New to us and that blue cheese curing in the Man cave...

The Captain's Nan, who passed away last year, had newer furniture in her home and being that it sold last week we inherited bits of it. 2 love seats and a bucket chair (not shown in this picture of Panda and my niece camping out in the living room).

A Monet picture which I have admired for as long as I had known Nan.And a *Karl Albert Buehr* ( a young lady with parasol) painting:I wish I could find the story behind the painting. Who is she? A stranger? Friend? Is she at a cafe or court yard? What inspired him to paint to her this way?
I become fascinated by such things. I guess the library will be scoured for more information to satisfy my curiosity. I love both paintings and cherish them not only being from nan, but it is the era and feeling of ease they give me.
I also recieved lots of glass pots and pans. An old wooden rolling pin and spoons with ceramic storing crock. I'm sure theres more but I want to make sure I share about the blue cheese I am making, which is curing in the Man cave refrigerator- turned from beer fridge to cheese cave.. for now.

This is what it looks like as of this morning. As you can see a chunk came off with the bandanna wrapping which made for the perfect taste test. and WOW! So creamy, rich, sweet with a suttle tartness. Amazing and impressive. It still has another month of curing and a new batch will be started this week. I hope it is just as wonderful in taste as my first.
I am addicted to patchouli now. I use the OLAY BODY BOTANICAL FUSION BODY WASH - HYDRATE.
The scent of patchouli stays with me all day and others have commented how the scent stays with them even after I leave. Not too strong, just a breeze of my scent. I do not wear perfume. So this is perfect with the wonderful benefits of Patchouli for my moods and has even made a difference in my socializing anxiety- its gone! I had no idea of its help for depression or anxiety, so when i read more up on the essential oil (started mixing it with mineral therapy lotion from St. Ives), I was surprised to discover that is why I have been more at ease and balanced feeling.
More blueberry picking and cheesemaking this week along with a big Broiler chicken butcher evening soon. Look forward to shooting more skeet and will be bringing my girls (hopefully they fit and the chickens too somehow in my Vue. Don't laugh. I'm serious. LOL).
Nobody here to milk Fernie so she has to come along and have a visit with her son.
Sweet dreams,
~Tammie

Summer fun and new experiences...

Just a few of morning harvest finds last week:Why grow all those Zinnias? Not just for bouquets, but for Summer rings!:Very easy to make. The stems are very strong for this purpose. Split the stem in half with your nail so you have 2 long strips right up to just under the flower. Wrap around the finger and tie a double knot. Voila'! Instant smiles and giggles for the children (and adults..). I especially like the button top multi layer zinnias above.
Grizzle nabbed on of the meat birds and punctured the crop. The rooster was still alive but I knew it would not last. So a new experience was given with the mishap and I butchered the chicken. Not messy as we were thinking it to be. Of course the meat was a bit scalded on the breast due to a few "extra for good measure" dunks in boiling water. I cleaned it out and stripped the skin since it will make chicken and dumplings for tomorrow's dinner. It is is sitting in ice cold water now. 13 more to go and that will be up at the Cabin, hopefully this weekend.

Speaking of the Cabin, I was up getting the front brakes and rotors fixed on my car and afterwards shot skeet. The guys were impressed with Natural knack for hitting the clay pigeon every time and it being my first time shooting them. I shot with a 12 gauge Stoeger shotgun. LOVED IT! I want one now. I am so addicted. I missed only 4 out 20. For a first timer and hitting them to dust, apparently is awesome! A natural. I impressed the guys and heard comments on how I shoot better then them. Of course the funny comment was when they said, I wouldn't want to be a robber breaking into her house. She's a sure shot!
Insert the happy yell. Maybe I have found a new hobby. Get good enough I could find some local competitions. LOL.
Shotgun dreams,
~Tammie

Now, where did I put that machete?...

