Sunday, Sunday, SUNDAY

I typically post about the entire weekend together, but it became clear on Saturday that this Sunday deserved its very own spotlight.  Soooo much was planned, which meant that much more would occur that was unexpected.  It always seems to be that way.

Our friend, Kyla, is a REACH helicopter crew member.  (Their website does not explain the acronym, but other sources indicate Redwood Empire Air Care Helicopter.) As a nurse and emergency medical provider, she rides in that copter on life-saving missions.  I found out on Saturday that Kyla's REACH team was going to provide a demonstration at the Graton Fire Department's annual pancake breakfast.  As a child whose father was a volunteer firefighter in rural Colorado, I have fond memories of these breakfasts.  As a child of a military family with an uncle who was career Air Force, AND my dad also working for the space program, I have fond memories of air shows.  When I have an opportunity to support a small fire department, especially this 100% volunteer department, AND see the REACH land, you betcha I'll be there.  I made plans Saturday night to meet up with daughter Amanda and her friend Ashleigh bright and early the next morning.

Bright and early is a normal weekday routine, but since Becca had risen early on Saturday, too, I wasn't sure how this would play.  She was eager to go, and although we hit a couple of snags and were behind schedule, we still arrived at the fire station at just after 7:30 am.  I was surprised to see how busy it was, and that we'd need to go to the old station and catch a shuttle.  That wasn't a problem, parking was easy, and the volunteer who drove the full-sized yellow school bus shuttle was friendly.  I got to tell stories to Becca about riding the school bus when we lived in Franktown.  Everyone was in a good mood, and the quiet of Graton on a Sunday morning really struck me.  I liked the peaceful feeling.

I'll be honest about the breakfast.  I've had lots of pancake breakfasts and know what to expect.  I'm not sure what they did to the eggs, but they tasted a bit odd.  I ate a little, but hated that I tossed most of it.  The rest was what I expected, good hearty fare, eaten at long tables with folding chairs, set up in the bay where they keep the fire engines.  There were lots of people talking and laughing, a large group of Boy Scouts and other volunteers to help keep things going smoothly, and the line grew longer throughout the morning.  Amanda and Ashleigh arrived not much later, and we ate and filled out our raffle tickets.  Yes, we each put an entry in for the chain saw, in addition to the "adult box" for the wine and over-21 prizes.  Wouldn't it be funny if one of us won the saw?

Checking the time, we knew Kyla was in the air, and went outside to get a good spot to watch the landing.  A figure was spray-painted on the ground in orange, and firefighters were hosing down the area around it.  I wasn't sure why until the copter landed, and then it became VERY clear.

We got excited, seeing the red helicopter coming in, and then watched it circle around.  The pilot was observing the area to make sure that it was safe to land, and he radioed down to ask the firefighters to ask some people across the road to move.

Then he began his descent to land ...

As the copter descended, wood chips and bits of grass started flying out from the spray-painted target.  THAT was why they'd hosed down the area - to help keep a serious debris storm from happening.  As the copter was circling, we had noticed that the doors were open, and they stayed open as they landed...

We remembered Kyla telling us that one of her jobs was to look back and let the pilot know when the wheel was on the ground.  We didn't realize until this moment that that meant she had the DOOR open to do so!  No wonder it was such a challenge!

Finally, it was on the ground, and we had a chance to go say hi and take a closer look at the copter.

Mandi has the up close and personal shots.  I was too busy looking and talking to take pictures.

We visited for a while and looked at some of the equipment, then, after determining that the Boot Barn was closed until 11:00 am, Becca and I headed over to Windsor to meet daughter Jessica and her friend Erica at the farmers market.  We always have such a good time there.  Though I only bought a few onions, it was just as fun, if not more so, to see what Jessica was finding.  She came prepared for her weekly grocery shopping, and also found some great plants and bulbs.  Erica's bouquet of sweet peas smelled as sweet as their name, and we had a great time visiting and walking through the market.

After we'd made the circuit, Becca and I headed down to Santa Rosa's Boot Barn to find me some new cowgirl boots.  Remember that Breezy ate half of one of my boots about a month ago?  My girls are the best, and they gave me a gift certificate to Boot Barn to find a replacement pair for Mother's Day.  This was the day to go take a look.  I think I tried on 10 pairs trying to find the right one, and finally saw one that fit the budget AND my tastes AND my feet.  Even though this means breaking in another pair of boots (my old ones had been as comfy as house slippers), I am tickled to have these.  It is so worth it!

I was going to re-post the picture of the half-eaten boot, but it's just too heartbreaking to see again.  I'll focus on these pretty and durable things.  Notice that I photographed them over Breezy's outdoor crate.  NO TOUCHY!

I was really tired at the end of this running and walking around.  I took a little bit of time to rest and then got busy again.  We put the chicks outside again next to the Americaunas to continue their get-to-know-you routine.  It was nice to have Becca's help.  I had hoped they would be able to integrate after just one more day, but it was pretty clear that Persephone and Chilly, of all birds, (named because she's so "chill" when you hold her) were not getting along through the wire.  We'll have to see how this plays out.

We had used the Sonoma Chicken Salad all up by now, and I really wanted MORE, so I decided to make another batch that afternoon.  That meant turning on the oven to cook the chicken and toast the pecans.  The house got a LOT hotter than it would have, but it was really worth it.  I increased the pecans to one cup from the 3/4 in the recipe and ... yeah, yum, just right.  I thought about adding some freshly chopped onions, but I really like the flavors in this as is, so I'm gonna leave it alone.

I stepped outside later and I noticed that the light looked ... funny.  I can't even describe it, but you can just tell when something is off.  I looked at the time and realized it was 5:40, and the eclipse was beginning!  We gathered cameras and tripod and headed out back to take a look at the show.  I was really disappointed that my camera didn't have enough freedom to really set it to get some good pictures of the eclipse itself.  I guess that's what happens when you leave your eclipse photography research to the time of the eclipse.

I did get some pretty cool pictures of the crescent light filtering through the leaves ...

 And a few fun shots.  These weren't what I was looking for, but turned out pretty.

After the eclipse excitement was over, it was time to feed, move and milk the goats.  Becca went in to the pen with the dwarf goats while I was tending to the adult chickens, and asked me if I knew Luna had lost her horn.  I said, "NO!  Is she okay?"  She was.  Even though all the goats were disbudded so they wouldn't grow horns, Luna had a partial horn that had grown out and curved over her right eye.  It was close to the skin but not pressing into her face, so I had let it be until I had a chance to consult with a vet about whether it would be okay to leave or if we should remove it.  Apparently she had done something - rubbed, fought with her brother - to knock it off.  The scary thing about goats losing horns is that there is an artery that runs through them and they can bleed out if they break.  Thankfully, the blood supply to Luna's horn was as deformed as the horn itself, and although there appeared to have been some minor bleeding, it was nothing serious.  Becca located the horn in the pen...

And Luna looks much prettier without it!

Luna is going to have to learn to live without her little weapon.  It used to be that if we would lead her by holding onto her collar, she would tip her head back to dig the horn into your fingers in an effort to get you to let go.  It was funny how she kept trying to do that to Becca last night, and it just didn't work ...

