Getting away

James and I hadn't gone on any vacations this year until a few weeks ago.    I'm super excited because we now have 2 farm sitters and we can get away more often, so that's what we're doing.  I'm typing this from the Outer Banks, NC. 

Two weeks ago we were in Vermont for a friend's wedding.  I don't think I ever slept so well.  We stayed at a wonderful B&B, Nyes Green Valley Farm in Jeffersonville.  I'm not sure if I slept well because the bed was so comfortable or if it was being away from the farm and having nothing that had to be done.  It was a wonderful trip from beginning to end.  I can't believe I have no pictures of the vacation.

Four days ago we arrived here in Duck, NC.  We're here for a week with some friends.  Adam and Melissa live about 15-20 minutes from where we're staying so it's been great being able to spend time with them and their friends. 

Our house is right on the Sound so we're seeing some beautiful sunsets and doing a little crabbing.

 

Yesterday we fished in the ocean.  I only caught 2 small fish but it was fun and very relaxing.

Today I took my pole but never casted it.  Instead I relaxed on my towel with my little buddy to keep me company.

 

When we return from this trip we'll only be home another 4 days and then we head to Arizona for our niece's wedding.  We may need a vacation from our vacationing.

I got an email telling me I hadn't blogged in 10 days so I thought I should at least post a few pictures so you know I'm still alive. 



 

You know how grandmothers are

Adam came home for a few days and brought our grandpuppy with him.  Her name's Maia.  Isn't she adorable?

 I told Adam I'd puppy sit while he went to visit a friend.   I think I got an idea what it might be like to babysit for a human grandchild.  I worried if she got out of my sight.  I didn't want anything to happen to her on my watch.  I also got a glimpse of what Adam might be like as a dad.  You know parents, "she's so smart", "don't let her eat that (donkey poop), she hasn't had all her shots yet".  It's kind of funny.

 

James and I decided to take Maia and Lex to the creek while we were on duty.  We had to carry her a good bit of the way or we would have never made it down there in a day.  After a little exploring she fell asleep on the rocks.  Twice Lex got up to check on her.

He's very patient with her.

 

It's probably good for me to have a reminder every now and then what it's like to own a puppy.  It makes me really appreciate how easy this old boy is.

I have a feeling if I ever get the chance to be a grandmother none of you will want to read my blog anymore.  This was only a small portion of the pictures I took today. 

 

 

Spider Webs

This morning glistening spider webs caught my eye.  It's very dewy walking through our river bottom land, and at 8 AM the sparkles made it clear we have many spiders grazing in our pasture alongside our pigs, donkeys and goats.  I wasn't sure if I'd be able to capture them with my phone camera but I was pleased with how some of them came out.

When I went out later in the afternoon the webs were gone.  I've read they eat and recycle them.  Tonight when we went to put the chickens to bed we walked over to the trailer to see if the web had been reconstructed.  Our timing was perfect; we were able to watch the spider at work.  I wish I had a video of her spinning her masterpiece.  It's so cool to watch.  She didn't care that I was shining a flashlight on her while she worked.  I understand they don't have good eyesight but still it seems she'd have seen my light. 

I wonder how they choose where to hunt.  I had to knock one down to get into the trailer.   I hope she finds another place to build.  Some are suspended between tall grasses.

It's hard to capture photos of webs when the background is light but a dark background shows them nicely.  Like this one which has been at the entrance of our garage for about a week now.

Unfortunately, when I leave the garage there is bright light behind it and I absentmindedly parade smack through the center of it, leaving the garage with a spider web mask.  I have yet to see this spider.  She probably senses me coming and quickly leaps somewhere safe. 

My favorite web though, was the one built in the corner of Roxie's shed.

 

A lesson learned about fermented fruit and pigs

First I want to say thank you to all for your kind comments here, emails and on Facebook for our loss of Mac.  We have so many friends and family who understand how sad it is to lose a pet and I'm grateful for your understanding.

Now I'm going to share something with you and you may wonder where my brain was.  I'm not going to blame it on grief.  It was a moment of stupidity and carelessness, but I assure you it was an accident. 

