The New King

Welcome to Big Les, our new rooster, thanks to Jessie. He's a light brahma, and matches four of our hens. Our hens, by the way, are all named Shirley, after Brad's mom, at her request. So, it was only fitting that we name the new rooster after his dad, Lester, or Big Les as he was known to his friends.
Long live the King!

That Ol' White Magic

It never ceases to amaze me that you can take the same basic ingredients: milk, culture, rennet, salt -- and by manipulation of time, temperature and agitation, get an incredible array of cheeses. It’s just magic.
..down and down I go, round and round I go
In a spin, loving the spin I'm in, under that old white magic called cheese ...

My Boys

There must be some capricorn in this old virgo. I love my boys, and I love their stink. I am a sick woman.

Elvis has left the building...

The King is dead. Our rooster, Elvis, shuffled off this mortal coil over the weekend. I miss his clarion call... The farm just isn't the same without his voice.
The bucks breeding snorts just don't do it for me.

Full

Full woodshed.
Full haybarn.
Full grain bin.
Full apple boxes.
Full plate.

A Goat Named Pease (blossom)

Two childhood friends named daughters Caitlin. I only have the one daughter, so cannot return the favor. But I do have a goat named Peaseblossom. I am thinking of using Hurricane names for a naming theme this year, and one of them is Teddy. No Buzz, yet. Sorry, Buzz.

Holes

Wow. The summer flew by, taking with it some new adventures, and leaving behind some holes, literal and figurative.
We had lots of help this summer, with all Fiona’s friends she brought home from college. Our first lesson was that it’s a challenge to keep so many people busy and on task. Our second lesson is that teenagers need a lot of direction and lack focus! But we had a lot of good times gathered around our new picnic table, and got many things done around the farm that needed doing. Thanks to Steve, Jeremy, and Dylan, we got the firewood in, fixed the holes in fences and floors, moved a mountain of manure and built a deck on the cabin. Claire excelled at middle management and delegating tasks, customer relations at market, and packing cheese. Everyone loved the goats. We didn’t finish fixing the porch, and the holes haven’t been filled in.
They were exhausting while they were here, but I miss them all! Holes in my heart.