Savingdogs-Saving the chickens

[Javamama]

Good luck on your cheese! I am so ready for my goat kids to go so I can get some milk. The kids are huge! I bet the buckling is at least 20 pounds. I'll have to weigh them.
Our weather has finally turned for the better. We were supposed to have storms today, but it looks like they have fizzled out for now We still have alot of water laying in spots.

 

[savingdogs]

I made two kinds! Farmer cheese....it came out great! It turned out somewhat more like a dip, but really good. We were wishing we had some clams or crab and to make it into a really cool dip.

I also made ricotta, and lasagna is cooking and will be done in five minutes! I can't wait! I made fresh bread too.

 

[TanksHill]

Just catching up. Thank you all so much for the advice on ticks.. I must admit we never really had a problem with them until last year. I think we brought them home from Missouri on the dog. Now when he is out in the fields he inevitably brings some in. I was thinking maybe the vet is prescribing for what Ca usually has, not a Missouri tick.

Your cheese sounds wonderful. I have wanted to try cheese for a while. But it's just not on my list yet. I guess a source of milk would be good first.

sounds like your garden is off to a good start. I tried to do starter plants this year. I think I should have direct seeded as usual. I may throw out some seeds next to the starters. They don't look to promising.

Well have a great day.

G

 

[framing fowl]

cheese!!! Yummo! Isn't it great when the results of a long term project come in?

 

[savingdogs]

Yes! Someone just asked me how you make goat milk cheese and my husband answered, you start by milking the goats. I corrected him and said no, what started it was that stinky BUCK that was here. But it is nice when you achieve long-term goals.

I did not think I would be getting ANY milk at this stage with my first fresheners, while they still are nursing kids, so I am excited to start "really" milking soon.

The lasagna came out YUMMY and my bread was good too. I need to work on my lasagna recipe but not the cheese! I did use store motzarella but I don't have all the things to make motzarella yet. I'll be moving to the harder cheeses after I get these soft ones down. I really want to try feta, that used to be a staple food around here before our financial crunch and I'd like to add it back to my diet.

Feta crumbled over salad with italian dressing......

The only downside for today was that my duck is not staying on her nest. I don't think being dedicated part-time is going to cut it. I haven't removed the eggs but she spent the last two days on the nest only 1/2 the time. I can't really blame her the weather was lovely, but it is a waste of all those lovely duck eggs.

My old friend Mr. Vertigo came back today but I had a little break from him at least. I had the kind termed "drop attack" today, two, actually....I get almost thrown to the ground, but they are brief, lasting only a couple minutes as opposed to hours. While violent, as long as I'm not driving I'd rather have this kind, at least I can go on about my day. But having them does worry me, it makes me more convinced I should not drive for awhile. I woke up with a migraine so knew this was a "bad" day, so at least I would have known not to hop in the car and drive myself somewhere. It makes me so thankful that I'm home and not trying to work. I can't imagine what would happen to me if I had been on a ladder or walking a dog or anything critical at all, when I had one of those drop attacks. It is like an unseen hand comes along and knocks me over. I'm going to have a big bruise on my leg where I landed on the dog the second time! The first time I was in the kitchen and fell into the sink. The dog thinks I'm a little strange but other than that I'm okay. Hubby thinks I'm being dramatic I think, not sure how to describe different types of vertigo to people who never experienced it. But most meniere's people would know what I mean by "drop attack."

 

[Farmfresh]

I understand it too. When I was young I was very anemic, (thanks celiac) sometimes My blood pressure would really drop as well and I would get that kind of "you can't stay on your feet" vertigo. Yuck.

I am sorry you have to deal with that. Mine at least is resolved.

 

[Denim Deb]

I fell at least 4 times last year. And, I've noticed I always fall backwards when I fall, never straight down.

All this talk about goat cheese and milk is really making me want to breed my goats. Right now, they're nothing more than pets and green weed/lawn machines. But, they're not getting any younger. I'm not really set up for babies, but maybe for next year.....

 

[glenolam]

Glad your cheese making went so well! I tried and failed miserably. I'd like to give it another go round when I actually have milk to use. For now the kids are taking everything!

 

[freemotion]

YI'll be moving to the harder cheeses after I get these soft ones down. I really want to try feta, that used to be a staple food around here before our financial crunch and I'd like to add it back to my diet.

Feta crumbled over salad with italian dressing......

Feta is not too hard to make! It is my "fall-back recipe" when I don't have time to make a more complicated "cooked curd" recipe. So I have a lot of feta in my freezer!

I grate it like parmesan and have it on anything I'd put parm or romano on or in. On buttered popcorn is my favorite! It is good on veggies and on pizza. I brine it for a month so it is quite hard and salty and I just use it to salt a recipe, too. You can take it out of the brine after a week for a softer, less salty version. Or less for a fresher cheese for salads.

I was thinking you could use your cell phone as a timer if you have one. Set it on vibrate and set alarms for each phase of the cheese, and carry it in a pocket. I think even an old one without a plan would work if you don't have a cell phone. Someone you know might have a spare.

 

[savingdogs]

I'm dying to try feta, that is my next project *looks out window at Molly, yells "eat faster, I'm coming!"*
I'm drinking a good deal of what Molly is producing! It was awful nice to finally have homemade cheese but I've come to really enjoy my morning goat latte too.

Yes, a vibrating alarm would be good....Hubby teases me about how often I burn stuff. When other people are home, I tell them all...."Okay, don't let me burn this!" and they snap to attention, having eaten many half-a-meal where half was a little blacker than intended.

I'm really hoping for some dry weather today so I can continue to garden. I never got around to that yesterday, and after falling into the sink I thought perhaps it wasn't the best idea. So far we have dense fog and I think the mountain must have a cloud stuck to it. The winds blow all the willamette valley clouds against the ridge that we see out our back door. We have one of the highest average inches of rainfall in the entire county. And we wondered why the land here was cheap?

The other dogs don't like this newest foster dog. He isn't the most sound mentally and I think they know. Ellie will no longer tolerate him in the room and I have to keep them apart. He came here because he was supposed to be a cat chaser. But no problems with that here, and in fact, I got the hugest belly laughs watching his FEAR of the livestock, including the baby dairy goats. So much for the proud lineage of rhodesian ridgeback and doberman pincher making a good guard dog! It is pretty funny. I don't think he has enough space between his narrow eyes for his brain. Alright, I'm being bad, but not all dogs that come here are great dogs. This guys just is a big goofy galump with a high panic mode and a low pain threshhold. I'm actually really happy to have this dog....he fits my niche nicely. He would have failed a temperament test at a humane society, but it still a good dog in the right hands. It just will take time to find the right combination of dog-savvy family and no cats or kids and a willingness to train and desensitize him. A breed rescue has time for these things whereas a shelter does not. Sometimes people are dying to have a very particular mix for some reason of their own. Usually as a tribute to a particular dog.

I have my own crosses that I really like and would be interested in owning after all this fostering....chessie/lab, golden/flat-coat, aussie/border collie, doxie/chihuahua are all crosses that I have found to be excellent. And Hubby and I have fostered well over 100 dogs considered to be "lab/pit bull", mostly in tribute to a dog named Sally we once owned. I'll have to tell her story.