Here's to a great week ahead.  Finals week for Bex,and then summer vacation.  Hurrah!

Odds and Ends and Escape Attempts - Both Caprine and Fowl

Thursday flew by, mostly consumed with doing work on a typing job I have at home. (Hurrah!)  I don't think that anything really unique happened at all, except I was happy to learn that Phillip Phillips will be in the American Idol finale.  I know, I live a really exciting life, eh?

The last time I made cucumber melon soap, the imprint stamp in the bottom slipped, so the pattern was off and they were unsuitable for sale.  I melted and remolded the soaps on Friday morning and plan to get some good photos taken (now that I have a tripod) and get those listed at etsy.com.  Typing again Friday morning.  I really enjoy this job and wish I had more of this type of work.  I have some plans to see if I can expand it over the summer.

We got home late on Friday, so feeding the animals and moving the goats to the barn, milking, was all done after dark.  On a warm summer night it's not too bad, and definitely better than rain.  I am grateful to have a good cover over us for milking, and the time was spent pleasantly ... until just about the time Imbri was done eating her grain.  I started to hear the yipping and squeals of coyote pups.  There's something that's really indescribable about the sound of them.  They sound cute, because it's obvious they are trying to be "big," and are learning a craft, but some of the sounds they make are spine-tingling.  Then, the adults joined in.  Typically I can hear one or two groups, but that night I was surrounded.  The coyotes were far away, probably not even on our land, but there were at least five distinguishable areas, and they were all around me.  Their voices soared and the pups went silent, and then after a couple of verses, joined in the chorus.  It's magical and frightening at the same time.  There's a primal instinct that tells you to get the critters and yourself indoors.  My friend, Tammy, described her reaction at hearing these at her old home - and my reaction - perfectly.  "Smiling with goosebumps."

Saturday morning was bright and sunny, with no trace of the fog that had haunted the last few days.  It was still cool as I started the morning routine, but nice and clear, and I smiled really big when I saw the barn door.  Salsa was ready to get out, and had turned the handle open.  There is a lock on the door, but I don't lock animals into a building, in case someone needs to get them out in an emergency.  This is why my dad built a bar to go across the outside of the door.  Often as I move it into place at night, I hear in my mind, "Katie, bar the door," and feel like a pioneer woman.  I decided to see if I could record Salsa playing her game with the door, and it worked.  I had Becca look at this video later in the day, and she laughed out loud, saying that it was funny and kinda creepy at the same time.  Maybe you'll enjoy it, too.

She's a smart goat!  While I was turning off the recording on my phone, she opened the handle again and suddenly slammed into the door.  She's done this before, and the screws on one side of the piece securing the bar come slightly loose and I have to slam it back in. 

Zeus and Persephone have been outside for a couple of weeks now and are settling into their little chicken area nicely.  Although Imbri used to answer Zeus when he crowed, I never noticed Foghorn taking any notice of him, until Saturday morning.  I was working at the computer when I realized that they were answering each other, Zeus crowing, and then Foggy.  That was fun to hear.  Zeus is getting more confident in himself and is really starting to sound like a rooster, instead of a frog trying to croak out a crow.

The plan was to bring the four youngest chicks outside and introduce them to Americaunas.  Becca went on a hike with her sisters and their husbands, so it was me all alone when it came time to make that decision.  I kept putting off doing it, because I knew it was going to be a challenge, moving the box out to the run and physically getting four chickens into a new area.  Suddenly, I heard a huge commotion coming from the room they are in, and - as always - I was afraid one of the many predators in our house had found a way in.  It was Traz doing her normal routine, trying to escape, and getting close.  She has learned that if she flies up really hard and fast, she can dislodge the clothespins holding a section of the netting, and get out.  I decided that it was time to go ahead and put them outdoors, NOW.

It's a large, square box they are in, difficult to handle.  I dragged it at first, and then decided to go ahead and pick it up.  I was afraid of them trying the escape routine into my face while I carried the box, but the movement had them staying close to the bottom and cautious.  Picking them up and putting them into the small run was easier than transferring the food and water.  I got everyone in and secured the bird netting over the top opening, confident they'd be happy enough outside to not try to escape.

I underestimated Traz.  More on that later.

Zeus and Persephone were fascinated by their new neighbors.  They might recognized their chirps, because though they never saw each other, they probably talked like prison inmates through the walls.  Zeus paced back and forth, looking up and down, trying to find a way to get in to see these new chicks in the neighborhood. 

They seemed to all be doing fine, so I went back into the house to work, leaving a door open so I could hear any problems, and doing an occasional head count.  I heard a commotion outside and again leaped up to see what was going on.  I stepped outside and saw ... Traz, out of the pen and perched happily on a bar on the top.  She was comfy, just sitting there, looking at the other chickens as if to say, "Hey, what's taking you so long?  It's nice up here!"  I slowly approached, hoping she wouldn't move, and she didn't.  She stayed still and I picked her up and gently placed her back inside.  Then I put a piece of plywood over the opening.  They stayed put the rest of the day.

I would have taken a picture if I hadn't been so concerned about getting her back in quickly.

The rest of the day was uneventful.  I was able to move the chicks back indoors for the night (they need to be introduced slowly so there's no crazy chicken gang fighting when the new kids move in) and the only sound that night was the beautiful voices of people singing at the retreat center next door.  What a great way to end a great day.

A note on the Sonoma Chicken Salad.  I forgot to mention that I didn't use the poppy seeds in the recipe, and it was just fine.  In fact, I think better, because I'm not a big fan of poppy seeds. 

A Unicorn on the Ranch

Monday this week was a pretty routine day.  I made more hot chocolate mix for the morning mochas, and started another batch of vanilla extract.

I haven't mentioned vanilla extract yet, have I?  It is ridiculously easy, though it takes a long time.  As in three months.  I started the first batch in April and it should be ready on the 4th of July.  Monday's batch will be ready on my birthday.  Happy coincidences!  I decided that the hot chocolate and extract combo would be good gifts.

To make vanilla extract, you take 9 plump vanilla beans, split them and scrape the seeds out.  Put the seeds and pods into a jar and add 1 1/2 cups of vodka.  The cheap kind is fine.  After three months, strain through a fine metal sieve and put into dark-colored jars.  I discovered that vanilla beans can be found ridiculously cheap online.  Spicy World sells 1/2 pound for just under $25.  That's about 30 beans for what it would cost me at Safeway currently to buy four, FOUR beans.  These mail ordered beans came vacuum sealed and were fat and so fragrant I could smell them through the packaging.  I didn't know that vanilla beans didn't normally come shriveled up, so this was a pleasant surprise.

Monday evening, Becca shooed the Americaunas into their coop for the night, and then asked me to hold the lid open so that she could hold Persephone.  She hesitated to pick Percy up, because Becca was concerned about Zeus going after her.  What is funny is that Bex used to hold Zeus all the time (when he was Athena), because Percy was more active and - in the beginning - aggressive.  She hesitated for so long that Percy decided she didn't want to wait any longer.  Before we could react, she jumped out of the coop and flew into Becca's face, then landed on the ground.  She then started walking away as we started to panic.  The last thing we needed was to have a loose chicken at night time!  After just two attempts, Becca was able to pick her up, and I was thankful that she didn't panic and start running away from us.  I would hate to have to chase a chicken at dusk.  After a little bit of cuddling, Becca put Percy back into the coop for the night.  Silly chickens.

