Kidding Countdown

Someone asked this morning when we were expecting kids. I said "3 weeks" then looked at my calendar. Holy Smokes! We could have kids on the ground in as few as 10 days!

Somehow the next three Saturdays are booked. I don't have an extravagant social life and I try not to schedule anything during kidding season and now I'm going to be out and about? I've made it quite clear that if I have a doe in labor, that comes before anything else.

Alice, my only goat still in milk, only gave me a pint yesterday. That's not even enough for breakfast around here. I'm ready to get the milk flowing again.

Yesterday I received the draft of the article SouthScapes Magazine is doing on me. I am so excited that this is actually going to happen. It is supposed to be published in their spring edition as part of a series on people using their Ag educations for sustainable living.

I've been trying to get a jump on soaps and lotions for the farmers market before things get crazy. Last week I made a batch of body butter. I also ordered stickers for all my labels. It was a bit costly, but should save me a lot of prep time each week. Labeling on Fridays is always such a drag.

Homemade Egg Noodles

 

I have been covered up in eggs here recently. What better way to use them than homemade egg noodles?

6c Semolina flour

6 large eggs

water as needed

I ground the durum wheat berries and measured the flour out into a large bowl. I made a well in the middle for the eggs and whisked them up to beat them a bit then started mixing in the flour. 

Knead by hand until smooth. I had to add a couple tablespoons of water to get the right consistency. 

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and continue kneading until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest about 10 minutes. 

Then it's time to run it though the pasta maker.

 

Be sure to flour the sheet of dough before you cut it into noodles or the noodles will stick together. 

 

Toss the noodles in a bit more flour to keep them separated. Cook immediately, freeze, or allow to dry. 

They took about 8 minutes to cook up tender. 

Weathering the Arctic Blast

 

It has been cold here the last few days. The kind of cold we aren't used to down here. The "I have to haul buckets of water to the animals because the waterers are frozen" kind of cold. 

Fortunately, everyone seems to be pulling though okay. Everyone with the exception of some eggs. I forgot to collect them yesterday and there were several with burst shells. That made the dog happy.

The goats have been taking siestas in the sunshine. It still scares me when they look like they're lying there dead.

 

Scilla saw Trixie's advanced pregnancy as an opportunity to move up the ranks. After an entire day of fighting, Trixie was banished to the far fence and not allowed anywhere near the barn. She's back in the barn now, but there is a new hierarchy in place. 

 

Opal decided she was ready to get on the milking stand like the big girls and sneaked right out the gate past me. Poor little thing still hunches over and shivers up there, but she's starting to get the hang of it. I'm glad that her temperament is nothing like her dam's, who I decided to sell because of her milk stand manners. I told the buyer all the good, bad, and ugly about her and she still wanted her. The price was right. 

 

Magnum went to his new home this week. His new owners seem like really nice people and I'm sure they will take good care of him. 

I opened the gate between Magnum's old pen and Lulu and Rocco's pen. They had a big time exploring their new space.  I would love to move Lulu and Rocco into the barn with the rest of the herd, but I am sure that Buttercup will let Lulu nurse. Rocco is still young and all the girls are bred, so he would be no trouble in with them until our Jr. Herd Sire is born and comes here to live.

This shelter used to have walls that went all the way down to the ground to block the wind. Magnum thought it was much more fun to walk through the walls than use the door. Boys.... They'll just have to make-do with hay bales for warmth and be glad for a roof over their heads.

I'm looking forward to some warmer temps. We hung out with my family last night so I didn't light the woodstoves. It was toasty in the house when I woke up this morning and when you have a heat pump, that means just one thing- emergency heat, which costs a small fortune. Ouch.

Happy New Year

Happy Year of the Goat!

Get your reservations in- kidding starts in just over a month!