headache!

     I am having trouble getting pictures to upload so sadly there will be no pictures along with today's post.
     A few days ago watermelons were on sale at our local grocery store so I bought one and tonight my son and I were eating some and even though I thought it tasted all right it didnt seem to have the wonderful flavor that watermelon should have. It is another example of why I love growing my own things instead of puchasing them at the grocery store. I also like to buy fruits and vegetables at the farmer's market when they are in season. Yum! I cannot wait to start eating out of my own garden again this year.
     Today my husband had a doctor's appointment and I went with him. On the trip back I developed a horrible headache, the throbbing pain was unbearable in my temple. So, when I got home I rubbed some peppermint oil onto my temple and put a little above my eyebrow where my head was throbbing and almost instantly I could feel some relief. My kids say that I think peppermint cures everything, lol. I dont think it cures everything but I think it is good for alot of things. If you have an upset stomach sometimes sucking on a peppermint candy can help. Now, how often does someone tell you that candy can be a good thing. Also, if I am starting to feel congested or like my allergies are going to bother me I will drink some peppermint tea or simmer some dried peppermint leaves on the woodburner or the kitchen stove depending on what time of year it is because we only have our woodburner in when it is cold. I also like to use peppermint oil on an assortment of things. I have read that putting peppermint oil on your dog will repel fleas but I havent tried that one yet but I do know that it is good for muscle aches and headaches. I do want to say though that I am not a doctor and I am in no way telling you to do these things, I am just sharing with you what I do while I am on this journey of discovering how to take care of myself more naturally. Have a wonderful and blessed day!

~April

Spring!

It finally feels like spring might be here, I am so excited. I cannot wait to get my hands dirty and feel the dirt between my fingers while I am planting and raising my own vegetables, herbs and some fruits. My uncle came down today and even tilled up my garden, it was such a nice surprise. He even made it alot bigger this year, here is a picture of my chickens enjoying the loose dirt and looking for bugs.

Another nice thing about spring is kidding season, it seems strange that it is over for us already because the kids are already all born and getting big and it is just now starting to get warm, but who knew that March would be so cold besides our Lord. Here are a few pics of the babies this year, they are getting so big.

Jane

Jane and Wednesday

CB and Clarice

Bardock

 Goat kids are so much fun. I am bottle feeding Wednesday and Jane and they come running everytime they see me. I like to pretend it is because they love me and not because they want milk.

I noticed today that my strawberry plants are starting to peek through so I am planning to clear the old weeds and leaves out of them so that they have lots of room to grow. I love love love strawberries.

Another fun thing about spring is incubating eggs and hatching chicks. I just moved some of my chicks outside since it is getting warmer, they still get a heat lamp at night though. I also need to move them because I have lots of eggs in the incubator. Hoping I have a good hatch this time.

The last but not least of the animals being born this spring are the bunnies, arent they cuties?

Hoping everyone else is getting to enjoy this weather. Will update again soon.



~April

The best cheese I have eaten so far!

This is a picture of me hoping that today is an easy day. I have been so exhausted lately from the nonstop activity that I didnt wake up to feed the baby goats last night. They sure were hungry this morning. Anyway the topic of this post is cheese so I guess I should let you in on how I make the most amazingly yummy cheese from my goat's milk.

Disclaimer: Even though I personally think it is true that this is the best tasting cheese, it is still just my opinion and is in no way making me liable if someone does not like it. :)

  I start out by pouring a gallon of goat's milk in a large pot. As you can see mine was a little frozen but that is only because after I milk I put the jars of fresh milk in the freezer for an hour to chill quickly and I forgot to get it out after an hour, oops! You do not need to use frozen milk.

 Heat milk to 86 degrees F. I am aware that my candy thermometer I was using does not have a measurement lower then 100 but I do not have a thermometer that does so I use it to guess when it is 86. So far I am pretty good at it.

 Add the culture. I got mine from www.cheesemaking.com and you do not have to add rennet with it. Let the culture sit in the milk for 2 minutes before stirring.

                    I stirred for about 30-60 seconds to get it mixed in well.

 This next part is the hard part. Put the lid on the milk that has the culture in it and then go do something else for 12 hours. Do not touch it for 12 hours! I know it is hard not to look and see if it is seperating but this is a good time to practice some self control.

 After 12 hours it should look like this. Carefully ladle out the curds and put into a cheesecloth lined colander and then tie the cheesecloth, I use yarn and then I use another piece of yarn to hang it from a cabinet door in the kitchen to drain into a bowl. I forgot to take a picture of that. After 4-8 hours, I let mine hang for 5 hours, take the cheese out of the cheesecloth and put into a bowl. Stir and add whatever seasonings you like and enjoy! My favorite way to eat it is on crackers but it is even good with a spoon.

New babies!!!!