We found out on Tuesday that Becca received an A+ on her art final, which she had been stressing over and had stayed up until 1am last week to finish.  Hurrah!

I decided to try making granola bars on Tuesday.  It was another cold, foggy and chilly morning, and the sun didn't break through until 11:00 am.  That makes a perfect morning for cranking up the oven.  I love the granola in the recipe I'd found in Make the Bread, Not the Butter but wanted to make it into bars.  I found a recipe for granola bars that differed slightly in ingredients, so I decided to try combining the two of them.  After toasting the dry ingredients, I heated and then mixed in the "glue", then laid the mixture into a baking dish lined with greased wax paper, pressing it down hard.  It took a few hours to cool enough to cut.  I learned that the recipe (as I modified it) is a bit too sweet for me, and I need to press the granola mixture in HARDer, but they taste good and mostly stick together.  I substituted maple syrup for the honey and think that was a mistake (I just love maple syrup, though!).  When I have a trial run that makes this recipe work well, I'll post it to the blog so you can try it.  The kids (and teachers) love the granola, but unless you're using it as cereal or in yogurt, it's easiest in a brick for snacking.

As I was walking with the dwarf goats to the barn that evening, I was admiring Moonshine's (we call him Mooney) little cowlick in the center of his forehead.  It curves forward like the flag on a quail's head, and I sometimes call him "Alfalfa," after the character in Little Rascals.  As I was looking at him, I noticed a grey area behind the cowlick, and wondered if he'd gotten something on his head.  I reached down to move his fur and discovered that he was growing a horn!  In the center of his head!  As a kid, he had been disbudded (meaning the growth areas for horns were cauterized to prevent them from growing for his safety as a pet animal), and this horn was growing right in between those two areas.  I have a unicorn goat.

The horn is curving back a little, so I doubt it will grow straight forward like the mythological beast, but it is still fascinating.  I don't know yet how or why this could have happened.

Wednesday morning was again sooooo cold and overcast!  The sun is lazy these days and didn't show up until 11:00 am again.  I like to wait until it's sunny to go out and start the sprinklers and do some weeding.  Early in the morning, I kept busy by making some cajeta and starting a new chicken salad recipe.

If any of you have had Pacific Market's Sonoma Chicken Salad, you know that it's something special.  I had a craving for it the night before, and decided to look and see if there was a recipe available that was anywhere close.  I could probably have asked my friend, Tammy, who used to work at Fiesta Market in Sebastopol (before they were bought by Pacific), but I figured I'd try online for something that wouldn't generate 20 pounds or so of salad.

Of all places, Whole Foods Market has a recipe for what I call - and they do, too - Sonoma Chicken Salad.  As I made the dressing, I thought that it tasted just a little different, somewhat sweeter, than Fiesta and Pacific Markets' version. The steps to create this recipe were super easy, and I'd never cooked chicken this way before.  It was easy, quick clean-up, and left the chicken moist, tender and tasty.  I really like this salad (I hate to admit better than Pacific or Fiesta's versions!), so it's definitely going to go into my family cookbook!  The recipe says it makes six servings, but I'm finding it is going a lot further than that.


Sonoma Chicken Salad
Whole Foods Recipe
Serves 6

Ingredients

Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
5 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons poppy seeds
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Salad
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4 cup pecan pieces, toasted
2 cups red seedless grapes
3 stalks celery, thinly sliced

Method

In a bowl, combine mayonnaise, vinegar, honey, poppy seeds, salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to dress the salad. This can be prepared up to 2 days ahead.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Place the chicken breasts in one layer in a baking dish with 1/2 cup water. Cover with foil and bake 25 minutes until completely cooked through. Remove cooked chicken breasts from pan, cool at room temperature for 10 minutes, then cover and refrigerate.

When the chicken is cold, dice into bite-size chunks and transfer to a large bowl. Stir in pecans, grapes, celery and dressing.

Nutrition

Per serving: 610 calories (390 from fat), 43g total fat, 5g saturated fat, 100mg cholesterol, 500mg sodium, 17g total carbohydrate (2g dietary fiber, 13g sugar), 33g protein

September - Circle of Life

It's September. Fall is here as of today.  The days have been getting noticeably shorter for a long time, as I have been milking in the dark in the mornings again.  This has been an eventful month on the ranch.

I think it was September 3rd when Bette broke her ankle.  Of course, we didn't imagine that it was broken at first, but that's what it turned out to be.  Poor thing had to undergo surgery the following week and is chomping at the bit, and frustrated at being housebound and unable to do the things she loves.  It's rather impossible to care for 11 goats when in a cast and using a walker, so I have been helping fill in the gaps as the brigade of friends and family has pitched in to help out.  It feels like a real community here, with caring people doing what they can.

Just four days later, September 7th, I headed up in the dark to feed Bette's goats.  To my surprise I heard maa'ing that sounded awful young and tiny ... oh yes.  Madeline the goat had decided to give birth.  One goat was up and almost completely cleaned.  I saw another lying curled up, covered in birth slime, being ignored, and another poor thing that had died.  I tried to get Madeline to take care of the smaller baby, but she refused.  After consulting with Bette, I bagged and secured the dead kid, then after getting Becca's help scooped up the runt, and brought him to our house so Becca could clean him off and get some milk in him.  She got ready for school, then we delivered the little white bundle with plenty of milk and bottles to Bette to care for.  Really the last thing she needed, right?  He was a little slow and uncoordinated in getting to his feet, but appeared to be okay.

Becca was late to school.  I dictated a note of explanation to her in the car, which ended by saying that Becca had taken some pictures on her iPod if the teacher wanted proof of why she was late that morning, then signed it in the school parking lot before she hustled to class.  I asked her later what her teacher said.  Becca said she gave her the note when she got to class, and then after class approached her teacher to talk to her about the tardy and possible detention.  Her teacher looked at her and said, "Well, where are the pictures?" Then she smiled.  All was well.

Becca named the little white baby quickly and without hesitation - Hope.  He struggled to stand the first day, and then would scoot backward only.  The second day, he started to walk forward - in circles.  For a while I thought we were going to have to change his name to NASCAR or Mario Andretti or something, because he could only turn left.  By the end of that day he was flying straighter - into walls.  We were concerned that he might be blind, but he responded visually, and by Day Three, little Hope had passed Navigation 101.  He had a strong appetite, and I picked up some colostrum from the feed store the first day to give him the best chance possible.  Becca babysat him for a few hours when she could to give Bette a break.

