like, but I do now!) and then used a slotted spoon to move the curds to a colander lined with cheesecloth. I then hung it to drain. Voila, cheese! The kitchen smells heavenly. Hopefully the cheese will taste as good.
EGGS!!!!
We've got eggs! Finally! 21 weeks to the day. I found the first one on Wednesday. It was so cute. Very small, but perfectly formed. We've gotten two more this week. I ate one on Friday and almost lost my cookies. Not that it tasted bad. It tasted the same as the ones from the neighbor's chickens down the road. It was just too fresh, if you know what I mean. I have to get used to the idea of eating my chicken's eggs just like I did with the goat milk. Now I wouldn't drink anything else.
Horse Show
Today Tali and I went to the Lewis Road horse show. It was fun. We liked the egg and spoon race, the water race, and the carrot race. We went to Taco Bell for lunch. Another nice mother and daughter day. Tali got jiggy 3/4's of the way through and I knew it was time for her to take a nap in the car.
Kindergarten is going well. Finn has stopped telling us that he doesn't want to go to school. They both come out everyday in very high spirits. Friday is a professional day for K teachers, so Mom is watching them.
Mark seems to be enjoying his second graders, but Cathy and I have our hands full. I would say that the biggest problem is a lack of respect for each other and an unhealthy joy in making fun of others. We have started team building lessons and will add lessons on bullying. They are really mean and love to laugh at others misfortunes. It is sad and a little disheartening. No, a lot. After last year it is a rude and nasty awakening for me. Thankfully Cathy and I are together. I get the impression that Arod thinks that since there are two of us that we should be able to work miracles. I don't think she understands the extent of the nastiness involved.
Anyway, Ruby and I are doing great. Last Wed. Rachel came and we put the saddle back on and she acted like it was no big deal. My lunging was still on the crazy side. She was trying all sorts of new tricks like pulling her head away and turning towards me, but it came together in the end. I was exhausted and sweating like a banshee. Lunging is quite a workout. Yesterday Ruby spent the morning whinnying back and forth with the neighbor horse. The girl down the street was riding him in the small arena on the other side of Dave and Sheila's. They kept neighing to each other and Ruby was running and bucking and kicking all up and down the pasture. She wore herself out and was very pliable when I went to work with her. She lunged really well yesterday.
My hands and wrists have really been hurting from the lunging so last night I was envisioning myself using the dressage whip. After the horse show I worked with Ruby again, this time with the whip. We both did so well! She is starting to learn the words and sounds for "walk" and "trot". I was able to hold both the rope and the whip without wrapping it around my feet or hitting myself in the face, both which I have done in the past. Rachel was talking about getting on her this week. I hope she remembers to bring her helmet because I think that Ruby is ready, and so am I!
I have started to dry up Raisin. Cathy and I were accepted to go to a professional development conference for Science in Columbus. It is for 2 days and Mark is going to have to do the milking. I thought it would be easier for him to only milk Promise. I hope that come October Raisin will be dry. She is only giving about 1/2 a quart a day and my hands are starting to really feel the cold in the mornings, so I thought it would work out to dry her up. I hope that Promise still continues to give us the same amount. She is giving about 1/2 a gallon a day. I am going to attempt to make my first batch of cheese tonight.
Kindergarten is going well. Finn has stopped telling us that he doesn't want to go to school. They both come out everyday in very high spirits. Friday is a professional day for K teachers, so Mom is watching them.
Mark seems to be enjoying his second graders, but Cathy and I have our hands full. I would say that the biggest problem is a lack of respect for each other and an unhealthy joy in making fun of others. We have started team building lessons and will add lessons on bullying. They are really mean and love to laugh at others misfortunes. It is sad and a little disheartening. No, a lot. After last year it is a rude and nasty awakening for me. Thankfully Cathy and I are together. I get the impression that Arod thinks that since there are two of us that we should be able to work miracles. I don't think she understands the extent of the nastiness involved.
Anyway, Ruby and I are doing great. Last Wed. Rachel came and we put the saddle back on and she acted like it was no big deal. My lunging was still on the crazy side. She was trying all sorts of new tricks like pulling her head away and turning towards me, but it came together in the end. I was exhausted and sweating like a banshee. Lunging is quite a workout. Yesterday Ruby spent the morning whinnying back and forth with the neighbor horse. The girl down the street was riding him in the small arena on the other side of Dave and Sheila's. They kept neighing to each other and Ruby was running and bucking and kicking all up and down the pasture. She wore herself out and was very pliable when I went to work with her. She lunged really well yesterday.