I stay out of the garden less then 4 or 5 days and this is what greets me as I enter the gate....All that rain and heat has produced a jungle in the Hill Garden. Check out the Tomato corner:and the Cannelini bean patch is up to my thighs:

I harvested a large mixing bowl of Rattlesnake Pole beans (very tasty!), 6 Italian Zucchini's, 8 Patty pan squash, basil, dill, slow to bolt Jericho romaine lettuce, and 1 rutabaga just from the last 2 days.
I am making up a batch of healing salve for Danny Boy's Psoriasis. My search online has lead me to make up infused oils from Rosemary and Calendula to add into Beeswax plus will be adding 1/8 tspn. Tea tree oil. The Rosemary and Calendula are from my plants with the Calendula bursting with new blooms everyday. I have to say, Calendula is probably my most favorite flower which grows in my garden- next to roses. I see healing when I look at those blooms.
Not sure if my "witchy brew" (I like calling it that), will work on him and truly hope it will bring him relief from the large spots on his arms. I plan to research in my school books and see about massage for the condition. Any suggestions on other herbs to use? He claims to have tried everything and is willing to let me give it a try.
I have my nephew's birthday present to finish sewing. I am making him a fabric holder for his markers like this one for *crayons*
with a Martian fabric (left over from lil' mans pj pants) and Camouflage corduroy. This will go into his own khaki tote with the lining of corduroy camo plus his initial in the camo embroidered on the tote front. I'll share when its done since I do babble...
I've got milking to do...
Sweet dreams,
~Tammie

What a rush!

It rained the entire party day. My clothes were soaking wet . Making my shirt cling to me in the most unattractive way- not to mention showing off my very bloated monthly induced belly. My Camo shorts hung off my hip bones, threatening to slip with one more pour of rain. But I did not care. I just kept pulling them up and tying them tighter. Threw the flip flops on to the porch since I slid more in the m, then I did in the mud.
The clay pigeons were flying. The guns were sounding. And the good times were being had by all who came. Laughter and relaxation. Good people, good drinks, big guns and the next day , A BIG mess... (Responsible gun ownership/use was highly practiced. I do not want to paint a picture of it the wrong way). Tuesday's Husband, Chico, let me shoot our Family gun, a .22 Cal. No kick at all. I had experienced shot guns before so it made me feel kinda wimpy- like a pellet gun.(my actual cousin who shares the brother sister love with me is Chico. When I was a little girl, I made him promise that he would marry no one else but me. I think I was 6 or 7 and he was the love of my single digit life. LOL..) I wanted to play with the big boys! Who by the way totaly hogged the skeet shooting. Darn them! My dear Danny boy has promised me more skeet shooting times here soon. With no other boys hogging up the fun.As you know, I am not one to agree with shooting anything alive for fun. I believe if you shoot it, skin the darn thing and eat it! Do not treat it as though its life meant nothing. Thank it for the sacrifice it has given for your family. This my opinion and no one has to agree with me. But I was also raised to know deer meat as a blessing when nothing else was able to fill our bellies. If you have ever gone hungry as a child, then you would know the thankful sight of a deer, a rabbit, or even a squirrel is when you have nothing. Just show thanks and respect.- enough of the rant. Here is Zeus and his best friend Buster:Zeus cries for him when ever he wanders away. They follow each other and Zeus will not move untill Buster is next to him and walking the way I try to lead him. Danny Boy will be building a pen this week. he has been so busy with work he has not had the time. So Zeus goes on his line by the Cabin, with Buster at his side. they sleep neck over neck. Cuddle up together and everything. Such an amazing site. Once the pen is up, they will be getting a goat friend for Zeus. This should be done before Summers end.
I will be going up in the next few weeks to butcher our chickens. Hopefully, it stays nice so I can do some skeet! The plan is for Tuesday and I to go up about once a month to her Moms cabin. Make it into our getaway with no husbands or kids. It is so much less for us to drive up there and hang out for a weekend then to go anywhere else.
The Serenity creek was up too high for collecting more flat stones. We at least were able to enjoy the view- after getting lost on our way to it from a different direction. Lots of vineyards up there by the way.
Can't wait to get these meat birds out of here. They stink and have become a pain to keep this long (almost 5 months!). Never again. I need to rest while the kids are. I am still sore from the weekend fun.
Sweet dreams,
~Tammie

Boys and tears...