In the meantime, his sister, who Bette has named Ella, was growing strong.  Her mother, who still thinks she's a baby and needs to be with her own mama, is not the best goat mommy, but she is adequate.  The second weekend I collected both goats and took them to the vet for disbudding, the cauterization (under anesthesia) of their horn buds so they won't grow horns (dangerous to goats and humans when goats are in captivity).  Upon returning Ella to her mother, Madeline promptly rejected her.  I'm sure she smelled funny, but she is a baby and needs her mama!  By the end of the first day back, Ella was limping and injured.  Nothing obviously broken, but the knee joint in one of her front legs was hurt.  Becca and I caught Madeline three times a day that weekend to hold her so Ella could nurse.  If we gave up and gave her a bottle from Salsa, there would be no going back, so we stuck it out until Madeline finally figured out either 1) it really was her baby or 2) that was the only way she was going to get any relief from full udders.  By Monday, Ella was skipping around on all four legs again and doing very well!

The caretaker's family at the Bishop's Ranch next door has been kid-sitting and spoiling Hope for the last week.  He will come back here Sunday night to spend the night with me and Becca, so he's ready for his debut at SRHS to share with Becca's ag Earth Science class and other agriculture classes.  He'll be spoiled some more, and then spend a couple hours in the courtyard at my office, much to the delight of everyone there who are looking forward to his visit.

Through a series of text messages that I started exchanging with Bette just as I was leaving after dinner with Jessica in Windsor, I discovered that one of her goats had died.  Because it was a strange situation, she asked me to check on mine soon as I got home and then asked that I check on Ella, as she didn't seem to be well today and Madeline didn't seem to be allowing her to nurse.  We flew up the driveway, dust flying, and were relieved to see our goats all okay and where they should be.  While quickly changing clothes, gathering garbage bags and gloves and leash and milk, Becca heard the coyotes starting up - too close.  We made the decision to get our goats into the barn immediately and milk after we took care of the other problems.  They were a bit surprised to be put in without food, but after Lily escaped and ran around a bit, we were able to get them all in, promising them dinner and relief later.

Unfortunately, my first priority had to be to secure the dead goat, or we would be inviting predators right into our protected area.  Bette had given me a good idea of where it was, which was at a far corner of the pen, but not too horribly far from a gate.  Becca was distraught and I told her she didn't have to go near, but just stay where she could see me, use the flashlight, and talk to me.  Talk to me!  I don't know what I would have done without her.  She kept me sane and focused while I put black garbage bags over both ends of him and lifted him into a bin to make it easier to carry.  Thank goodness most of our goats are dwarfs and not as big as small ponies.  I was almost paralyzed over what I had to do, afraid of every sound in the dark, and so grateful to have Becca there asking me questions to keep me going.  I didn't realize how steep the ground was until I was trying to drag the bin back to the gate, and had to go very slowly to make sure I didn't fall and didn't tip the bin over.  We eventually got clear of the pen and I dragged the bin through bushes and up the driveway, locking him safely in our shed until he can be collected for a proper burial in the morning.

Ella was fine, and I'm sure she was hot and tired today.  Bette's sister got some water set up so that Ella can get to it more easily, and we are sure that will help.  Ella is old enough now that she is beginning to nibble on hay and I'm sure she's ready to start trying water, too.

After checking in and letting Bette know everything is okay, we headed home to feed and do a quick milking of Salsa.  The shower afterward felt luxurious - one of the best ever.  Now it's time to try to get some rest.

Salsa and Imbri Go To School

I got to work early this morning and hustled to get as much done as possible.  Being the end of the month, I felt badly about having to leave early, as some of the month-end work was going to go to my co-worker, who has enough going already.  I made it as easy as possible, knowing I would do the same for her.

First, drive home.  When I arrived, I backed the truck in and got the items from the house I would need:  milk bucket, sanitizer, paper towels, grain, a jar of milk, and soap samples for the class.  I grabbed my gloves and messed around with the wood pile, finding a more substantial piece of plywood to use as a ramp for the goats to get into the back of the pickup.  Even though we'd cleaned out the back, there was still plenty of damp alfalfa and mud to muck things up, so the gloves were a must.

I went into the goat pen and put leashes on all the big girls, intending to find a way to lead them out while leaving the youngest goats inside, and somehow do this without getting tangled up.  Normally eager to get out of the gate, probably because of the odd scheduling of my appearance, the goats scattered.  I eventually got leashes on Imbri, Salsa and Lily and headed to the gate.  Moonshine decided that he wanted to be first out, but he wasn't GOING out, the stinker.  I realized that I would have to put a lead on the youngest and tie them to the shelter so they didn't escape.  Easy, right?

Wrong.

When I came back in with their dual lead, both the little goats scattered and ran helter skelter away from me.  Moonshine, being the more loveable of the two, eventually came to me.  Then it was a matter of following Luna around, cursing at her, with Mooney by my side.  I owe Salsa a thank you for helping eventually to corner her.  While Luna had previously scampered by me when I cornered her, this time she couldn't get by me, and wouldn't dare try to pass Salsa, who was sure to charge at her.

"Babies" secured, I put the leashes of all the does around my wrist and led them to the truck.  They wouldn't go up the ramp.  Salsa and Lily were too busy trying to ram into Imbri.  I figured if I put Imbri in first, the others would come up after her, so up went Imbri.  Salsa followed.  Lily wouldn't walk up the ramp, but walked around the side of it.  So what happens next?  Salsa decides to charge back down the ramp to fight with Lily.  Imbri follows.  Then I can't get ANY of them into the truck!  It's warm outside, and I'm starting to sweat and lose my breath, and I'm tired of ducking and turning to make sure the leashes don't completely wrap around me.  I decide that the solution will have to be to leave Lily behind.  As I'm opening the gate, Imbri gets loose and runs into the pen.  I put Lily back in, and then Salsa.  Then have to chase Imbri.  Eventually, I grab her leash, and lead her and Salsa BACK out to the truck.  This time, both of them go up the ramp and mostly stay in as I try to push the ramp into the truck bed and close the back.  They start head butting each other, but at least they are in.

Grumbling to myself and worried about time, I hop into the truck, take a swig of coffee, and head down the driveway.  Halfway down, I remember that Mooney and Luna are still tied to the shelter, and I didn't turn the electric fence on.  Turn around, go back up, take care of business.  Imbri and Salsa start head butting each other in the back of the pickup again (they had stopped when the truck started moving).

Back down the driveway, and we wind through the back roads to avoid freeway speeds for the goats.  After falling once when a yellow light flashed so briefly (stupid light) and I had to brake quickly, Salsa settled in and laid down next to the cab of the truck.  Shorter, sturdier Imbri stood in the center, and sometimes walked to look out the back window.

I called the school to let them know I'd arrived, as I circled the parking lot for a relatively close spot.  Becca came out to the truck as I started to unload the goats.  Imbri jumped out right away.  I had to tug on Salsa to get her to get out of the truck.  All those strange cars and smells on that big black asphalt ground!  Becca's wonderful principal met us at the truck and helped bring the goats to the lawn in front of the school.  She really enjoyed seeing and petting them.

Becca's Ag teacher and the rest of the students from class came out.  They circled around us and I asked if they knew what breeds these goats were.  I was surprised that one student actually guessed Salsa's breed - half at a time.  His first guess was LaMancha, and when I told him he was partly right, he got Saanen.  Another student knew that Imbri is a Nigerian Dwarf, but then let it slip that Becca had previously told him.  The students seemed to enjoy the back and forth Q and A, and they had some good questions to ask.  Another teacher joined us - this was becoming a popular lesson.  The girls especially enjoyed feeding the goats grain, though unfortunately Salsa wasn't cooperative enough to allow some of them to try milking.  Some of the girls I was talking to giggled when I said teats.