My hands and wrists have really been hurting from the lunging so last night I was envisioning myself using the dressage whip. After the horse show I worked with Ruby again, this time with the whip. We both did so well! She is starting to learn the words and sounds for "walk" and "trot". I was able to hold both the rope and the whip without wrapping it around my feet or hitting myself in the face, both which I have done in the past. Rachel was talking about getting on her this week. I hope she remembers to bring her helmet because I think that Ruby is ready, and so am I!
I have started to dry up Raisin. Cathy and I were accepted to go to a professional development conference for Science in Columbus. It is for 2 days and Mark is going to have to do the milking. I thought it would be easier for him to only milk Promise. I hope that come October Raisin will be dry. She is only giving about 1/2 a quart a day and my hands are starting to really feel the cold in the mornings, so I thought it would work out to dry her up. I hope that Promise still continues to give us the same amount. She is giving about 1/2 a gallon a day. I am going to attempt to make my first batch of cheese tonight.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
F and T
This evening while Finn and Tali were upstairs playing they prank-called some guy on the phone. Lord have mercy! These two are going to do me in. They called some guy and talked to him on the phone. He spoke English so at least I hope he was somewhere in the U.S. and they didn't call Thailand or Brazil. This led to a long discussion about not talking to strangers. Geesh!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
One Month
I haven't posted in awhile, and I will soon once the crazy pace of the beginning of the school year slows down a bit. But I had to celebrate Ruby's one month anniversary. Ruby will have been home one month tomorrow, and TODAY we put a saddle and bridle on her. Pretty amazing. After only one month. I will write more about the experience later, plus rooster, children and school stuff.
Students come tomorrow, but Cathy and I are ready. We have 24 as of right now with 16 of them having IEP's. 4 of them are on a first grade reading level. I am a little overwhelmed with how we are going to make this work, but it will be nice having another colleague much less a good friend in the room with me.
Students come tomorrow, but Cathy and I are ready. We have 24 as of right now with 16 of them having IEP's. 4 of them are on a first grade reading level. I am a little overwhelmed with how we are going to make this work, but it will be nice having another colleague much less a good friend in the room with me.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Promise
Promise is home. She is our new Nubian milker. We picked her up yesterday. She is having a pretty hard time adjusting. She just wants to follow me around and calls to me when I go to the house. I hope she adjusts soon. It is hard to see her laying around inside instead of out in the pasture with the other goats. She hardly ate anything today. Last night when I milked her she gave a ton of milk, but today it has gone down a lot. Probably from the stress of moving and not eating. She is very pretty and super friendly. Huge though. I am used to the smallness of the mini-Nubians, pygmys and Mr. Tumnus. She is really big. And her udder and teats are enormous. I thought I would never be done milking last night!
Today we cleaned out the area where Tank and Diego were and turned into my milking parlor. It was nice tonight to not have to fight the goats to get the job done.
I went shopping today for Finn and Tali's school uniforms. All I could find were clothes for Finn though. He already had plenty of pants so I got him some shirts and belts. They had nothing in the way of clothes for girls. It was very frustrating. I was able to get Tali two pairs of beige pants, some belts, and I had to resort to a boy's white polo. I really wanted to get her some jumpers. If anyone knows where I can get some, please let me know.
Tonight we gathered up the roosters for the big day tomorrow. They are going to the place where all roosters go when their crowing is driving you bonkers and they are attacking you when you bring them their food. Today Banjo attacked Tali. He flew on her from behind. Good thing they are going tomorrow. Tali will have the last laugh though when she is sitting down to dinner. :)
Today we cleaned out the area where Tank and Diego were and turned into my milking parlor. It was nice tonight to not have to fight the goats to get the job done.
I went shopping today for Finn and Tali's school uniforms. All I could find were clothes for Finn though. He already had plenty of pants so I got him some shirts and belts. They had nothing in the way of clothes for girls. It was very frustrating. I was able to get Tali two pairs of beige pants, some belts, and I had to resort to a boy's white polo. I really wanted to get her some jumpers. If anyone knows where I can get some, please let me know.
Tonight we gathered up the roosters for the big day tomorrow. They are going to the place where all roosters go when their crowing is driving you bonkers and they are attacking you when you bring them their food. Today Banjo attacked Tali. He flew on her from behind. Good thing they are going tomorrow. Tali will have the last laugh though when she is sitting down to dinner. :)
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