As you well know by now, we are big into reserving a friendly environment for our frog and toad population. But we have had some problems as of late. The 2 legged kind. There are 2 neighbor brothers, ages 8 and 14, who have taken a shine to the frog habitat in our ditch. The road drain off-open top- which is on/connecting to our property. We HAD brought the spottable population down there from just a few to over fourteen this year. That is no longer. Those 2 boys have been crossing the road over to where the drain pipe pirs into the ditch and brings their BB gun to shoot the frogs dead. Panda informed them we do not like it and it was mean. Please stop. So every time they would see us, they would leave the frog spot. the next day, they were down there gun in hand, shooting our little green friends once again. As soon as they saw me pull in our drive, they high tailed back to their house. That following day they left the gun and decided to just catch them and bring the frogs back to their house for shooting. As Panda walked back from her friends house and spotted what they were doing, she informed them" My mom and I are animals lovers and you need to stop killing our frogs." They ignored her so she informed them "I'm going to go tell my mom!" I was already on my way walking towards them and she let me know what was going on. I yelled out to them "Please guys, stop doing that!". Ignored once again. I went down to the ditch which has been littered by kids juice box's and soda cans lately- which infuriated me even more. So I threw a tantrunm and those juice box's right at their driveway, yelling I was tired of this sh** and it will stop NOW! I called the local police department and was informed they could do nothing unless the kids were caught littering or with the gun out of their yard by the police. So I put this up in hopes of getting my point across:
As I went back to the sign, making sure no one disturbed it, Those boys pulled in with their dad (40 something who lives with his mom and dad with the boys visiting in the summer). The dad was eating an apple from atop their hill drive and glared at me over his apple. Of course I was not in the mood from being messed with (and PMS is in the door) so I smiled up at him and yelled a jolly "HI!" smiling ear to ear. he just glared. The older boy said something to his dad about turning my sign around. Go ahead punk. Touching that sign means trespassing onto my property. I will press charges on your punk butt. Do not mess with me. I do not play well with disrespectful people and parents who let their kids kill animals for fun. It may be just a sign, but the grandparents are far more respectful and I feel once they see the sign, would tell the boys to stay away. We will see.
Another boy upseting me is Lil' Man. He decided Frog needed a hair cut and those beautiful curls are now just a fond memory...Yes those are bald spots on her forehead.There was a small section of hair on the neck and one side of her head. No way to save it, so she has the hair cut of a boy...Tears falling on cut curls...
And for the last guy...Captain feather sword, our silkie roo has passed away. He had been with us for almost 5 years and have no idea how old he was when we got him. he stopped crowing a few weeks back. He seemed to not have the energy he once had. I thought it may have been because of him sensing the new bigger roosters coming into maturity. But it seems, he was just getting to that last weeks of his life. A life that showed such gentleness towards us and his ladies. Never roughing them. Such a gentleman with his ladies. He stuck to them like glue that last few weeks and when we found him, Fletcher was nudging him. Not pecking in meanness, but like she was trying to get him to move. He is buried in the side yard. I could not dispose of him like trash when he meant so much more to us and his ladies. He lead a great life.
On a happier note, The blue cheese is now in the basement fridge to cure. I have Farmers cheese draining it's whey in that fridge too. It will be made into cheesecake for tomorrow's skeet shooting fun event. I'm making that cheesecake from scratch and will leave it plain with a graham cracker crust. As side dishes, wild black raspberries and strawberries made into a toppings for who ever should choose to try it.( apparently I have been picking those and not blackberries. Black berries do not have the hollow indent as Raspberries do**). I am also making little cupcake cheesecakes with the Jello brand mix with Fernie's milk too. Also plain with a choice of toppings with a graham cracker crust. The little ones I feel would appeal more to the children, and the taste may be more appealing for their inexperienced taste buds.
I am so pumped up, I hope I can sleep tonight! Of course, this lone road trip would not be complete without a trip to the serenity creek and more stepping stones carried home in the truck bed.
Sweetest dreams,
~Tammie

