Farm: July 2007 Archives

The Scent of a Goat There is a scent associated with the goats. It is a goaty smell but not a stinky smell. Goats are not dirty stinky animals. They are clean and fussy but do have a scent. Each time I go out to milk the does I bring with me in my pink bucket of supplies a warm soapy cloth and a bottle of warm water. (I cannot use the hose and wet them with cold water. That is just so not fair!) I wash and rinse their udders and dry them well. This ritual insures that my milk will be clean and the goats won't get any udder problems. The washing and drying also helps to stimulate the udders so that the ladies will let down their milk for me. Afterwards they are moisturized and sprayed with an antibacterial spray for dairy animals to help prevent mastitis and whatnot. As I sit on the milking stool next to the milking stand the does will lean into my shoulder, rub against my arms and so I am left smelling not only of goats but of sweat from the hot humid days of summer. I kid you not, milking those does always leaves me dripping in sweat. So I stink. After milking, cleaning up, bringing in the milk and properly handling it for cooling and storing in the refrigerator I take a shower. In the afternoon I put back on the goat milking clothes and when finished I hit the shower and the clothes go into the washer. The goats arrived Thursday afternoon. So each and every morning and each and every afternoon I have followed the exact same routine. The girls have learned quickly and it is also their routine. Monday morning I am standing at the sink washing up dishes when I smell something that immediately registers in my mind as the scent of goat. I kept sniffing and asking myself WTF?!? is that goat smell. I have bathed, there is nothing that should smell. The bucket is clean, the milk doesn't smell, my clothes, the wash cloths and towels are in the washer. Yet, for over thirty minutes I am smelling goat. And then I realize I am NOT actually smelling my goats. (I should hang my head in shame but will let you laugh at me!) My animal antibacterial wash for their udders is being delivered tomorrow. So in the mean time I have been using the only soap I have available to wash the girls udders with. This is what my mind immediately associates as the smell of goat. Go ahead and laugh.

The reason Steve got electric fencing for our anniversary is because we added a few new members to our family herd. I'll tell you the whole story tomorrow. Here's a few photos of our new dairy goats. From left to right Lilah, Cindy, Penny, Wattles, Sally (who is now Bonnie) and Anna (who is now Violet). Steven can herd them all by himself. Lilah enjoying tomatoes, squash and peas. I love them already. They were brought by a very special person. Another VERY special person is visiting the farm tomorrow. I am so excited!

I have beautiful tomatoes. Red, Yellow, Pinks - gorgeous colors. They are also delicious by themselves or in other recipes. With an abundance of peppers, cilantro, and the availability of local grown fresh onions I have put together a top notch salsa. Select the best ripe tomatoes. Melt a little salt in fresh squeezed lime juice. Crush a handful of garlic cloves. Finely chop a large sweet vidalia onion. Finely chop a few jalapeno peppers. Finely chops a few hot green chilis. Peel, seed and chop the tomatoes. Chop a nice bunch of cilantro. Mix and let it set to cure in the refrigerator for several hours. I freeze mine I do not can salsa in a hot water bath because after 15 minutes in a hot water bath the salsa is cooked. I do not like mine cooked. I like it fresh. I made a batch of nachos last night topped with the salsa. Not one bit was left on a full size baking sheet. Fingers were messy with sour cream, gaucamole, salsa, chips, cheese, black olives, ground beef. Yummy!

Two little ducks went out to play, over the hills and far away. Momma duck said “quack, quack, quack, quack� And two little ducks came waddling back. We let them swim in the kitchen sink every evening. They love it! They are 6 day old muscovy ducks. The video is from my phone so pardon the quality.

I have had a lovely crop of bell peppers this year. This is the first time I have really had bell peppers that grew to much of any size. I have planted red, yellows, greens and purples. Right now we are getting the greens and one red. I made peppers steak one night for supper and it was delicious! Green bell peppers usually give me the worst heartburn. But not the home grown kind. They are sweet and mildly flavored. The pimento peppers have really surprised me as well. I have never had much luck with them but this year that are supplying me with plenty. I am still getting plenty of yellow squash. I put 11 quarts up this weekend. We have had them sauteed with banana peppers a few time. That's good eatin'. The hot peppers are abundant this summer. I have done two jars of pickled peppers, hot chili peppers and jalepeno. They both have good heat packed into them. They will be awesome this fall with collards. I have squash and beets waiting to go in the freezer. I'll try to show those to you tomorrow. I have so much to share. My new silkie chicks and polish crested chicks. My new guineas. My new turkeys. And my baby ducks. The ducks are great at three days old. I fill the kitchen sink and let them swim in there for 15 or 20 minutes. They love it. Are you intrigued? If you saw the photos of my first little chicks you may be surprised to see how quickly they have grown. This is my white wyandotte rooster at the ripe old age of 5 weeks old. How cool is he? All of the farm work has been good for Steve. Isn't he looking buff and hunky these days? LOLThis is one of my buff orpingtons. They are sweet and gentle girls. The kids and I go out often and hold and pet them. They come running to the door when they hear us approaching the barns. Steven usually takes a seat by the feeders and waits for them to come to him. More tomorrow. Goodnight.