On Friday I had folks here looking at some goats I had for sale.  I took them on a tour of our farm and while showing them our pigs I decided I should take them some food.  I had a bunch of fermented blackberries from 10 gallons of blackberry wine sitting in a bucket in our basement.  In the back of my mind I knew I should only give them a small portion of them.  In the past I've given 500 lb Roxie lots of fermented fruit without giving it too much thought.  She always appreciated it.  What I should have considered (and did, but brushed it aside) was I have 3 very lightweight piggies who gobble up everything we give them with gusto.  It wasn't long before two of the piglets were tumbling instead of walking.  Their legs weren't working at all.  Poor Mickey had completely passed out and I couldn't right her for anything.  She was completely out of it.  I thought I had poisoned her.  Wendell recovered more quickly and skinny, sickly little Wassee didn't seem the least bit affected by the alcohol.  I think Mickey is a glutton and that's why her tummy is so round. 

I'm not exagerrating when I say Mickey was drunk for at least 10 hours.  I gave her activated charcoal in Gatorade and kept pumping water into her with little improvement.  Later in the evening when I went to check on her I found her stuck in their mud wallow and the other 3 had retired far away from her for the night.  I rescued her and carried her to be with them and at this time she could stand on all fours but was still uncoordinated.  What a relief it was to find her sober and running around the next morning, begging for food.

I assure you I won't do this again. 
 

Death on a farm

You know, sometimes I think I've worked through this.  I've toughened myself up when it comes time for butchering pigs or goats.  I reconcile myself that this animal has had a much better life than those animals whose meat is sold in grocery stores.

What I haven't toughened myself up for is dealing with the death of my non-meat pets.  Today we said goodbye to Mac.

He had been losing weight ever since I got him and no matter what I tried - more food, exercise, teeth floated - he continued to lose muscle mass.  Looking at this older picture I can see how much he had shrunken in the past 3 months.  I had made and appointment for the vet to come out today to draw blood and test him for Cushings disease but things went downhill fast after I made the appointment.  I won't go into details but the vet said he appeared to have both neurological and hormonal problems and assured me I was doing the right thing by putting him down.  He said he would do the same if it was his animal.  That was what I needed to hear.  Mac couldn't get up and kept moaning. 

What made it even harder was Jaz kept standing by and braying at him like she was ordering him to get up.  She hardly ever brays but yesterday did it all day long.  It was heartbreaking.  She was much closer to Mac than she was to her own kids.  They shared a food bowl without picking on each other and spent lots of time side by side.

Burying a large animal isn't easy for many reasons.  We were lucky to have folks a 1/4 of a mile away with a backhoe who were able to come within the hour to dig a hole and bury him.  The young man was very serious and when he went to push Mac in the hole he said, "I'll be as gentle as possible".    Watching him tumble into the hole was disturbing but it's always hard to put an animal in the ground. 

I don't know how the other donkeys are feeling today.  Probably much like me.  I'm fine until someone says they're sorry or till I typed this blog. 

Mac was one of the most gentle donkeys I've ever known and we're going to miss him.  We have many pictures of him with toddlers on his back.  I'm glad to have had him for the short time he was here.

The name on everybodys' lips is gonna be...ROXIE

Some rainy days I'm very productive.  Other days I waste all kinds of time on my computer.  You can guess what kind of day today was.  I think both videos are cuter in full screen, so click the little picture frame in the bottom right.  Sorry the audio is so bad.  I could have wasted much more time trying to correct it but I'll save that for another rainy day. 



Pig development

I returned Wassee to his piggy family on Tuesday and he's doing great.  I have no idea what made him sick but whatever it was is gone and he's running around just like Mickey and Wendell.   Mickey had lots of secrets to tell Wassee.  Now he needs to put some weight on like them. 

  It may have been good for Wassee to be away for a bit because Roxie has accepted the others and they all get along well now.  Wassee is still her little buddy though and she's very protective of him.  He adores her too and I know he's glad to be back in the fold. 

I had worried Roxie wasn't going to allow Mickey and Wendell in her house so I thought it would be a good idea to build a second one for them.  Yesterday James and I assembled it and the inspectors did a quick once-over, taking bites out of and rubbing on it.

It still needs a metal roof and more paint.  I wonder how long till they move in.  I'd like to have several of these in different paddocks so when we rotate them we don't have to move houses around.  Pigs are really good at piling dirt all around the base of the shelters making them hard to move.  They've already begun burying it.