Wednesday

Jane

 

 

Wow, we have been busy this past week, first my daughter's goat Babylynn had her baby. She had a little boy. Caitlyn named him Wednesday because he was born on a Wednesday. I love the names that she gives to things. Then 5 days later which was yesterday my boer goat Sweet Pea decided to have her baby and it was a girl. I was having trouble picking out a name for her even though Caitlyn wanted to name her Monday but I finally decided on Jane. She is a doe so it is Jane Doe, lol. We do not have space in the barn right now for the momma's and their babies to be seperate from the other goats, I dont think I thought things through good enough so I am bottle feeding them which I am ending up liking. It will be easier to wean them because they wont be used to eating off their moms (I feed them their mom's milk though) and they are alot more friendly to me. I bring them in the trailer with us for at least 24 hours. Wednesday got to stay in here 4 days because he was quiet and I really enjoyed him but Jane only got to stay 24 hours because she was very noisy and screamed everytime she saw me so she is in the barn with the other babies. Right now we have Bardock 8 weeks (he is my wethered), Wednesday who will stay on as a buck and Jane. I am keeping Jane because she is an all red doe and I think she is really cool. Wednesday weighed a whopping 10.4 pounds at birth and Jane was a little smaller at 9 pounds. They were both singles. My last 3 goats gave birth to only one baby so I am starting to think they were missing some needed nutrients so I am stepping up with the minerals and taking better care of them now to see if I get at least doubles in the future. The health of my animals is very important to me and I am on the ball now.  Another thing I am enjoying is all of this fresh milk! I am planning to make some chevre cheese as soon as my supplies I ordered arrive, I am making some more soap after I get to the store to get some shortening and tomorrow I plan to make ice cream. Yum Yum!!  Have a blessed day everyone!!

~April

Good day today

Today was a good day. I finally found an iced coffee recipe that I like. The recipe is on the recipe page.  Putting it in a pint sized mason jar made me feel like it was more country. I also love drinking from a mason jar.

 

I also had fun playing with Wednesday today. He is such a sweet little goat. He follows me around everywhere like a puppy and cries if I leave him in the kitchen and he cannot see me. Another great thing about the baby goats besides the little cuties running around is that their mommas are giving us fresh milk which means cheese, ice cream, yogurt and lots of yummy treats.

 The chickens are not my favorite of the animals we raise on our farm and they are the only animal that we have that my daughter absolutely hates. She had a rooster attack her when she was younger and has been afraid of them since. I have a new rooster now and he is nice but she still does not like them. I raise silver laced wyandottes and I think they are very pretty birds and they are gentle. I havent had any trouble with them at all except that a couple of the mixed breeds (we have 3 that are not pure wyandotte) will not go into the pen. They want to roost in the barn so I have to physically carry them up to the pen but besides that they are easy to take care of except at butchering time. Plucking a chicken is very tedious work but nothing tastes better then a farm raised chicken. The chickens did make me happy today when I found 9 eggs which means they are starting to lay again! Happy happy happy! I also put 30 eggs in the incubator today. I am thinking about trying to sell chicks along with growing some to butcher. I hope everyone had a great day today and are looking forward to spring as much as I am. Have a blessed day!

~April

why i dont like the grocery store

After my trip to the grocery store today I am more excited then ever about the replacing the grocery store challenge at www.oursimplefarm.com. I cant wait until I am spending alot less at the grocery store, the food is more healthy when you grow it yourself and alot less expensive. I am also starting to make as much from scratch as I can. Tastes alot better too.


I didnt do much today besides take a trip into town with my mom to the grocery store and the normal chores that I have to do everyday. I now have to milk the goat twice a day instead of only once. When Joy had her baby a couple months ago I started seperating him from his mom at night after he was a couple weeks old so that I could milk her in the morning so that meant I only had to milk her once a day. But, now that I have another doe that had a baby and I decided to bottle feed him I have to milk his momma twice a day. It isnt hard to do and it does not take long so I do not mind and I love the fresh milk. She gives a  half gallon a day so that is enough for her baby and some left over for us. I ordered cheese making ingredients today, cannot wait for them to come. I miss my soft cheeses. The most exciting thing that happened today was when I was browning the chicken for enchiladas and I fell asleep. Wow, did the place smell smoky, lol. Well, time for this grandma to go to bed, early to rise tomorrow. I need to milk some goats and bake some bread. Blessings to all!

~April

Wednesday goats

Today was a good day on the farm, one of those days that you think, this is why I do this. My daughter's pregnant doe Babylynn was getting very close to having her babies on Tuesday night so I went out and checked on her every hour or 2 and then set my alarm to get up every couple hours to check on her through the night. Of course she didnt have him until Wednesday afternoon. He is a big baby and she is a small doe so she had a hard time delivering him but momma and baby are both healthy. My daughter Caitlyn is his official owner because his momma is her goat. Caitlyn has decided to name him Wednesday because he was born on a Wednesday and this big boy weighed a whopping 10.4 pounds at birth! He is gonna be a big buck.

My chickens are starting to lay again, I got 6 eggs yesterday, I was so excited. I am planning on putting 30 eggs in the incubator this weekend. If it goes like last year then almost all 30 will hatch, lol. If I put only a few in it seemed like only 1 or 2 hatched so I put 23 in the last time I incubated and all but 2 hatched, it was crazy and loud with all of the chirping but this is my life and I love it. My chickens can drive me a little crazy too. I like to let them free range for at least a few hours a day and for some reason I have 2 chickens that will not willingly go into the chicken pen to roost. I have to go to the barn and get them and carry them back up to their own pen. Then again, maybe they are the only smart ones, there is more room in the barn.

My husband Doug got a procedure done on his back on Monday and we are praying that it worked and he will soon be without pain. He is still hurting now but we think that might be normal and it takes some time for the pain to go away. Your prayers would be appreciated. Doug doesnt do well with being sedated. He acts crazy for a few hours and then after he falls asleep, he will be his normal self when he awakens. One time after he was sedated for a test on his back he saw so many deer on the way home, the only problem is that he is the only one who sees them, lol. This time it took longer then it usually does for him to fall asleep after we got home and I think it might be because he was laying on the couch saying "I cant let myself go to sleep". Well, it is time to go milk the goats so hoping everyone has a blessed day!

~April