Onyx Cracks Me Up!

Excuse the terrible picture quality here. I took these with my phone from the milking stand in the barn while milking Trixie.

Onyx just cracks me up. She's been trouble, but she's just too sweet not to love. My son said, "Aww, isn't she adorable!?".

 

Hawk Attack

It's hard to see in this picture, but there is a hawk in the middle of the big oak. A hawk that tried to take off with one of my barred rock hens. Fortunately, she put up a struggle so the hawk couldn't get her off the ground. She doesn't appear to be injured.

The chickens are all huddled up in a barn stall, but this hawk is determined. He swooped in from the other direction taking aim at the open end of the barn. I yelled at it and it aborted its mission, taking an upward trajectory at the last possible moment to clear the barn roof.

I stayed outside a bit longer until the crows picked up on the hawk's existence and began harassing it away.  I especially worry for Cole's little silkies. They are so small and in their downy white fluffiness they practically beg predators to carry them off.

Holy Moley!

The armadillos have dug holes around the base of all my new blueberries!

The last few days have been cold and dreary. I wanted nothing more than to burrow into my favorite corner of the sofa and soak up the warmth of the wood stove.

The sun has finally decided to make an appearance again today so I have no excuse not to go repair the damage.

Have Truck, Will Travel

For free firewood.

 

Soured Goat Milk Makes Great Pancakes!

Growing up, I remember my Depression Era grandmother not wasting anything- including milk that had gone past date. We have all smelled pasteurized milk that has spoiled, it doesn't really sour, it putrefies.

Raw milk acts differently.

Last week, I milked late in the afternoon right before we ran out the door to some kid activity. I usually strain and put warm milk in the freezer for 90 minutes, but there was just no time. I strained it and stuck it in the fridge.

The next day, I noticed that it smelled a little soured. Not spoiled, just not what you'd want to drink fresh.

Then I had houseguests, and life just happened, and that little quart jar labeled "Cook" got pushed to the back of the fridge. I got it out this morning and did a tentative sniff test. It smelled the same as it had a week ago. A little like buttermilk.

Buttermilk of course reminds me of pancakes so I whipped some up. They're wonderful. Freshly ground flour, farm fresh eggs, Hammock Haven honey, North Georgia apples and soured goat milk.

Bon Appetite!

Orlando Tries to Force Homeowner to Dig Up Garden

Here's one reason I don't live in a neighborhood. Maybe his is not the most conventional front yard, but it's cared for, which is more than you can say for most yards I see.

So much for the Victory Garden. You better not try to feed yourself off your own land because beans aren't as pretty as St. Augustine.

http://www.clickorlando.com/news/College-Park-man-fights-to-keep-vegetable-garden-in-front-yard/-/1637132/17319262/-/14pb6cjz/-/index.html

By the way....my veggie garden is in my front yard too (so is my barn)!

Is this Who We've Become?

I've lost faith in the people of this country. I know I said yesterday that I wasn't writing a political blog here, but I can't fathom how the majority of the people in America could have strayed so far from the values upon which we were founded.

As I was milking my goats this morning, the following things kept running through my head.


You Didn't Build That

"There are a lot of wealthy, successful Americans who agree with me -- because they want to give something back. They know they didn’t -- look, if you’ve been successful, you didn’t get there on your own. You didn’t get there on your own. I’m always struck by people who think, well, it must be because I was just so smart. There are a lot of smart people out there. It must be because I worked harder than everybody else. Let me tell you something -- there are a whole bunch of hardworking people out there. (Applause.)
If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help."
Obama

When did Americans start believing that our success, our ability to achieve something, comes from the government not God?
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
Declaration of Independence


Payback Time

“After we win this election, it’s our turn. Payback time. Everyone not with us is against us and they better be ready because we don’t forget. The ones who helped us will be rewarded, the ones who opposed us will get what they deserve. There is going to be hell to pay. Congress won’t be a problem for us this time. No election to worry about after this is over and we have two judges ready to go.” Valerie Jarrett- Sr. Obama Advisor

Payback for what? For exercising our right as Americans to vote for whomever we choose? For standing up for our values and beliefs?

"The ones who helped us will be rewarded" - Is it up to the government now to pass out spoils?