I also threw together a rabbit tractor so the rabbits can have grass to eat and I can move it around the yard.  It's built out of old screen windows, a few 2 x 4s and a tarp.  I thought they'd be excited about it but maybe they're going to have to get used to it.    The 2 girls I put in there (along with two babies) chased each other round and round and I worried they'd have heart attacks they were panting so hard.  This morning they seem to have settled in more and have eaten so much grass I had to move it.

Today I'll be moving donkey fencing so they'll be grazing new pasture and the old will have time to recover.  This year I  plan to rotate my animals and see if I can manage the pasture in a healthy manner.  We'll see how it goes.  It takes time to move fences and I get lazy about it.  Thank goodness most of my animals respect the electric ribbon. 
  

Getting ready for mom and dad

My mom and dad will be visiting later this week and I've been trying to think of things we can do while they're here.  Last year my mom was such a good sport.  Remember how I got her to plank?
http://holesinmyjeans-kpannabecker.blogspot.com/2012/09/photo-ops.html

When I was young I remember my mom putting together puzzles.  I too love puzzles so I thought we could put one together while they're here this week.  I went to Lowes and bought one today.  It didn't come with a box so we'll have to wing it since we don't have a picture to look at.  It's not nearly as many pieces as the ones she used to put together but, you know, we're all getting older and too many pieces might be more than we can focus on.  See if you can guess what the puzzle is.

 Actually, it's part of 2 puzzles and both are missing a few pieces.   There will be no planking involved. 

Mom and Dad, you can't back out now.

P.S.  Wassee was still struggling today.  He didn't have much of an appetite and his back legs are weak.  He did, however, drink quite a bit of Gatorade.  I've spoken to some pig experts today and I'm not feeling terribly hopeful for a recovery but I'm not giving up yet.
 

Wassee Wasserman's bath

Wassee's name lends itsself to nicknames, I think.  Sometimes I call him Wassee Wasserman or Wasseemoto.  Right now I need to call him Wassee-we-want-you-well.  After the new piggies arrived I noticed how much slower Wassee moved and how he didn't have the energy they did.  He also had diarrhea so 2 days ago I moved him up closer to the house where I could give him special attention and he wouldn't spread any diseases to the others.  He's living in a chicken coop surrounded by a kennel.  He spends most of his time burrowed under the hay in the coop though.  I dewormed him, gave him an something to treat bacterias like e coli and have given several servings of yogurt but still he has runny poop.  Yesterday I gave him some Peptol Bismol so I hope that helps.  He loves to have his tummy rubbed.  I'm sure it feels good on his achy stomach.  He's become so sweet since we spend so much time together.   I thought a bath would do him good; get that poop off his butt.
He seemed to enjoy it.


 After his bath he got his yogurt.

 Mickey and Wendell (as in Wendell Berry) are just as friendly as Wassee.  As a matter-of-fact it's hard to visit them and Roxie without being plowed over by them.  They all want scratches or belly rubs.  Here are a few videos from last night.   Pigs are forever rubbing against things for a scratch.   This one made me smile. 

The 2 of them came over for rubs and as soon as I reached under them to rub their stomachs they rolled over so I could do a better job.  I need more than 2 hands to video and rub two tummies. 
 


This morning Wassee wasn't interested in his yogurt or bread.  He talked to me but didn't reallly want to  get out of bed.  I need to consult some pig experts today.






 

What do blueberries and pigs have in common?

Not much, really, but I happened to pick up both yesterday while visiting the town of Renick, WV.   Two weeks ago I was invited to go blueberry picking in Renick.  It was an hour and 45 minute drive away but I picked 26lbs so it was well worth the drive, plus it was fun hanging out with my friends.  I'd never heard of the town of Renick before.

Just two days later I discovered a breeder of Gloucestershire Old Spot (GOS) pigs.  A friend had recommended this breed because they're good grazers and we have lots of pasture to graze on, that's for sure.  Strangely enough, they were also  located in Renick, just 15 minutes from the blueberry farm.  If that wasn't a sign to go pick more blueberries and buy more pigs, then I don't know what it was.  GOS pigs are pretty rare and hard to find so of course I took it as a sign :)  We bought a breeding pair, a gilt and a young boar, so it will be a while till we get babies from them.  They're about as cute as can be and way more adventurous than Wassee.  We named the little girl Mickey, on account of the spots on her rear end.  The boy has no name yet.

In this next picture you can see how much pinker Mickey is than the boy.  She has a sunburn, which I hope goes away soon.  She needs to learn to cover herself with mud like Roxie does..