Berry hunt and more garden life

Panda turned 9 on the 4th of July. Her request for her special day was to camp outside by the fire-ALL of us... We grilled out and roasted marshmellows. Cuddled up in the tent after some great conversation, star gazing, and lightning bug collecting. Running around in the morning sun clad still in PJ's, we made clover flower bracelets and Nature Crowns. (which consisted of long grass stalk, small mulberry branching and a few Zinnia flowers.
I gave one Delaware rooster away-Thankfully. Now I have the Americauna roo which has become rather mean to the others. The Friz has taken the most punishment of his ways:
I heard him crow 1 day and the next he is attacking Mrs. Frizzle in the garden. Absolutely no gentlemanly ways in that guy. So if he is here when I get the date set with a local guy...Off with his head! Nobody messes with The Friz! She has become my shadow as of late. Just chatters away to me and if I sit, she is begging to get up in my arms. She truly has become my deep favorite. Such a little charmer. She knows who controls the corn.
Trying to decide if this is a sugar pumpkin or a delicata...hmmm. See "unorganized gardener" in the profile....Yep, thats me.
And this came up in Lil' Man's garden where we planted the "seeds for kids" packet from Bountiful gardens. No idea what this:
Or this is:

Any ideas? I suspect some kind of sugar pea for the last but maybe I'm way off. Has the leaves kinda like the sweet peas...
I got 2 cups of Blackberries from our secret trail. I picked 6 cups of Mulberries today while #2 & #3 slept. I have all of them freezing on trays and am in the process of making Farmers cheese as I type. Which will soon be turned into Blue Cheese for my Father in law- who has a deep love for the Blue cheese. The man LOVES the stuff. What could make a better birthday present for him from his Daughter in law-an item from a goat I raise, love, tend to and milk. Then lovingly took that milk from all the before mentioned work and turned it into his favorite cheese- which has to cure for at least 2 months which is why I am making it now...
Getting excited for this weekend. Tuesday's brother is having me up for some shooting lessons and Skeet shooting fun- Fireworks in the evening. O.k. Its not for me. But he made a point to invite me and make sure I get to come up to shoot clay. Gotta check on Zeus while there. Make sure his band is working. I will bemaking cheesecake from Fernies milk and a few different flavored cheeses. Gotta go pick more blackberries to put on the cheesecakes....
Sweet dreams,
~Tammie

The home dairy and it's resourceful equipment....

You have already seen my warm weather milking station (The garage edge) and I thought I would share with you my simple filtering system. The only item purchased being 4 9/16 size milk filter discs (from the local PBS livestock store for $4 on a box of 100) with the rest being what I already owned and sat unused.
After using sensitive skin baby wipes to wipe her udder/teats clean, I milk Fernie directly into Mason jars. I have found using this method has cut back drastically on the hairs and such that happen when using a wide open item such as a bucket or bowl. Since I have just one goat to milk, this method works fantastic for me. I'm sure using this method with just a few milking does would still work fantastic, but do need to purchase larger size jars. I use 2 of the mid size jars on one doe. (one for each side...)
The equipment:
1 cocktail shaker stainless steel top
filtering discs in the smallest size available
Clean and sterilized Mason jars
I turn the Stainless steel top over to fit into the top of a clean and chilled jar . Notice the straining holes like the ones used for filtering on a milk strainer? I place the filter disk into this. Of course the disk is larger so when placing it in, it will fold somewhat to fit. Just push them flat to the sides and do not DUMP the milk in.
Just pour the milk in a steady flow being sure to not pour so fast it overflows past the filter top or into the folds.