At the end of our time, I gave the teacher a jar of milk so the students could see how similar/different it might be from cow's milk (they look the same to me).  They couldn't taste it, because it's not pasteurized, but I'll bring some pasteurized milk for the class later.  They cut the soap bars up for the students that wanted to take some home.  I'll send some cajeta and apple slices for Thursday's class.  Eating while being around goats is not a good idea, so we'll separate those activities.

Becca had the same teacher for her next class, and she said it was okay for Becca to leave after Ag class so I didn't have to wait an hour for her to get out of school.  We got both goats into the truck, and then Imbri  jumped out before the tailgate was closed.  I had already put the ramp up, so Becca and I lifted her round little body and put her inside.  The drive home was uneventful, and even though they were home, it took a while for the girls to come to the end of the truck to get out.  They seemed happy to be back with their herd mates.

All in all, not a bad afternoon.  I sure am pooped after all the goat chasing earlier.  Time for chores, dinner and REST.

New Beginnings

There has been a huge gap in my blog postings, which I really didn't expect to happen.  I suppose it's a combination of things.  One is that the speed of life has been so dizzying, there hasn't been a lot of time for contemplation before a keyboard.  The wee hours of weekend mornings that I love to use to write have often been consumed by oversleeping because I'm transcribing too late at night, transcription because I'm trying to keep up with a big onslaught of work at home, or a pre-teen who surprises me by getting up early.

There's also this thing that has happened over the last couple of blog postings.  I like what I've written, and an audience began to develop.  I saw people checking the blog regularly to see if something new was posted.  That made me feel great.  I also allowed it to make me feel as if I had to do something more than just be me.  I set expectations for blog posts higher than I'd had when I started this mission.  I started believing that I needed to have a "wow factor" in order to post something.  It had to be entertaining, funny, insightful, educational, or ... something more than my everyday life.  What happens when I set goals too high is that I start feeling that I can't reach them, and just sit and stare at them for a while.  Uh-oh, I got stuck.

The way to get unstuck is to just start moving again.  Or as Dorey in "Finding Nemo" says, "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming," paraphrased of course - this is from memory.

Moments over the last month?  Here they are, and I hope you enjoy.  I know I have, for the most part.

Cooking!  Baking!  I've been spending a lot of time in the kitchen.  Part of it is that I'm trying to do weekday prep on the weekends, so we have food that's easy to prepare and healthy to eat during the week.  Another goal is to use as much milk as I possibly can, so it doesn't go to waste.  I've been making a crockpot yogurt every weekend with mixed results.  I love the flavor, and Becca uses it with fruit to make a smoothie to down before we head out to school - often drinking it in the car.  The downside is that I've had a hard time with the texture.  It's been like a slightly thickened milk.  That's fine for smoothies, but not much else, and I don't like drinking my yogurt all the time.  I used a different starter yogurt culture last time that worked better, and picked up a tip that using a little tapioca flour might help.  I'll try that and let you know how it works.

Cajeta is a fixture every weekend, and more and more people are trying and loving it.  I've been told it will be okay to sell some at the school Christmas craft fair, so that is on deck.  I've been trying to figure out how to provide samples.  I started off thinking of buying tiny spoons, but don't like the idea of so much waste.  Next, small cookies?  Maybe.  After the apple/pear/cheese tasting last weekend, I decided that apple slices are the *perfect* way to showcase the deliciousness of cajeta, in addition to providing an idea for its use in a real fashion.

I discovered a fabulous honey wheat bread recipe that I modified and have been making every weekend.  When Becca doesn't want yogurt, we toast slices of this bread and smear homemade apple butter on it for an easy start to the day.  Yum!  I'll post the recipe below.

In addition to the apple butter, which is fabulous and also made in the crockpot, I've been making focaccia.  Dropping ingredients into the bread machine and using the dough setting makes prep easy.  After that, shaping the dough on a cookie sheet and brushing with olive oil before baking is all that is needed to finish it.  I discovered a lovely Meyer Lemon Olive Oil at the farmers market a couple weeks ago, and it is *perfect* brushed on top of the focaccia.

I make both the bread and focaccia using whey instead of water, which imparts more nutrients and lovely flavor and texture to the breads.  It also allows me to use the whey so it doesn't go to waste after making cheese.  I am still trying to perfect cheesemaking, and currently have a Camembert attempt started in the fridge.

Those goats are still keeping us on our toes!  They have been well behaved the last few weeks, but a couple days ago we made a mistake and ended up on a trek in the dark looking for an errant goat.  Typically, we put leashes on the big girls (Lily and Salsa) and Imbri, letting the youngest Nigerian goats trot off to the barn themselves, as they are most likely to do.  Imbri has a habit of going to the barn instead of waiting at the milk stand, but Salsa is good about hopping right up for her food.  Lily likes to wander about and nibble on interesting plants, so she needs firm guidance to get to the barn.

It was Friday night, and dark when we got home after dinner at my parents' in Novato.  Salsa was loudly telling everyone that morning that she was in heat, and she greeted us with a yell (and another and another) when we drove up.  When we put leashes on the goats and let them out, Becca and I both forgot that when Salsa is in heat, she doesn't behave properly.  As soon as she was out of the pen, she walked the opposite direction, and we both realized that we were going to have to chase her down.  We decided to get all the rest of the goats into the barn first, so we didn't have to run around after FIVE instead of just one.

We walked in the dark, with only the light from the flashlight gizmo mounted on my cap (I LOVE THIS HANDS-FREE FLASHLIGHT), stars flickering in the sky, but no moon.  The motion-detected light at the front of the house was on, so we could see Salsa standing near the gate to her pen, in addition to hearing her bleat loudly.  She started to walk away from us, so Becca headed down behind her, while I walked the upper driveway in an attempt to head her off at the pass.  Too slow.  I was 2/3 of the way there, when Salsa popped out of the path between the bushes and started walking away from me.  I called her gently, and she started to trot with intention.  She was on a mission to find bucks.

Becca joined me, and we held hands as we got to the end of our driveway and turned left, up the hill toward my landlady's house and animals.  It was so dark that we couldn't see anything but the circle of light from my flashlight on the driveway in front of us.  This made me a little nervous, and I suggested that we go get the car, but Becca was fine.  I angled the light up a little, we saw a faint glint of white up the drivway, and kept on walking.  Salsa had quit yelling, so it was hard to tell exactly where she was, but as we neared the gate to my landlady's goats, we saw her white coat glowing on the right side of the driveway.  She had her nose pressed against the fence, and one of my landlady's bucks was on the other side of the fence, nuzzling her nose and making blubbering noises.  She didn't want to leave him, so Salsa didn't try to run away when Becca grabbed her leash.

We turned and headed back down the dark driveway, and she was fine until the buck quit following along on the other side of the fence.  Then she started to pull back and yell again.  I had to grab Becca's arm a couple of times on our way to the milk stand, so that she didn't get pulled over by Salsa trying to go the other direction.  She is a LaMancha/Saanan full sized goat, and outweighs Becca.