Roxie hasn't adopted them like she has Wassee. 

Just now (11PM) I went out to check on them and Wassee was sleeping on top Roxie's back in their house.  It took a while before I found Mickey and ______________ sound asleep in the grass about 25 yards from the house.  I need to build another shelter for them for when we need to separate them for breeding in the future.  I guess I should do it soon in case Roxie doesn't let them in her house.   

All three babies are about the same size.

Notice how Wassee's ears stand up and the new kids ears flop over their eyes.   Wassee has some GOS blood in him but he didn't get the floppy ear gene.  He seems to have more hair than them too.

There's lots of really tall, thick grass/weeds for them to get lost in but so far I've been able to find them, even though they've claimed the 10 acres as theirs instead of staying in their 2 1/2 acre fenced in (electric ribbon too high off the ground) area. 

 

These two pigs are being  registered so I feel like I should give them distinguished names, maybe something British since the breed originated in Gloucestershire, England.   I know Mickey isn't a very distinguished name but I had no choice.   Any ideas?  I thought of Vern, since the farm he came from was called Vernal Vibe Rise.  Or maybe Renick, since we named Wassee after the town he came from, Hiwassee. 

To give you an idea how hard it can be to find GOS pigs and how lucky I was to find them so close, read below.

Endangered breed

GOS is currently on the "Critical" List by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy,^[5] meaning there are fewer than 200 annual registrations in the United States and estimated fewer than 2000 global population. In the UK the Old Spots is listed as "Category 5, Minority" by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust as there are fewer than 1000 registered breeding females.^[4][6]

In 1995 the last few Gloucester Old Spots pigs had dwindled down to four animals in North America. Fifteen years before that time, a group of GOS pigs had arrived in the US from the UK but had since disappeared into the hybrid pig population. Kelmscott Rare Breeds Foundation (1994-2004), located in Lincolnville, Maine, felt that it could help re-establish the breed by bringing another group of GOS pigs from the UK to the US. Kelmscott, with the help of the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, contacted farmers in North America, who were interested in pig conservation and offered GOS piglets from the UK importation. A group of breeders joined Kelmscott in the project. Kelmscott farm contacted Richard Lutwyche, of the UK Gloucester Old Spots and he graciously assisted Kelmscott in locating willing farms that could contribute piglets from all four color groups for export. Robyn Metcalfe, owner of Kelmscott Farm, traveled to the UK farms to discuss details, see the proposed stock, and made arrangements with UK and USA agricultural departments. In 1996, after the piglets were born and passed through the required tests, they flew (on British Airways) as cargo to the USDA facility in New York. Twenty piglets arrived and, after a quarantine period, of a few months, arrived at Kelmscott Farm in Maine. Kelmscott and the other breeders picked up their pigs and met to re-establish the pig registry and breed association. By that time there were only two aged GOS living in the US. Kelmscott set up the organization and began developing a pig registry and registration process. Newsletters, a breed census, and other aspects of GOSA (Gloucestershire Old Spots of America) began to operate as Kelmscott and the other breeders began to raise the numbers of GOS pigs in North America. With the closure of the Kelmscott farm and a period of transition between registrars, the GOSA organization ceased to function.
In 2007 a group of concerned GOS admirers got together to rebuild GOSA; beginning with resurrecting the registration process. Between 2008 and the present, memberships were once again reinstated, a Board of Directors was voted in, consisting of a President, Vice President, Secretary, and Registrar/Treasurer, as designated by the Bylaws (click to view) that were brought up to date and expanded. The Board of Directors began to hold regular meetings, a newsletter was once again circulated, a breeders survey was taken, this new website was designed and launched and the first annual members meeting was held in 2010. GOSA is once again thriving, the number of GOS pigs are increasing while members and breeders are on the rise.
An application has been made to gain European Commission Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) status for Old Spots pig meat.^[7] This was granted on 29 July 2010.




 

Basil Mozzarella

Our garden is full of basil and our refrigerator stays full of milk. 

Basil mozzarella was a very good idea. 

James bought me a wonderful present tonight but I can't blog about it because I don't have pictures yet.  Till tomorrow................

Roxie got a present

His name is Hiwassee.  That's the town we had to drive to to get him.   Maybe we'll call him Wassee for short.  He's a boar and maybe next year when he's a big boy he and Roxie can make some cute babies.  He's a Yorkshire/Landrace/GOS cross.   I'd still like to get another girl.