Necessarily Skyrocket

"Under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket." -- Barack Obama, January 17, 2008, San Francisco Chronicle

Before Obama, we had $1.80/gal gas and heard over and over what a problem that was. Now we are paying almost $4 and the media is silent and apparently people like it because they just asked for more.

We said no to a pipeline and have shut down drilling in the Gulf while sending billions to Brazil so they can drill there instead of us!

It's not just the cost to fill your tank either. Just wait until the coal industry is well and truly shut down.

EPA Crackdown on Coal

"On the eve of the 2012 election, more than 50 of President Obama's EPA staffers are crashing to finish new greenhouse gas emission standards. The rules would make the construction of new coal-fired power plants nearly impossible."

And yet coal counties in Ohio and PA went blue. Even if values are out the window, what happened to self-preservation? 

I'm out of time for now but I'll leave with a list of other things that are bothering me. Maybe I'll get some pictures of fuzzy animals on here later. I think we could all use a pick-me-up.

• Benghazi- We have 4 Americans dead.
• Hurricane Sandy- Have you seen pictures from Staten Island? The response has been no better than Katrina, yet the media is silent.
• ObamaCare- Is here to stay and we still don't know what's in it! I just saw last week that there is a tax on all real estate transactions! That will really help the housing market.
• Devaluing the dollar- Just saw this morning that the dollar is down against the yen this morning. The Obama reelection is opening the flood gates of quantitative easing.
• Gay Marriage- It is God's place to judge, not mine, but the Bible clearly lays out marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
• Fast and Furious- Gun running to Mexican Drug cartels
• Now this- http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/07/us-arms-treaty-un-idUSBRE8A627J20121107 Should have known the 2nd ammendment would be high on the hit list.

In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.  Judges 17:6

Pesto Recipe

Several people asked for the pesto recipe I used. Here you go!

Fresh Basil Pesto Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts
• 3 medium sized garlic cloves (I usually cook these for 15 sec in the microwave)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

 

Method

1 Combine the basil and pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor. (If you are using walnuts instead of pine nuts and they are not already chopped, pulse them a few times first, before adding the basil.) Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.
2 Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Yield: Makes 1 cup.

Election Day

Today is a crucial moment for the future of our country. I have written a political blog before and do not intend to delve deeply into politics in this blog, however, silence in the face of evil is itself evil.

We have a big choice to make today. It boils down to a choice between personal freedom and intrusive government.

As you go to the polls today, please ask yourself some questions:

Who knows what's best for your kids? Mom and Dad or the government?

Who should decide what you eat, whether it be Big Gulps or raw milk?

Who should decide what you do with your land?

Do you like $4/ gal gasoline?

Do you like to be dependent on the middle east for our energy?

Do you think the coal industry should be shut down?

I could go on....

Bottom line is, another 4 years of Obama will be another 4 years of chipping  gouging away at our personal freedoms, our entrepreneurial spirits and our pocket books. Do I know what kind of president Romney will be? No. But I know I don't want more of what we've got now.

I'm off to vote!

It's Butcher Time!

Hi everyone. The birds are getting fat!

Butcher Day will be this Saturday, November 10. As always, you are welcome to come earlier in the day to see how it's done, or come when everything is cleaned up and on ice- your choice. Pick up will be after 3pm, but we will do our best to get your birds to you earlier if you come to watch.

We have 23 chickens total with 15 pre-sold. I have 6 more to pre-sell (I like to leave a couple extras for unexpected occurrences like evil raccoons or broken wings from the plucker).

Contact me ASAP to reserve yours. I will be sending out an email tomorrow (as long as I'm not stuck in line to vote all day) with pick up directions and to sell the rest.

Thanks!
Kristin

Presto! It's Pesto!

My basil plants seem to flourish in late October/November and every year I plan to harvent them to dry them or make pesto. Every year I run out of time and all that yummy basil freezes. Until this year!

With the help of my niece, I harvested 8 cups of basil leaves and make 4 batches of pesto for the freezer. There's enough basil out there to do another 2 or 3 batches too.

We went trick-or-treating with some friends last week. Cole wanted to be a sack of chicken feed. It was the best costume of the night.....and free!

Sad Day

I think Kat had a miscarriage yesterday. Her tail was all bloody. She is acting normal and eating well. At least there is time in the season to breed her again, but that means more goat dates!

I'm taking Trixie for a sleep-over tonight. She went into estrus yesterday afternoon.  Pray she gets bred.