The rest of the evening was uneventful, but it was a lesson that we didn't forget the next night we got the goats out of the pen.  Salsa is in heat for 2-3 days, and should be over it by tonight, but we'll still hold onto that leash at least for another couple nights to be sure she doesn't run off.

We had a good day yesterday, meeting Amanda, Jessica, and Marie for Amanda's first foray into wedding dress shopping.  What an endeavor!  The selections are so overwheming, and so beautiful.  We had a ball looking around and helping Amanda select dresses to try on, and then watching her model each of the selections for us.  The first one she tried on blew us all away.  It was absolutely perfect on her, and there was nothing else after it that gave us the same impact.  She tried it on one more time at the end, and we all concluded that this is probably *the* dress.  There are two wedding shows next weekend, however, and Mandi wants to see if she can win a gown before committing, so she will wait.  I think this is the winner, though.  If you are looking for a wedding gown, check out Wine Country Bride in Santa Rosa.  They have a fabulous selection of reasonably priced gowns, and the service is SUPERB.

One of our favorite restaurants, Las Guitarras in Cotati, is closing.  We are so bummed about it.  It is hard for me to make it there since we've moved, but that has always been one of my favorite restaurants.  We made it a point to meet up with my parents for lunch there after wedding dress shopping, and had good food, times, in good company.

We will be getting ready to attend the wedding today, 10-10-10, of the mother of one of Becca's best friends.  It's the perfect day for it!

You might wonder about the title - New Beginnings?  Where?  Well, it's me starting to blog regularly, even if I'm worried about what my "audience" might think.  It's wedding dress shopping for Amanda's new and renewed commitment with Anthony next year.  It's a farewell to a good restaurant, after losing a good man that managed it, and a new beginning for that building, while Las Guitarras Novato continues on strong.  Finally, a new beginning for Diane and Reuben - may they have a lifetime of happy years together.

Honey Wheat Bread - Bread Machine Recipe

This recipe is modified from the Mabon Marigold Honey Wheat Bread posted by girlichecf on blogspot.com. You can find her original recipe posted here.  The link also contains the recipe for the AWESOME Apple Butter I've been making with local, in season Gravensteins.

1 cup warm water (or warm whey)
1/3 cup honey
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons yeast

Place ingredients into the bread machine in the order listed, making a dent in the side of the flour to place the yeast in.  Select the wheat setting, choose the crust color and loaf size, and start.  My bread machine bakes this in about 3 1/2 hours.  No fuss, wonderful aroma in the house, great treat!

Lots Going On!

This has been a pretty unique 24 hours.  Where to begin?

First, with 48 hours ago, approximately.  While at Jessica and Cory’s place for an awesome birthday BBQ for Lorna (whose birthday is the day after mine), we discovered a litter of feral kittens and their mom were living in the foreclosed house next door.  When the kids went over to investigate they found 5 kittens, one malnourished mama, and two dead kittens.  Operation Rescue was enacted, and two kittens were gathered up.  (Since then, Jessica has arranged with Forgotten Felines to borrow a trap to catch the rest and mama, get the kittens healthy, tame and re-homed, spay mama and make sure she is healthy, perhaps find her a home if she was domesticated at one point, or allow her to be free if she is truly wild.)

I couldn’t resist adopting one.  Since Tiger passed in May, Star Kitty has not been the same, and I think he needs a roaming and snuggle buddy.

The plan is for this little guy (below) to grow into a fierce barn cat that can keep up with Star as a mouser and pet.  We have named him Boots, after Puss-in-Boots from the Shrek movie with the incredible, heart-melting eyes.

Jessica kept him and his brother Sunday night and Monday, to allow us time to pick up our cat carrier to bring him home.  Because she needed to work late last night, she brought him to our house.  Poor thing was very frightened, and would quiver in our hands when held, until we had petted and calmed him down a little.  Last night and this morning, he is more of a kitten - he is purring, rubbing his head against our hands, rolling over in our lap for belly scratches, and turning into a real love bug.  He is eating well as of tonight (yay!) and used the litter box all on his own tonight, too (double-yay!).

Jessi took care of Boots at her work again today and we both took him to the vet for a check-up this afternoon.  She missed an opportunity for a fecal sample when he had an accident on Jessica’s co-worker Angie (sorry, Ang!).  He is healthy, 1 lb 2 oz, and doing really well.  I did discover last night that his tail is broken at the end.  (I texted Jessica after the discovery, “His widdle tail is broken. :-( " )  The vet said that it has started to form a joint, so it’s going to be a bit crooked at the tip.  It will give him character.

As if that weren’t enough, the bucklings are raging with hormones.  They have been getting stinky over the last few days, and when I came home last night, Ebony was blubbering and attacking his brother as if he meant it.  Salsa was very eager to get out of there.  I opened the gate just enough for her to escape, and she didn’t hesitate or turn back.  I gingerly put leashes on the boys and led them to their crate in the barn, which is now being secured with an extra lock so they don’t escape and impregnate the herd at night.  I am envisioning a leash threaded through a pole so that I can easily keep them at arm’s length, because all they want to do is rub their stinky bad selves all over me!

This morning there was no hesitation - they had to be separated from mom, period.  I put a new battery on the PermaNet fencing to make sure Salsa knew that it meant business, and after milking her, put her in with the rest of the herd.  She walked right in without hesitation, probably happy to be back to her more normal pre-delivery routine.  Imbri immediately challenged her, and they were still sparring when I left for work this morning.  Everyone seemed to have settled in well by the time I got home tonight.

The bucklings came out of the barn last, and again, I veeery carefully, and as much at arm's length as possible (while dodging them), put leashes on and kept their leashes long as we walked (skipped, humped, ran, dashed, stopped) down the driveway.  They normally run around the corner of the shed and see their mom at the gate, then pull hard on me to get there, trying to knock the gate open to get in and nurse after being separated from her all night.  Boy, were they surprised this morning!  They stopped stock still after rounding the gate, then walked to the gate yelling their heads off for her.  I had to go inside to get them in the pen, quickly unhook them, and leave them in, still confused and calling for their mom.  Salsa?  She was too busy head butting with Imbri to listen.  Later, I heard her, so I went out to check and see if she was going to try to breach the fence, but she was eating alfalfa, absent-mindedly calling back to them with her mouth full.  She was totally fine.

Tonight was the first time milking Salsa after she’d been separated from her bucklings during the day.  I have been used to her giving a smidge over 2 quarts in the morning, so figured that would be about what we’d get tonight.  I WAS WRONG.  I was milking away and the bucket was getting fuller and fuller.  I asked Becca to get me another one, because I could tell this wouldn’t hold it all.  The bucket was filled to the top so that when I moved it, some sloshed out.  I usually eyeball the measurement in the 2 quart or 1.5 liter jars and know that she gives about 2 quarts.  Tonight I measured it.  She gave a solid 3 quarts.  Shock.  This means over a gallon a milk a day is what we are going to have at the IBTC farm.  I need more milk bottles, and I need to get started on making stuff immediately!  More goat’s milk soap.  Yogurt.  Cajeta.  Ice cream.  Cheese.  We tried Quark at the Farmer’s Market this weekend, and I could make some of that.  I have some serious cooking ahead of me!