Roxie seems thrilled with the company and he has adopted her as his mom for now.  He follows her everywhere and tonight they were sleeping together in her shelter.  It was an easy introduction and I loved watching them share table scraps.  He appears very relaxed and was very quiet in the car too.  Hopefully he's always going to be an easy going guy.  Once I know he'll follow her everywhere I'll expand their pasture to a much larger area which I began preparing today. 

These videos are of them in the first 5 minutes of his arrival.  You can see how he made himself at home right away.








 

So much more to learn

This is a busy time of year.  If only I had the energy to do everything that needs to be done.  I've been a bit lazy (ok, a lot lazy) and some days make myself do at least a few things on my to-do list (which is in my head, not on paper).   I feel like if I can check just a few things off my list each day then I don't have to feel too guilty.

I've been saying for months now that my spaquaponics garden is under construction, which wasn't true.  It NEEDED to be under construction.  I finally got it back in shape; kind of.  I've learned a lot in the past year about what I did right (a very few things) and what I did wrong (many, many things).  I've made it smaller and have replaced the flimsy kiddie pool with a sturdier kiddie pool my neighbor gave me.  The beds get root-bound very easily so I'm sticking with lettuces which are easier to thin out.  The hot tub gets so algae-filled this time of year which is a challenge too.  Some days I'm ready to give up on it but now that I've invested more time in it I think I'll give it another season at least.

While I feel lazy, James seems to have all the energy in the world.  His gardens are producing like gangbusters.  He's a harvesting, canning, freezing maniac.  We've now added corn-on-the-cob to our list of vegetables/fruits ready-to-eat.  Cucumbers, tomatoes, blackberries, green beans, swiss chard, beets, kohlrabi, carrots, squash, wheat, kale, potatoes and herbs are also on the dinner list. I'm sure I've left some things out.  I should also mention we have more milk than I can keep up with which the dogs, chickens and Roxie are pretty happy about.

Have I mentioned it got hot this week?  Just ask Keri how hot it is.

As you can see, her coat is taking its time shedding out and she's forever putting her feet in the goats' water buckets and dirtying them up so  I filled a boat for her to cool off in.  She seemed grateful.  Summer is much harder on her than winter.  I think it is on all the animals except our old dog, Lex.

I don't think I mentioned that Darla came back here to live.  I had decided not to keep any mini goats so I could keep just one full-sized buck.  She was adopted by a friend of mine but was bullying her kids (goat kids) so she came back here where she's one of the low goats on the totem pole.   She has found a place in our chicken coop that she spends a good deal of time in when she wants to rest without worrying about being picked on.  It's funny how goats can be top dog in one herd and bottom of the pecking order in another.  I'll have to breed her to someone else's buck next spring because Cooper is too big for her.  I'm glad she's home.  She's still very affectionate and dog-like.  If she could live in the house I'd let her.

Remember my post about the pig pregnancy indicator? 

I've decided that's a bunch of hogwash.  I'm pretty sure Roxie isn't pregnant.  I think I've seen her come in to heat twice in the past 4 weeks.  It's kind of hard to tell with a pig.  At least it is for me.  Now I don't know what my next plan of action should be.  I can't really justify keeping a 500lb sow as a pet without having her produce babies, can I?  I called the pig farmer up the road to see if maybe his boar could breed her again this year but I haven't heard back from him.  I hate to buy a boar to service just one sow.  I'd have to build more housing.  I've promised a young couple I'd raise a pig for them for their wedding next September so I'll either need Roxie to have babies by December or January or I'll have to buy a feeder piglet elsewhere.   They're going to use it as their ring bearer :)

I've been raising goats and chickens now for 6 years, pigs for 2, rabbits for a year or 2 and donkeys for 3 years.  Just when I think I have things under control something upsets the apple cart and I need to re-think what my plans for this farm are.  I could really use some help with pasture management.  I'll save that topic for another blog. 

All this time we've been making it up as we go along and learning as we go.  Is it worth it?  I think so.  Do I feel like a farmer yet?  In many ways I do.  Am I an expert on goats, chickens, pigs, etc.?  Nope, but I know a whole lot more now than I did even a year ago.  When I start feeling smart I like to put myself in my place.  That's why we bought smart phones this week.  Ask me how smart I'm feeling now.