I hold the Cocktail filter slightly off the jar for faster milk flowing into the jar. If I do not lift the top, the milk flows slower through the filter. After the milk is filtered, I place saran wrap over the jar top, wrap the excess around the rim and twist. Using a marker, I put the date and then A.M or P.M depending upon which milking session.
These promptly go into the back of the fridge for chilling. We keep our fridge real cold and if milk is placed on the top shelf, it will have ice in it within a few hours.
The rest of the used items are rinsed in cold water, then washed with hot soapy water. Then a good swishing of Peroxide to get in any crevices or other areas to prevent milk stone build up- a tip given by an old timer dairy farmer. Then rinsed in cold water before air drying and being put away. Thats it. No big expense on milking supplies. Having just 2 dairy goats, there is no need for the investment at this point.
I hope this will help someone out there who, like me, thought in the begining they would need all that equipment to get started. The milk tastes the same after all this time. Panda devours it. The cheese is fantastic. Oh and I found an inexpensive source for cultures! of course, I discovered it through Fiasco farm, but wanted to share it with you and book mark it for myself.
Dairy Connection - Cultures
My local supply uses a small packet, maybe a teaspoon worth in it which sells for $6. That is what I have available locally and have shared with them this link in the hopes they will start to order from these guys instead. I prefer to support our local brew and cheese supply shop since they are local guy owners and not owned by a chain.
The amount in each packet is 3 times or more what they carry here. Plus the selection is so much better.
Crossing fingers I can continue to keep my dollars at their place, but if they do not out source from their current supplier, My $$ will be going to the above place.
Sweetest dreams,
~Tammie

Welcome! & Thank you!

Everything has grown so nice with all this rain. Mrs. Frizzle and her baby "Duckster" (think Dexter) have had free range of the garden and the yard. She does not keep him/her as close like when it was a wee duckling. Duckster wanders far from his Mum and interacts with the other feathered clan very well. Pumpkin, our cross beaked Americauna is getting worse. She is still eating despite the crossing growing more cross & is half the size of the others. I do not think she will last through the winter.

Fernie is giving a very nice 10- 12 cups of milk a day. I am working on my third batch of Chevre and experimenting with Garlic and herbs. Our first 2 were with fresh ground peppercorns. I made up stuffed Olives with it for my Father in law (Fathers day) which he LOVED. I have not had a single complaint about the cheese. People want more of it. So I must be doing something right.
Our first 2 batches of Yogurt were a bust. I used the culture Farmer friend gave me and it turned it very sour and tart. I will go back to my store bought all natural yogurt for a starter. That was a lot of milk wasted. The meat birds at least enjoyed it. And yes, they are still here... Can not seem to catch the Amish woman at home who does the processing and am now looking to see if a local family who sells beef and fresh whole chickens can do it.
A tour through the garden, Don't mind the weeds and watch for crossing chickens or jumping toads:
Pathway coming into the gardenLooking down just as you enter under the arbor, you will see/be greeted by the heart rock I found at the Serenity creek. There are plenty more heart shaped rocks throughout. Placed in spots throughout the garden.
A look to the right of the entry path. This is where all the herbs go but so many did not thrive. So a few melons were transplanted in and a path placed to get to the garlic and onions.

A look to the left will reveal the Cannelini beans, lettuce bed, carrot patch, grape vines by the fence, Patty pan squash, splashed in are some sunflowers, nasturnums, and the not growing and still 2 inches eggplant. Plus a few hidden toad adobes.Looking right once down the path to the Frog/Toad pond
Empty space is meant for the growing vines of the melons and pumpkins growing in front of the pole beans. Also a pepper patch, greens, roma tomatoes, potato patch, etc.
*notice Mrs. Frizzle and Duckster abode

Looking left from the Toad/Frog pond. Tomato patch, Pole beans, sunflowers and hopefully cukes growing up those sunflowers...

The Fairy house by the Yarrow patch. Notice the hole? That log was completely hollow with a knob hole perfectly placed for a door. The Captain suggested we put it in the garden for the toads. Panda likes to call it the Fairy log.

The Captains good friend " The Reverend"- not religious at all but thats his nickname- gifted me with a Foodsaver Vac 300 complete with bags.His wife had recieved it from her mom and they had no need for it. So she sent it over with him since we have the big garden and she thought I would be able to put it to good use. And that I will!! From the meat birds, to Chevre cheese. It will be used for far more then just the veggies.

I leave you with a peek at the Duckster and his/her chicken Mum:Sweet dreams,
~Tammie