Hay, Hay, Hay

Dear hubby spent Monday afternoon and evening baling hay with Mr. Harry. He looked like he'd lost 10 pounds when he finally got home at 9:30. He brought home 45 bales of hay which we had to get stacked in the loft. He can go pick up more on Saturday.

God works in mysterious ways. About the time he was pulling down the drive, our next door neighbors called to see if we had an extension ladder- their cat was stuck in a tree. I thought that kind of thing only happened in children's stories. With our ladder, they were able to get the cat out of the tree then helped us get the end of the hay into the loft.

The other Chinese gander has attacked me for the last time. I taught him a lesson this weekend.

I didn't have it in me to pluck him, so I skinned and quartered him. I made an easy crockpot meal of goose with gravy for dinner Tuesday night. We'd named the geese Thanksgiving, Christmas, Random, and Tuesday because some random Tuesday that's not Thanksgiving or Christmas we may want to eat a goose. I guess this guy was "Tuesday".

Check out his wishbone, isn't that odd looking?

I'm still making cheese like crazy. I put up another Gouda yesterday. I bought a 5 gallon pot and some more molds so I can make more at a time. Now that I've got the hang of it, these small batches are just taking too much time. I'll also be able to use the pot for scalding bigger birds like the geese and (I hope they fit) the turkeys.

This seller on eBay is really great for cheese supplies. I ordered a package of about 15 different molds. Some I can use, some I have no use for right now, but it was less expensive than buying the 4 or 5 molds I needed. I may try to sell the ones I won't use to recoup some of the cost. Or I may just keep them and find a use for them. :)

I also bought another cheese book. I have gotten to the point where I can change the recipes up a bit and I'm always looking for new things to try. The author owns a goat dairy and gives goat milk options on many of the recipes. It is also more advanced than my other books- giving information on developing your own recipes, adjusting recipes etc. I can't wait for it to arrive!

My silly goaties were taking dust baths like the chickens yesterday. I wish I could have gotten better pictures but they wanted to get up and visit when I got close. I finally got a message from Fawn and April's buyer. She's still out of state and asked me to give her a bill for their boarding too. I'm just glad she still wants them. I was beginning to worry about having to keep her deposit and find another buyer for the goats. I think at this point, if the deal fell through, I'd keep them, breed them, and sell them in  the spring "in milk".

Speaking of breeding, Ike is the only boy showing much interest. These other boys need to buck up! Kat went into heat last week. All of the girls have been acting a little crazy lately.

And just for you, Kris, my undesired crop of stinging nettles. The bucklings won't even eat them. I need to get hubby in there with a weed eater before they go to seed.