 

Cheerios' commercial

I had begun another blog post and was about ready to publish it but then this http://www.dailydot.com/lol/kids-react-cheerios-commercial-race/ came across my computer via Facebook and I had to share it.  It brought tears to my eyes.

Our first real donkey trail ride

Today we trailered Mac and Willo to the Glenwood Horse Trail, which is only about 2 miles from our house.  James rode Mac and I rode Willo.  They were so great.  Willo led most of the time.  She was very alert and watched the woods constantly.  Mac seemed very relaxed and he took the lead over a culvert that had water rushing beneath because Willo was unsure.  After he went over she decided it was ok and followed.

I was proud of all of us.  I think I said, "we did it", more than a few times.

 

Willo's most excellent day

Today was a big day for both me and Willo.  I had my riding lesson at 2:00 and my instructor told me it was ok to bring one of my donkeys for the lesson.  I planned to take Mac because he's usually very reliable and not as feisty as Willo.  I laid in bed worrying about this last night.  I've never towed a trailer before so there was more to this outing than just taking my donkey to a strange place. 

Mac decided he didn't want to ride in a trailer today, than-you-very-much.  I decided to try Willo.   She cooperated but I was afraid my luck couldn't last.  Even though I sweated the whole way there, I pulled the stock trailer safely to the horse farm.  Phew.  So far, so good.  No one was there yet so we walked around and I acquainted Willo with her surroundings.  The horses were pretty excited about having long ears on their property and there was lots of prancing and whinnying.  Willo seemed nonplussed.  She was very interested in everything though.

My instructor, her children and some others taking lessons arrived and began getting their horses ready.  I had Willo tied in the barn behind the horses and she took everything in that was going on around her.  Their corgi came up to her, I held my breath, they touched noses and then the dog licked Willo's nose and walked away.  Sweet, I relaxed a bit more. 

We mounted our horses/donkey and headed up to the riding ring.  Willo had never been in a ring like this and especially not with 5 other horses.  I was shocked when she walked right in and began doing what everyone else was doing - behaving  like a horse.  Some of the horses were nervous having her in there with them.  I don't know if it's her ears, she smells unusual, or they just sensed she's another kind of animal, but they knew she was different.  We did many laps around the ring, stepped over some obstacles, changed directions and for the most part, she did everything I asked of her.  I was dumbfounded.  This may not seem like a big deal to people who've been riding horses a long time, but to donkey people who know how  a green (newly trained and still learning) donkey can be, they would understand how huge this was.  It began to rain and still she behaved.  We weren't setting any records in speed but we kept moving most of the time.  Almost every lap though, she wanted to say hi to a little girl (3 or 4 ish) named Poppy who was hanging on the fence.  Willo was fascinated by her.  She did get a little nervous when one or two horses would canter up from behind and she heard them coming.  That was fine though.  Her ears would turn to listen for them and she usually slowed and turned her butt toward them. 

I should also add, Willo was very popular with my instructor's children.  The 15 year old daughter has been wanting a donkey and I heard her say to her mom, "see?, now can't we get a donkey?"  They all thought she was so cute.  I probably heard them say so more than 20 times.  Willo liked them too.  I took a picture of the 6 year old son holding her face but it didn't turn out.  I sure wish I had a video of us in the ring so you could see what a good girl she was.

To say I was proud is putting it mildly.  Our ride home was without incident and as I pulled into our field I said a silent, thank you.  I'm sure I was smiling.  When I let Willo loose in her pasture she took off running.   I wonder what she told the others.  I can't wait for our next outing.

 

Chocolate goat milk ice cream sandwiches

It's been raining here for several days but yesterday it just didn't let up so I found something I could do inside.

When I was grocery shopping this week I saw ice cream sandwiches in the freezer aisle and remembered how much I like them.  Somehow they came up again in a conversation with a friend so I decided I should make some on a rainy day.

First made the cookie dough.

1 1/2 sticks or 6 ounces of butter, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2/3 cup sifted dark cocoa powder

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

With a mixer beat the butter and sugar till fluffy.
Add the egg and vanilla and mix.
Next add cocoa, mix some more and then finally mix in the flour.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap or wax paper and chill for a few hours.