All in all, a very busy, different, couple of days.  I am exhausted.  Time to get a few things done here, get Becca set up for the first day of school tomorrow, and hit the sack.  Tomorrow, another new routine to start getting used to, and oh no - I forgot to get lunch stuff...

Guess we’re getting up earlier tomorrow than I expected.

I Can't Believe It's Friday Already

Well, no big adventures today, just a small, wonderful, fun day with my girl.

For some reason, Becca got up before I did this morning, and apparently, before the alarm even went off. I snoozed it until it stopped, and she woke me about an hour after. After morning milking, she fell asleep on the couch.

Ivory, one of the bucklings, is cracking me up these days. Quite often, when I go to get the boys out of the barn in the morning, I have already milked Salsa, and that means that there has usually been milk accidentally squirted on the leg of my jeans. Ivory always sniffs that, and has started butting my rear-end, as if he thinks that just because it’s an ample, soft area, there’s gotta be milk in there. It’s become his routine now every time I put their leashes on, to nuzzle and bump my butt. I keep telling him, just because it’s BIG doesn’t mean there’s milk in it! This morning, when I leaned over to put Ebony's leash on, Ivory decided to try bumping my boob to see if there was anything there for him. Ahem. No.

There was a lot of activity on the ranch this morning. The landlords came down with the glass man to replace the two broken doors in the studio next door, and filled me in on the status of the hunters at that time. So far they had bagged two wild pigs and were cutting up trees that had fallen over the trails at the far end of the property. No coyote sightings, though I did hear the fox last night. THAT was an eerie call.

We went to the game store late in the morning, to see if they had a used DsiXL that Becca might be able to buy with her saved allowance. They did have one, but the price was ridiculous and over her reach. She was disappointed, but overall took it in stride and will keep saving. Then a quick trip to Home Depot to pick up some pipe for under the kitchen sink.

Pipe for under the kitchen sink, you might ask? Didn’t you just unclog said sink? Why do you need pipe? Apparently I was rather heavy-handed with the unclogging, and broke the pipe at the top where it meets the sink. I had to put a bucket under there to catch spillage until I got the new piece to replace it. One good thing about being a woman wandering around Home Depot looking lost? Men help you. Customers, even, when associates aren’t about, even if you don’t ask. Home Depot employees are also always happy to help hapless me with a little cutting job. I needed the plastic pipe cut to the same size as the old that I’d brought with me, and didn’t want to scrounge around at home looking for my hacksaw. “Happy to oblige, ma’am.” We got home, and it was a five-minute job to put that sucker on, and I did it right! Yay me! Watertight, baby.

I unpacked some boxes in the laundry room while Becca spent more time in the pool. After an early dinner, so that she didn’t eat just before her lesson tonight, we headed to town for her first private swimming lesson.

When Becca asked me last night how long the lesson would be, and I told her 25 minutes, she was unhappy that it was “so short.” I explained that she would be swimming that whole time, and it would be much different than the 10 minutes max she got to swim during the group lesson. After tonight, she really understood what I meant! That girl was POOPED. And beaming. Kelson is a great teacher for her, and she swam 3/4 of the way across the pool “to the deep end, Mommy!” At one point, I looked over and she was staring off in the distance while Kelson was next to her, and I wondered what they were doing, because there was no interaction. Then I noticed that she was treading water! She later told me she was focusing on something so she could concentrate, and he was timing her. He asked her to do it for 15 seconds, longer if she wanted to, and she did it for 25 seconds.

We headed down to Windsor to bring Jessica her cat carrier so they can move Savage when they move into their new house this weekend. It was great to see the place looking so spiffy, painted, carpet cleaned, and ready to move in. The new stove looks *awesome*. We helped them move some boxes from Cory’s car, made plans for tomorrow, and headed home.

I had hoped to break in the new ice cream maker tonight, but it’s too late, so we’ll have to see if we can get it started tomorrow afternoon. We plan to go to the farmer’s market in the morning, then check out Memorial Beach at the river, before heading up to Sebastopol to pick up the freezer and take boxes to Jessi and Cory’s place. A full day ahead!

Stay-Cation

I have a WHOLE WEEK off work and so far it has been just what I needed. We are doing a “stay-cation” this year, not going anywhere, but relaxing at home. We are going to try to see one local sight or do one local event each day, and get to know our hometown and Sonoma County a little better.

Saturday was spent mostly taking the car down to the mechanic. Mom and Dad came up so they could follow me down in case something went awry. Then to In-n-Out for drive-through lunch, and fight the traffic home. I needed to get some feed for the animals that wouldn’t fit in my parents’ van, so we went home long enough to get the truck and go down to the feed store. Bex and I picked up some human groceries while we were there, too. Becca spent most of the rest of the day when we were home in the new pool, while I worked on finishing my sprinkler project.

Later that evening, while settling in for some guacamole and chips while watching a television program, Becca suddenly paused the TV and said, “Did you hear that?” I heard a thump, and said that it was probably the goats messing around in the barn. She said no, that it was coming from a different direction. I listened again, and it was rhythmic - thump ... thump ... thump. I said I thought it was probably gunshots, but wondered why they would be practicing at night. Suddenly, she shouted, “Fireworks!” and we went running outside. Sure enough, the town of Windsor had started their fireworks show, and we had a PERFECT view between the hills right in front of the house. I grabbed a couple of chairs so we could sit together in the dark and watch.

Sunday - 4th of July!



I think Becca spent most of the day in the pool while I did things around the house and reviewed records while sitting on the deck keeping an eye on her. We decided to check out the fireworks show in our new hometown, and left in plenty of time so we could be an hour to 1 ½ hours early and get a good spot to sit. By the time we turned the corner toward Healdsburg High School, I could see the streets were already packed with parked cars and people were walking toward the school with blankets and chairs. We found a good spot to park about 2 ½ blocks from the school, and trekked over. Before we got to the field, we spotted a good area in a no parking zone next to the field where a few people had set up, and decided it looked good. The wind picked up and it was getting chilly fast. After such a hot afternoon, Becca was dressed in a tank top, light cotton shirt, skirt and flip-flops. My t-shirt, jeans and flip-flops weren’t much better, and I was really grateful that she’d brought her blanket. We snuggled up together and waited, listening to the conversations around us, exclaiming with the rest of our neighbors about the illegal fireworks going off, and enjoying what seemed to be a countdown of one firework being shot off at about 5 minute intervals starting about 15 minutes prior to showtime. It was a fabulous show, and just as I thought they had finished the finale, a guy next to us said, “It’s not over yet,” and I was amazed when it continued. The wind was picking up some of the flaming bits and bringing them a little too close to us, so Becca started to get nervous. When the finale came, it was fantastic - the best ending to the best fireworks show I’d ever seen, but tiny bits of debris hit my face and Becca’s foot, so we pulled the blanket up under our eyes and watched carefully until the show was over.