When firm roll out onto a surface dusted with flour and cocoa powder.  This was the hardest part for me.  I don't think I let it chill long enough.  It kept sticking to the table and my rolling pin.  Roll to 1/8 inch thick then cut to the size you like with a pizza cutter.  Place on greased cookie sheets.  Mine were very messy because they stuck to the spatula.  Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Next I made the ice cream.
3 cups goat’s milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
3.5 oz good quality dark chocolate, chopped. 
5 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar (split, 1/4 c. and 1/2 c.)
2 tsp. vanilla
In a saucepan, mix the milk, cream, 1/4 cup sugar and chocolate and bring to a simmer.
In a small bowl whisk together the egg yolks and the 1/2 cup sugar.
Remove a cup of the milk mixture and whisk it into the yolk mixture.  Add another cup and whisk some more then pour this back into the saucepan and heat till it thickens. 
Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
Chill.  When completely chilled I put it in our electric ice cream maker.  It usually takes about 40 to 45 minutes for it to freeze.  It's more like soft serve when it's done so I put it in the freezer to firm it up a bit before spooning it onto the cookies.

They weren't the prettiest but they sure are tasty. 
 

Darcy's Girl

Today Darcy gave me an adorable little girl.  Isn't it funny how she looks nothing like Darcy?

Darcy doesn't seem to mind though.  She adores her and was an attentive, patient mom from the second she hit the ground.  I haven't named her yet but I'm thinking about calling her Rainy.

I love my life

I wonder if this has been a heading for a previous post.  It seems like it should have been because I feel this way a lot.  Yesterday was an especially good day though. 

After cleaning wheat (me) and weeding the garden, picking vegetables and canning (James), we were invited to go up in our neighbor's plane.  Thank you Don and Bailey.   I thought I might be nervous about it but I wasn't at all.  It was very relaxing and beautiful.  James posted some pictures on his blog http://whoisvirginia.blogspot.com/.  I used my phone so my pictures weren't as good.  Here's one of our farm.

And another from higher up.

That wasn't the end of a great day.  We quickly ate dinner then did something we hadn't done in a long time; we took an evening paddle up river.  It was just getting dark when we slipped our kayaks in the glassy river.  The weather and water were perfect.  There was no bright moon but we didn't need it.  Our neighbors had told us some folks were camping on their property that night and might be playing music so we stopped at their place hoping to hear guitars or banjos but instead a car radio was playing.  We were greeted at their rocky beach by one of the campers who invited us up to join them. 

Next we met Benny.   Benny was a friendly chatty guy and either he or the guy who we first met on the beach soon handed us an ice cold quart jar of moonshine which was very tasty and we all took turns handing it back and forth.    I told them we were expecting live music because we heard they were musicians.  Benny hollered, "hey, the lady wants to hear some music".   Minutes later a few folks were playing guitar and singing.  We didn't stay much longer because the lightening was getting closer and closer.

I don't know if it was the moonshine or just my good mood but I didn't feel at all nervous paddling back with the lightening  flashing the whole way.    As I recall I said to James something like, "it's ok if I die tonight".   That's how happy I was feeling.  We're so lucky to have the James River in our front yard and I'm so lucky to have a husband who likes to play with me. 

Now that it's a new day I'll admit I'm glad I didn't die last night :)  I'd hate to miss out on more days like yesterday. 

 

Cleaning wheat is faster this year

James planted way more wheat this year than he has in the past.  While I was excited to have so much, I kept looking at it feeling just a bit overwhelmed when I thought about harvesting it.  Today I decided to jump right in.  I was afraid it might get too dry and drop to the ground if I waited too long.  I wish I could have recorded the sound of the wheat crackling in the garden; kind of like Rice Krispies with milk on them.   I don't know what causes it to make that noise but it's pretty neat.

In past years you may remember we put the cut wheat on a tarp and used our feet to thresh it.  I checked out Youtube to see how others did it and came across a much faster way than dancing on it.  It may sound like a big job to cut the wheat heads off with scissors like we do but it really doesn't take that long.  Of course I only did 2 small gardens today and have lots left to do but I'm not feeling so overwhelmed anymore.  This is just some of what's left to harvest.

I filled a trash can half full then took the weed eater to it till most of the seed heads were broken up.

Then I ran it through my hands in front of the fan and the berries would fall back into the trash can while the chaff blew away. 

I got about 22 lbs of wheat berries from 2 small gardens.  I probably have 5 times as much left to do.