Everyone was happy and cordial as they left. We had the perfect parking spot and a clean shot out of the area and on home. A quick round of chores to get the animals all tucked in for the night, and we settled in to get some sleep. A day of walking, work, swimming, fresh air, and fun had really tuckered us out.

Monday the 5th - a holiday! First, I got a great call from my mechanic, who told me that there is nothing wrong with my car. It was probably the battery all along, which I ended up replacing last week (under warranty, thank-yew-very-much). I made arrangements for my folks to pick us up and take us down to RP to get the car. Drove home as thrilled by driving that 200,000+ mile car as if it were brand new - so nice to be in it again instead of the truck. We found a parking spot near the middle of town and started on our walk around downtown Healdsburg.



What a fun place to WINDOW shop. Most places, Becca spent her time with her jaw on the ground at the prices. We did pick up some goodies from Powell’s candy shop and some on sale paperbacks from Copperfield’s Books, plus get some great ideas for future gift-giving. Before we left downtown, we stopped into one of those fabulous little hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurants, this one called El Sombrero, for a couple of burritos.



I relented and allowed us to have one soda each. While we were sitting at the table, I picked up one of the glass bottles, curious to see if the recipe for Coca-Cola made in Mexico is any different, and was pleasantly surprised to see there is NO HFCS in these! Just pure cane sugar! Viva Mexico! Now we know where to get sodas when we really want to have that treat.

One more stop before heading home - the antique store! We have an electric ice cream maker that uses a canister that is put into the freezer, but I have had a hankering for a long time for a hand crank maker. For one, the old ones are much bigger, and I remember the ice cream freezing better. Secondly, I am always on the lookout now for tools and items that do not require electricity. We were wandering around the store, exclaiming and showing each other things, then I heard Becca say, “I think I found your ice cream maker, Mom.” We were about 2/3 through the store, and I thought that we weren’t going to find one. Sure enough, there it was, buried under some card games and odds and ends. Not only hand crank, but it has the original booklet with it, and a WOODEN barrel! Way cool! For less than $25 we walked out not only with the ice cream maker, but a way cool wooden boomerang. We hope to find a good park this week to try it out.



The “Service Engine Soon” light went on in the Taurus when we got into the driveway at home, so I’ll have to bring it back to Vinnie the Excellent Mechanic again for him to take another look.

July 6th, and I woke up late. I hit the snooze button until the alarm stopped, and then woke up when the phone rang. I’d slipped in a spill at the local grocery store the day before and slightly wrenched my back. I stayed to guard the spill so no one would get hurt, and the manager happened to be there when Bex reported it for me. He came over and took my information, and said he’d call the next day to see how I’m doing. I told him I’d be fine, and I am. It’s nice the he is following up, though I’m sure it’s damage control on his part. I still find it hard to believe that someone would sue a store for something that wasn’t their fault. These folks were *all over* that spill as soon as they knew about it. What’s disappointing to me is that the person that caused it didn’t report it. Instead, they walked all over the store, dripping down the aisles.

Salsa escaped from the barn this morning. This is my “flying goat,” because when she was young she discovered that she could jump the 4 foot fence, and that it was fun. She would jump out, and then go to the back door calling for us, as if to say, “Hey! Look what I did! Isn’t that cool?” A couple more feet of fencing around the top stopped her from escaping, but not from trying, and for a few weeks more she would run and jump and *almost* get over. I knew when we got this barn that the handle would be something she’d figure out quickly. We have a bar that goes over the door (“Katie, bar the door!” is what I often think when putting it on) to prevent her from jumping on the handle and turning it. Since she’s had her kids, Salsa hasn’t willingly left them, so in the mornings I haven’t secured the door completely when taking the other goats out and milking Imbri. I was putting Imbri in the pen after milking this morning, when I heard Salsa’s bucklings calling out like they do when I take her out of the barn. I wondered ... and sure enough, as I walked toward the house, Salsa was jumping onto the milk stand. Good girl! Because she walks so easily to her pen after milking, I didn’t bother to go get the leash from the barn, just put her food in the bucket and started milking. Now I know that I need to secure the door when she’s in there again.

That’s it for now. I’ll update the blog as we continue our vacation adventure week!

Country Living Ain't for Sissies (Unless You're a Ridiculously Wealthy Sissy)

"Country living ain't for sissies." This was the thought that crossed my mind as I panted and sweated, cleaning the barn last night. It's a chore that can't be avoided without suffering even more discomfort and aggravation later on, not to mention the guilt at the potential discomfort of the animals that would have to use it. My critters come first.

There are a lot of things that need to be done / dealt with on our little farm/ranch that are not for sissies or the faint of heart. Cleaning the barn is only one. Using pitchfork, rake and broom to remove three loads of soiled alfalfa and wood shavings, with the accompanying stink after a couple of really hot days, is no picnic. You take a moment now and then to walk to the water spigot to wash your face and take a swig of fresh cold water, and breathe. The satisfaction when the job is complete, the cozy nest restored for these little ones that rely on me, is so worth it. The compost that the debris will create, also worthwhile.

As if the barn cleaning last night weren't enough, it was then time to unload the grain and seed purchased at the feed store. Lugging 40 to 50 pound bags of food and dumping it into bins is not for sissies, either. Yet, it's amazing how much we can do if we just decide to do it. Sometimes it's baby steps that get us there, other times, it's much easier than we had expected. Being satisfied with what *can* be done makes finally reaching that goal even better. No sense in stressing over acres of weeds and tall grass that need to be taken down. Spend 20-30 minutes a day, and watch it disappear. Savor the patches when they are cleared, and look forward to and plan the next day's spot.

I had to laugh as I was working on that barn, and gave a silent prayer of thanks for Shippey, for Wales, for team leaders, for rangers, for an awesome team of friends to work, play, sing, laugh, and learn with. The reason I was laughing is that I thought, "Well, good thing I had that training at Ty-Nant on how to shovel sheep shit. It's not all that different from goat."

I learned a lot more than how to shovel ancient sheep dung from an old barn on that 1978 tour, and the tours and work projects that preceded and followed it. I learned that I am capable of anything I wish to do. It may look hard, it may be hard, but when you dig right in and figure out how to do it, there's no greater satisfaction. I also learned not to be afraid to try new things. This is why I'm not afraid at all to learn as I go on how to care for goats, chickens, growing a garden, raising goat kids, milking, making soap, cheese, butter, cajeta, ice cream, and more. Research, look it up, try it out, dive right in.

Most good things on a farm don't come easy or quickly. There's no instant gratification in sowing seed, breeding a goat, or incubating an egg. That's perhaps why the results are so sweet. It's a result of something that *we* did, in conjunction with the earth, sky, rain, and Spirit's creatures. Teamwork with a capital T.

At the end of the evening last night, I kicked back on the deck in my favorite chair, and enjoyed a bowl of freshly made ice cream from our sweet goat's milk. I took in the view of my growing garden, enjoying the views and sunset, the smell of the first rose to bloom this season, anticipating the gardenia's sweet fragrance as it wakes up after a wet winter. As it got darker, the stars started to sprinkle the pitch-black sky, brighter out here than in the city, and I breathed a sigh of gratitude. I'm getting healthier out here, with the hard work and good food. Life in the country is good.